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A review by martifeliciani
Frozen Hearts by R.A. Smyth
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Okay I have to tell you guys something, and I hate to be just like those assholes that give books 1 star ratings based on specific triggers they knew existed before starting the book because it’s on the trigger warnings page.
But I’m not gonna do that exactly okay?
Just bear with me.
I’m fine with noncon.
Bloodplay? More like child’s play.
Kindapping? Count me in. What was it that drew me back you ask? The child.
Yeah.
The freaking child.
How unhinged am I that that’s the part that bothered me?
And it’s not that it triggers anything in me, I just find it boring. The pregnancy trope, single parent trope, any kind of trope involving children gives me the ick. All that talk about children’s shows and you know, the cutesy family stuff, not what I’m here for.
BUT since it was my fault for not reading the trigger warnings list (I tend to skip it cause it often spoils stuff and let’s be honest, it’s very hard for a book to trigger me), I will not hold it against the author (yes, I’m looking at you, Karen. Seriously, stop giving books 1 star because it triggered you. It’s right there on the first page. Did you think these boys were going to be sweet fluffy little bunnies? If you’re not cool with it, don’t read the book.)
This book is a drug.
A Pringle. You can’t have just one but with pages.
OMG
Even with the whole child drama, I found this book so entertaining. It gripped me from page one, I was so intrigued to know what else would happen, and it actually started pretty tame you know? Things seemed to be going well and I kept thinking, how are things going to go to shit?
It doesn’t seem like they will.
But they do.
Oh yeah, they do.
I’m so excited to read book two and get started on that sweet, sweet redemption arc (because yes, Karen, of course it will happen. That’s what these bully romances are all about okay? Untangle your panties).
If you’re wondering wether you should read the book or not, I’d say it’s a yes if you don’t mind the dark themes (READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS) and you aren’t expecting squeaky clean love interests.
These guys are assholes okay?
They are fucked up in the head.
If you think Christian Gray was awful and problematic, just don’t read the book. You’re not gonna like it.
If you understand these men are assholes and know that they will get better later, I think you’ll find this quite fun because the pacing is super fast and the MC is actually not a terrible female lead. She actually does stuff you know? Takes control of her life.
If you don’t think you can handle love interests that are gonna do shitty things to the MC, then don’t read the book. (Seriously Karen, put the book down.)
Fine, we’re over with the non-spoilery part.
I don’t know if I can talk about each character without spoiling, so consider yourself spoiled if you go from here. They’re gonna be light but they’re gonna be there.
You’ve been warned.
It you’ve read it or don’t mind spoilers for some reason, let’s talk about the characters shall we?
*SPOILERS FROM HERE*
*SPOILERS FROM HERE*
Logan: the first guy we meet. Typical golden retriever athlete that has a swarm of girls pining over him. Super cute. Nothing bad to say about him really. Yes, he has a moment where he’s a dick, because he’s conflicted between this girl he really really likes and his best friend he’s known forever, so if you ask me, his reaction is pretty normal. I’d think anyone would react the same with the information he knew.
I read some reviews that were upset about him being weirded out by period blood, but like, when? He went out of his way to buy stuff for her even when he had no idea what he was doing, he bathed her and cleaned her and put her to bed.
Where did he react badly exactly?
I don’t think he was being rude or anything, he’d just never faced a situation like that before. Men sometimes don’t know things, they aren’t educated (this is a real issue girlies, I’m sure you know how often men don’t know about female anatomy).
Is this sad? Yes, but I think it says more about our education system than about men. And don’t get me wrong, I’m always up for shit talking men, but in this case, I think ignorance really comes to play. I remember when I was twelve and we were starting to get “the talks” in school. When it came time for the period talk, all the boys would be taken out of class. That’s where it starts.
We are super used in the dark romance genre to men pulling out tampons and eating girls out, which is great, but that’s not the case all the time.
I mean come on, I bleed every month and sometimes it gets a bit too visceral even for me.
I think his reaction was pretty sweet, funny and endearing.
Royce: I think he was my favorite one. There’s something so good about a moody love interest that hates everyone except the MC. He’s the least red flag of the boys, even if he initially seems like the worst one. The way his protective side came out even at the beginning when some random idiot was bothering her even if he’d only seen her twice, I loved that. He has a filthy mouth but a pretty heart.
Grayson: It wouldn’t be a good reverse harem if it didn’t have the almost unredeemable LI who’s mad at life and wants revenge.
Would I date someone like him in real life?
I wouldn’t date any of them in real life, that’s why we’re here right?
But, since we are here, we need to put ourselves in dark romance mindset to understand okay? He’s been traumatized, he doesn’t have all the information. He was manipulated by the adults in his life to believe what he believes.
Is it okay? Hell no.
Did I like him? No. Not at all. I didn’t find him even a little bit attractive.
Will there be a redemption arc for him? Yeah of course.
Who knows if it will be good or not, but as of now I’ll be waiting to see what happens next before I give my final judgement on him. Other than his red flags, I think I didn’t like him that much because the book doesn’t give us the time to connect much with him. He doesn’t really appear a lot, but I’m sure he’ll have more screen time later.
Riley: I usually hate female leads in books. It’s so hard for me to connect with them because most of the time they’re just so stupid you know? But I think Riley was pretty cool. She’s independent and she has a mind of her own and she doesn’t let people push her around. I liked the way her trauma was written, I felt it was pretty accurate to how trauma feels like (of course I can only speak for myself. If you have a different perspective, that’s absolutely fine too. We all deal with life’s bullshit differently).
