Review by cordelia0704 - Frozen Hearts

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cordelia0704 's review for:

Frozen Hearts by R.A. Smyth

4.5

dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Frozen hearts by R.A. Smyth is the first book and audiobook in a trilogy called Halston U. The other books are available, but this is the first audiobook. It is narrated by Helena Walters and Oliver Highpoint and they do a fantastic job. I’m super picky about narration and they managed to make the characters all come to life with their own voices and distinct personalities.

This is a dark romance. Emphasis on DARK. If you cannot handle things like mention of prior child SA (Flashbacks), dubious consent, kidnapping, why choose (there are 3 male love interests), rape, single parenthood, bad parents and probably other things I am forgetting, then you may want to read the full trigger list before embarking on this adventure. I was mostly ok with the book, my mind is still reeling a little bit, but for the most, I like the book.

Our FMC is Riley James, a single mother who has overcome a lot of really lousy things in her life to get where she is and now, she is a freshman in college at Halston U. Her goal is to do well in college so that she can get a good job and take care of herself and her daughter. She just wants to study and work to support her family (as a stripper, so if that bothers you maybe move on to another book). This is a single mother and trauma survivor just trying to move on and improve her life and I think the character deserves respect for that.

Riley agrees to tutor a very handsome and extremely tall Hockey player named Logan. Logan is pretty much smitten with her immediately and wants to take her out. They go on a date, the date goes well and then he goes out with his hockey friends after a game and of course, instead of the place they always go to, they go to the strip club where Riley works. Logan’s roommates show up and one of them has a past with Riley and poisons Logan against her. He doesn’t call Riley like he said he was going to and he stops talking to her basically. She also starts running into this really tall scary guy who’s always mad she’s in his way. And then there’s the ex-stepbrother who has the grudge and he is where the story really goes off the rails.

I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, which in this instance is very difficult because there’s this path they all go down that leads them to where they end up, and if any one thing had changed or maybe some questions were asked before jumping to conclusions, the whole thing could have turned out in a much different way.

Overall, it’s a decent story and I am obsessed with finding out what happens next (full disclosure: I did start reading book 2 on KU, but I would much rather have the audio). I know there are 3 books, so I assume this is a trilogy. I wasn’t able to determine if more are planned after that.

I really thought the author was a man. Which is odd for dark romance, and I should have known better. This author writes entitled college men very well and casts Riley into a kind of bimbo college girl light now and then, which is why I thought that. However, R.A. Smyth is a woman, which makes the writing that much more impressive.

This book is not for everyone, that’s for sure. If you’re the kind of person who likes to skip over things that are uncomfortable or spice scenes, I think you can still enjoy most of the story. As is my usual contention with most spicy books, you can take that spice out and still have a good story. That is the case here as well. Sometimes I wonder if authors shouldn’t consider releasing both versions just to get a wider audience, but I’m sure someone has already considered that and there are issues I’m unaware of – but I do like the idea.

I’m giving this book 4.5 stars. If you like why choose dark romance and can handle the triggers previously mentioned (and the ones I forgot that you will find in the full trigger list), then I think this is well worth a listen.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for trusting me with another one of their books and to NetGalley for being the vehicle by which they are able to do so. As per usual, all opinions are my own, and if I don’t like a book, you will definitely know it. This book released on July 28, 2025.

Content Warnings