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A review by thecanary
Frost Moon by Anthony Francis
1.0
My first impression of Frost Moon was overwhelmingly positive. It sounded like I would be getting an Urban Fantasy written by a male author about a freakishly tall, lesbian (turns out she’s actually bi) magic-tattoo artist in a world where magic is in the open, but still on the margins of mainstream society. As the story begins, we learn that our heroine’s ex was a doctoral candidate who–to better research vampires–became one. There's also this werewolf with control issues who wants the reluctant Dakota Frost to tattoo him with a Nazi charm. Call me intrigued.
But when it comes to the actual meat of the novel, the number of stories that Frost Moon attempts to tie together leave me feeling that I didn’t get enough of any of them. The novel struggles with the breadth it tries to cover: were-animals, were-animal society in modern world, magic-tattoos, ancient cults, reality tv contests, vampires, relationship angst, serial killers, BDSM, instant-love, torture, martial arts, government agents, almost-rape, guy running around in bondage gear, stripping (x3), marginalized yet rich subcultures, emotional breakdowns, self-defense (and lack thereof), redemption-via-true-love, betrayal, adoption, police investigations, black ops helicopters, and a visit to the local Borders as it closes down.
Frost Moon races to tie these elements together, taking convenient shortcuts when needed. Prepare yourself for a story in which the heroine manages to form deep, redemptive, emotional ties with characters after seeing them roughly once. And if that sentence above sounds disgruntled, that’s because it is.
In the end, it’s a fast read that I would recommend to anyone wanting to chew on something while waiting for the next Laurell K. Hamilton book to come out.
Read my full review here.
But when it comes to the actual meat of the novel, the number of stories that Frost Moon attempts to tie together leave me feeling that I didn’t get enough of any of them. The novel struggles with the breadth it tries to cover: were-animals, were-animal society in modern world, magic-tattoos, ancient cults, reality tv contests, vampires, relationship angst, serial killers, BDSM, instant-love, torture, martial arts, government agents, almost-rape, guy running around in bondage gear, stripping (x3), marginalized yet rich subcultures, emotional breakdowns, self-defense (and lack thereof), redemption-via-true-love, betrayal, adoption, police investigations, black ops helicopters, and a visit to the local Borders as it closes down.
Frost Moon races to tie these elements together, taking convenient shortcuts when needed. Prepare yourself for a story in which the heroine manages to form deep, redemptive, emotional ties with characters after seeing them roughly once. And if that sentence above sounds disgruntled, that’s because it is.
In the end, it’s a fast read that I would recommend to anyone wanting to chew on something while waiting for the next Laurell K. Hamilton book to come out.
Read my full review here.