Overall, I was just super entertained. It was exactly the kind of book I was looking for to get me out of an SIX MONTH reading slump.
Book 2, I’ll find you next.
But I’m not gonna do that exactly okay?
Just bear with me.
I’m fine with noncon.
Bloodplay? More like child’s play.
Kindapping? Count me in. What was it that drew me back you ask? The child.
Yeah.
The freaking child.
How unhinged am I that that’s the part that bothered me?
And it’s not that it triggers anything in me, I just find it boring. The pregnancy trope, single parent trope, any kind of trope involving children gives me the ick. All that talk about children’s shows and you know, the cutesy family stuff, not what I’m here for.
BUT since it was my fault for not reading the trigger warnings list (I tend to skip it cause it often spoils stuff and let’s be honest, it’s very hard for a book to trigger me), I will not hold it against the author (yes, I’m looking at you, Karen. Seriously, stop giving books 1 star because it triggered you. It’s right there on the first page. Did you think these boys were going to be sweet fluffy little bunnies? If you’re not cool with it, don’t read the book.)
This book is a drug.
A Pringle. You can’t have just one but with pages.
OMG
Even with the whole child drama, I found this book so entertaining. It gripped me from page one, I was so intrigued to know what else would happen, and it actually started pretty tame you know? Things seemed to be going well and I kept thinking, how are things going to go to shit?
It doesn’t seem like they will.
But they do.
Oh yeah, they do.
I’m so excited to read book two and get started on that sweet, sweet redemption arc (because yes, Karen, of course it will happen. That’s what these bully romances are all about okay? Untangle your panties).
If you’re wondering wether you should read the book or not, I’d say it’s a yes if you don’t mind the dark themes (READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS) and you aren’t expecting squeaky clean love interests.
These guys are assholes okay?
They are fucked up in the head.
If you think Christian Gray was awful and problematic, just don’t read the book. You’re not gonna like it.
If you understand these men are assholes and know that they will get better later, I think you’ll find this quite fun because the pacing is super fast and the MC is actually not a terrible female lead. She actually does stuff you know? Takes control of her life.
If you don’t think you can handle love interests that are gonna do shitty things to the MC, then don’t read the book. (Seriously Karen, put the book down.)
Fine, we’re over with the non-spoilery part.
I don’t know if I can talk about each character without spoiling, so consider yourself spoiled if you go from here. They’re gonna be light but they’re gonna be there.
You’ve been warned.
It you’ve read it or don’t mind spoilers for some reason, let’s talk about the characters shall we?
*SPOILERS FROM HERE*
*SPOILERS FROM HERE*
Logan: the first guy we meet. Typical golden retriever athlete that has a swarm of girls pining over him. Super cute. Nothing bad to say about him really. Yes, he has a moment where he’s a dick, because he’s conflicted between this girl he really really likes and his best friend he’s known forever, so if you ask me, his reaction is pretty normal. I’d think anyone would react the same with the information he knew.
I read some reviews that were upset about him being weirded out by period blood, but like, when? He went out of his way to buy stuff for her even when he had no idea what he was doing, he bathed her and cleaned her and put her to bed.
Where did he react badly exactly?
I don’t think he was being rude or anything, he’d just never faced a situation like that before. Men sometimes don’t know things, they aren’t educated (this is a real issue girlies, I’m sure you know how often men don’t know about female anatomy).
Is this sad? Yes, but I think it says more about our education system than about men. And don’t get me wrong, I’m always up for shit talking men, but in this case, I think ignorance really comes to play. I remember when I was twelve and we were starting to get “the talks” in school. When it came time for the period talk, all the boys would be taken out of class. That’s where it starts.
We are super used in the dark romance genre to men pulling out tampons and eating girls out, which is great, but that’s not the case all the time.
I mean come on, I bleed every month and sometimes it gets a bit too visceral even for me.
I think his reaction was pretty sweet, funny and endearing.
Royce: I think he was my favorite one. There’s something so good about a moody love interest that hates everyone except the MC. He’s the least red flag of the boys, even if he initially seems like the worst one. The way his protective side came out even at the beginning when some random idiot was bothering her even if he’d only seen her twice, I loved that. He has a filthy mouth but a pretty heart.
Grayson: It wouldn’t be a good reverse harem if it didn’t have the almost unredeemable LI who’s mad at life and wants revenge.
Would I date someone like him in real life?
I wouldn’t date any of them in real life, that’s why we’re here right?
But, since we are here, we need to put ourselves in dark romance mindset to understand okay? He’s been traumatized, he doesn’t have all the information. He was manipulated by the adults in his life to believe what he believes.
Is it okay? Hell no.
Did I like him? No. Not at all. I didn’t find him even a little bit attractive.
Will there be a redemption arc for him? Yeah of course.
Who knows if it will be good or not, but as of now I’ll be waiting to see what happens next before I give my final judgement on him. Other than his red flags, I think I didn’t like him that much because the book doesn’t give us the time to connect much with him. He doesn’t really appear a lot, but I’m sure he’ll have more screen time later.
Riley: I usually hate female leads in books. It’s so hard for me to connect with them because most of the time they’re just so stupid you know? But I think Riley was pretty cool. She’s independent and she has a mind of her own and she doesn’t let people push her around. I liked the way her trauma was written, I felt it was pretty accurate to how trauma feels like (of course I can only speak for myself. If you have a different perspective, that’s absolutely fine too. We all deal with life’s bullshit differently).
Overall, I was just super entertained. It was exactly the kind of book I was looking for to get me out of an SIX MONTH reading slump.
Book 2, I’ll find you next.