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A review by spaceyfaerie
Kingdom Cold by Brittni Chenelle
1.0
'The pain I'd caused remained fresh and my mind became an endless cycle of the same question: What was it all for?'
Boy oh boy do I have so much salty tea to spill about this book. But first, I will put a disclaimer: that I do not write this for the purpose of attacking the author nor do I condemn her . . . I just have issues with this book. And since there is A LOT of opinions I have to unpack about this, some of them accompanied by an embittered attitude, buckle up for a long rant that I've been dedicated enough to write twice 'cause previously via a power outage, Mother Nature decided to pull the plug on my first attempt at a review.
Also before the review I have a final disclaimer:
While there are a few specific things I've got some concerns about, most of the issues I have with this book are regards to the story/character development and the decisions regarding those. And with the specific things, my thoughts are also heavily opinionated so I heartily welcome respectful discussions about those no matter if you agree or disagree with them.
[my definition of a respectful discussion] -->Disagreements can be made without attacking commentators or forcing your opinion upon others. Opinions are stated calmly and without gratuitous strong language/slurs against the opposing opinions. Agree to disagree. If you truly believe an opinion is WRONG and cannot convince the commentator(s) otherwise, don't start a fight or get nasty; take the high road and just leave the discussion or I will step in with the power of block & delete as a last resort of peacekeeping. And always remember that a person is entitled to their opinions no matter how much they personally offend or upset you . . . though I prefer to think positive and assume any comments will be respectfully mature and polite :P]
'Suddenly I was being courted. I was speaking to a handsome prince around my age. It was a scenario I'd often fantasized about while waiting for my parents to decide I was old enough to be courted.'
O o f where to start with the multitude of problems and annoyances I had while reading this?? There is a large cast of characters with 4 randomly rotating POV's, although Princess Charlotte and Prince Young are the primary voices . . . and yet for some reason they never really feel like main characters!?! The biggest issue with this book is that it reads like the summary of a first draft. It is messy, it only has the hints of good potential but goes nowhere with any of it (minus a few random lines of post-mediocrity), and there is too much plot going way too fast. Once again, it is a mess. And it's such an uncoordinated, sexist, racist (yeah you heard me right) mess that doesn't even seem to TRY to alleviate or fix those problems that it's probably the first time I've squinted in confusion at a book and been like, "oh my gosh . . . this is actually pretty racist".
R E C E I P T S of particular instances that bothered me:
Look, I'm one who probably lets way too much slide that should bother me more . . . which is why I was surprised that things in this book irked me so much. But once I realized what kept recurring, it was hard to ignore the stereotypical descriptions given to the kingdom and prince(s) inspired by East Asia. Tbh I think the annoyances of the content was only heightened further by the unpolished draft style of the writing . . .
"The Eastern Statue? Did you know that's what they call him? They say he never smiles."
'I'd met Prince Young once. Dark hair and dark almond-shaped eyes that curved in at the corners...But his face--I really couldn't recall it. I could only remember the feeling of him. He'd seemed so serious and miserable, even more so than the stuffy, political vultures that circled court. I hadn't given him a single thought since we met--until now. Now, all I could think about was his cold, heartless stature and a lifetime without laughter.'
'Not to mention Young himself--weak, scrawny, and barely man enough to grow facial hair. What was he thinking! To challenge me [Emmett]? I settled on the possibility that he'd been so ashamed of losing his contract with Besmium that he was choosing suicide over returning home. If that were the case, then this was a mercy killing--a perfect way to stab away my wedding jitters.
"You're serious?" He [Emmett] wheezed. "There is no conceivable advantage you have over me."
I [Young] shifted my weight. "I-I don't see it that way."
"Your military is too far, your personality is dry, and..." He covered his mouth with his hands. "Just look at you." He grinned. "And more importantly, look at me."
I blinked with disbelief.
"Fair skin, eyes the color of beryl stone, golden locks."
I huffed. "So, I imagine in your world that's superior somehow?"
"In every world that's superior."
EXCUSE ME???? I don't care if the majority of the statements against Young and his heritage are from the villainous character. I don't care if that's meant to make us hate the villain more. I DON'T CARE FOR RACIST COMMENTS USED IN THIS WAY okay and look, I get that sometimes a book will be "racist" to prove a point or show the fallacies in a system/mindset . . . but the stuff in this book is truly pointless. Now, is Young himself slightly racist too?? Y E S but I would argue that, of all the problematic characters in here, he is the one who tries the most to change and improve himself and his mindsets. However, for content like this to appear and be handled as improperly as it was, it shouldn't have even been here in the first place.
The second biggest problem with this book is that it doesn't know what to do with the things it wants to do.
There truly is a lot of good potential in this book . . . but it is utterly WASTED. Mostly because of this being a glorified summary, but also because it really doesn't seem like a lot of thought and attention was given to things. Plot twists, character decisions, even the freaking dialogue just appears to be slapped willy-nilly in here. It's much like how I wrote some of my first "books" in my early teens that I still cringe at whenever I open those old documents. I had the same type of cringing when I read this because it's just so badly written and barely developed.
'Shloop. An arrow landed on the frozen ground.'
SHLOOP?? LANDED ON???? I literally bust out laughing when I read that sentence because it pretty much encapsulates the juvenile writing of this entire book. And while the thing I'm the saltiest about was how the Asian influences and characters in here are treated, quite annoyed at the fact that THE PLOT DIDN'T FREAKING PICK AN ARC TO STICK WITH OH NO WE HAD TO HAVE FIFTY DIFFERENT TWISTS WITHIN TWO PAGES . . .
an accurate potrayal of how the plot works in this book:
. . . I'm also just so done with the characters. Except for Young, who is a idiotic dear who tries his best and was the only two-dimensional character in the midst of all the cardboard flops.
My favorite line from the entire book:
'He [Minseo, Young's older brother] stepped back. "So all of this is about the girl."
"It's about keeping my word."
But other than that ONE LINE IN THE ENTIRETY OF THIS RIDICULOUSLY LONG BOOK it was mostly weird drivel like this:
'Dying wasn't my intention. Yet there I lay, ravenous--twelve hours into my hunger strike, certain I was already slipping away.'
'I [Charlotte] looked very much like the bratty teen that had protested her engagement, but in almost every way I wasn't her. I was queen, I was a wife, and now I was a mother. I gripped my dagger. I was battle-tested, I had killed, I had survived. The only thing that limited my abilities was my fear--and I wasn't afraid.'
"It's time for the hunt." He [Emmett] gestured to me [Young]. "One of us must stay behind to defend you helpless womenfolk, while the other finds us dinner. Who do you [Charlotte] delegate to this task?"
'He [Young] was my [Charlotte] cage, my captor [????], the death of my freedom, but in one kind glance, in my darkest hour, he granted me a modicum of comfort. I ran to him and threw myself into his arms. I didn't care that he didn't embrace me. I didn't care that his body tightened with discomfort. He was alive and, to me, that meant my father could be too.'
'In astonishment, Emmett dropped his sword and wrapped his arms gently around me [Charlotte]. I took a slow breath in as my frozen body began to feel the warmth of Emmett's blood run down my right arm, where my dragon dagger still remained buried in his breached chainmail. The blood dripped steadily from my elbow, but I was too afraid to let go. My gaze crept up from the bottom of Emmett's chin to his lips, and finally his pale blue eyes. He stood and held me, a kind warmth in his eyes as they faded. Enraged, I pulled out the dagger and plunged it into a new spot on his chest. He toppled forward, spitting blood as his weight fell on me. I snatched my dagger and jumped back, allowing Emmett's body to land with a thud in front of me. His lifeless body lay face down in front of me, but I couldn't stop. I wanted the pain he'd caused me to stop. I stabbed his corpse for my father. Again. Again.
And all I have to say about Milly is this:
Seriously, this book is just such a mess. It is problematic without much point behind WHY it's so problematic. It's written in an extremely juvenile way and has a plot as given by a six year old recounting their day to you: repetitious and 99% unbelievable. And somehow I ended up slogging through all of it wondering whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy I do stuff like this to myself.
And at the end of it all, WHAT DID I GET???
'I'm happy to announce that you've only completed PART ONE of THREE!!'
me:
I received a digital ARC from the author via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Boy oh boy do I have so much salty tea to spill about this book. But first, I will put a disclaimer: that I do not write this for the purpose of attacking the author nor do I condemn her . . . I just have issues with this book. And since there is A LOT of opinions I have to unpack about this, some of them accompanied by an embittered attitude, buckle up for a long rant that I've been dedicated enough to write twice 'cause previously via a power outage, Mother Nature decided to pull the plug on my first attempt at a review.
Also before the review I have a final disclaimer:
While there are a few specific things I've got some concerns about, most of the issues I have with this book are regards to the story/character development and the decisions regarding those. And with the specific things, my thoughts are also heavily opinionated so I heartily welcome respectful discussions about those no matter if you agree or disagree with them.
[my definition of a respectful discussion] -->
'Suddenly I was being courted. I was speaking to a handsome prince around my age. It was a scenario I'd often fantasized about while waiting for my parents to decide I was old enough to be courted.'
O o f where to start with the multitude of problems and annoyances I had while reading this?? There is a large cast of characters with 4 randomly rotating POV's, although Princess Charlotte and Prince Young are the primary voices . . . and yet for some reason they never really feel like main characters!?! The biggest issue with this book is that it reads like the summary of a first draft. It is messy, it only has the hints of good potential but goes nowhere with any of it (minus a few random lines of post-mediocrity), and there is too much plot going way too fast. Once again, it is a mess. And it's such an uncoordinated, sexist, racist (yeah you heard me right) mess that doesn't even seem to TRY to alleviate or fix those problems that it's probably the first time I've squinted in confusion at a book and been like, "oh my gosh . . . this is actually pretty racist".
R E C E I P T S of particular instances that bothered me:
Look, I'm one who probably lets way too much slide that should bother me more . . . which is why I was surprised that things in this book irked me so much. But once I realized what kept recurring, it was hard to ignore the stereotypical descriptions given to the kingdom and prince(s) inspired by East Asia. Tbh I think the annoyances of the content was only heightened further by the unpolished draft style of the writing . . .
"The Eastern Statue? Did you know that's what they call him? They say he never smiles."
'I'd met Prince Young once. Dark hair and dark almond-shaped eyes that curved in at the corners...But his face--I really couldn't recall it. I could only remember the feeling of him. He'd seemed so serious and miserable, even more so than the stuffy, political vultures that circled court. I hadn't given him a single thought since we met--until now. Now, all I could think about was his cold, heartless stature and a lifetime without laughter.'
'Not to mention Young himself--weak, scrawny, and barely man enough to grow facial hair. What was he thinking! To challenge me [Emmett]? I settled on the possibility that he'd been so ashamed of losing his contract with Besmium that he was choosing suicide over returning home. If that were the case, then this was a mercy killing--a perfect way to stab away my wedding jitters.
"You're serious?" He [Emmett] wheezed. "There is no conceivable advantage you have over me."
I [Young] shifted my weight. "I-I don't see it that way."
"Your military is too far, your personality is dry, and..." He covered his mouth with his hands. "Just look at you." He grinned. "And more importantly, look at me."
I blinked with disbelief.
"Fair skin, eyes the color of beryl stone, golden locks."
I huffed. "So, I imagine in your world that's superior somehow?"
"In every world that's superior."
EXCUSE ME???? I don't care if the majority of the statements against Young and his heritage are from the villainous character. I don't care if that's meant to make us hate the villain more. I DON'T CARE FOR RACIST COMMENTS USED IN THIS WAY okay and look, I get that sometimes a book will be "racist" to prove a point or show the fallacies in a system/mindset . . . but the stuff in this book is truly pointless. Now, is Young himself slightly racist too?? Y E S but I would argue that, of all the problematic characters in here, he is the one who tries the most to change and improve himself and his mindsets. However, for content like this to appear and be handled as improperly as it was, it shouldn't have even been here in the first place.
The second biggest problem with this book is that it doesn't know what to do with the things it wants to do.
There truly is a lot of good potential in this book . . . but it is utterly WASTED. Mostly because of this being a glorified summary, but also because it really doesn't seem like a lot of thought and attention was given to things. Plot twists, character decisions, even the freaking dialogue just appears to be slapped willy-nilly in here. It's much like how I wrote some of my first "books" in my early teens that I still cringe at whenever I open those old documents. I had the same type of cringing when I read this because it's just so badly written and barely developed.
'Shloop. An arrow landed on the frozen ground.'
SHLOOP?? LANDED ON???? I literally bust out laughing when I read that sentence because it pretty much encapsulates the juvenile writing of this entire book. And while the thing I'm the saltiest about was how the Asian influences and characters in here are treated, quite annoyed at the fact that THE PLOT DIDN'T FREAKING PICK AN ARC TO STICK WITH OH NO WE HAD TO HAVE FIFTY DIFFERENT TWISTS WITHIN TWO PAGES . . .
an accurate potrayal of how the plot works in this book:
. . . I'm also just so done with the characters. Except for Young, who is a idiotic dear who tries his best and was the only two-dimensional character in the midst of all the cardboard flops.
My favorite line from the entire book:
'He [Minseo, Young's older brother] stepped back. "So all of this is about the girl."
"It's about keeping my word."
But other than that ONE LINE IN THE ENTIRETY OF THIS RIDICULOUSLY LONG BOOK it was mostly weird drivel like this:
'Dying wasn't my intention. Yet there I lay, ravenous--twelve hours into my hunger strike, certain I was already slipping away.'
'I [Charlotte] looked very much like the bratty teen that had protested her engagement, but in almost every way I wasn't her. I was queen, I was a wife, and now I was a mother. I gripped my dagger. I was battle-tested, I had killed, I had survived. The only thing that limited my abilities was my fear--and I wasn't afraid.'
"It's time for the hunt." He [Emmett] gestured to me [Young]. "One of us must stay behind to defend you helpless womenfolk, while the other finds us dinner. Who do you [Charlotte] delegate to this task?"
'He [Young] was my [Charlotte] cage, my captor [????], the death of my freedom, but in one kind glance, in my darkest hour, he granted me a modicum of comfort. I ran to him and threw myself into his arms. I didn't care that he didn't embrace me. I didn't care that his body tightened with discomfort. He was alive and, to me, that meant my father could be too.'
'In astonishment, Emmett dropped his sword and wrapped his arms gently around me [Charlotte]. I took a slow breath in as my frozen body began to feel the warmth of Emmett's blood run down my right arm, where my dragon dagger still remained buried in his breached chainmail. The blood dripped steadily from my elbow, but I was too afraid to let go. My gaze crept up from the bottom of Emmett's chin to his lips, and finally his pale blue eyes. He stood and held me, a kind warmth in his eyes as they faded. Enraged, I pulled out the dagger and plunged it into a new spot on his chest. He toppled forward, spitting blood as his weight fell on me. I snatched my dagger and jumped back, allowing Emmett's body to land with a thud in front of me. His lifeless body lay face down in front of me, but I couldn't stop. I wanted the pain he'd caused me to stop. I stabbed his corpse for my father. Again. Again.
And all I have to say about Milly is this:
Seriously, this book is just such a mess. It is problematic without much point behind WHY it's so problematic. It's written in an extremely juvenile way and has a plot as given by a six year old recounting their day to you: repetitious and 99% unbelievable. And somehow I ended up slogging through all of it wondering whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy I do stuff like this to myself.
And at the end of it all, WHAT DID I GET???
'I'm happy to announce that you've only completed PART ONE of THREE!!'
me:
I received a digital ARC from the author via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.