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stephanielailine 's review for:
The Frost Queen's Blade
by Meg Smitherman
I really wanted to like this book. The FMC was okay. The author certainly has potential - there are some beautifully written quotes, comparison, and imagery in this book, but it sometimes felt overdone at points? While the writing felt on the more amateur side (which is reasonable, given I think it’s only her 2nd book?), it wasn’t necessarily -bad-. I think that as she continues to write & grow, we can expect to see some great work from this author. This just isn’t quite there yet.
Smut is not her strong suit, but I get that it’s her first book with smut in it. I was bored.
The plot was predictable. I guessed who Rune was at 19% of the way through the book, and knew that Cora would betray her. The advisors were very obviously red herrings.
I enjoyed the little bits of worldbuilding, and I think I would’ve liked to see more! Especially interested in the world’s religion(s). The author touched on them, but didn’t go super in-depth.
I feel like this book should’ve been a quick read, but I didn’t find it to be engaging. There wasn’t a character I was particularly fond of.
The biggest sin (and this could be a personal pet peeve of mine) was the repetition!! So much of the diction/vocab was repetitive and was incredibly distracting. The worst of all was her overabundant use of the phrase “a ___ thing” (ie, “a silly thing” or “a dying thing”. Could you seriously not think of a better, more descriptive word than “thing”??? Reminds me of Alex Aster calling the sun “a yolky thing” - and that’s not a compliment. I think I highlighted every instance of this, and it bugged me every time I saw it. PLEASE STOP
Anyways, I was very excited by the premise (and the initial meeting between the two MCs was intriguing), but this book was ultimately a letdown. I will, however, still read her other book! I’m optimistic!
2/5 stars
Merged review:
I really wanted to like this book. The FMC was okay. The author certainly has potential - there are some beautifully written quotes, comparison, and imagery in this book, but it sometimes felt overdone at points? While the writing felt on the more amateur side (which is reasonable, given I think it’s only her 2nd book?), it wasn’t necessarily -bad-. I think that as she continues to write & grow, we can expect to see some great work from this author. This just isn’t quite there yet.
Smut is not her strong suit, but I get that it’s her first book with smut in it. I was bored.
The plot was predictable. I guessed who Rune was at 19% of the way through the book, and knew that Cora would betray her. The advisors were very obviously red herrings.
I enjoyed the little bits of worldbuilding, and I think I would’ve liked to see more! Especially interested in the world’s religion(s). The author touched on them, but didn’t go super in-depth.
I feel like this book should’ve been a quick read, but I didn’t find it to be engaging. There wasn’t a character I was particularly fond of.
The biggest sin (and this could be a personal pet peeve of mine) was the repetition!! So much of the diction/vocab was repetitive and was incredibly distracting. The worst of all was her overabundant use of the phrase “a ___ thing” (ie, “a silly thing” or “a dying thing”. Could you seriously not think of a better, more descriptive word than “thing”??? Reminds me of Alex Aster calling the sun “a yolky thing” - and that’s not a compliment. I think I highlighted every instance of this, and it bugged me every time I saw it. PLEASE STOP
Anyways, I was very excited by the premise (and the initial meeting between the two MCs was intriguing), but this book was ultimately a letdown. I will, however, still read her other book! I’m optimistic!
2/5 stars
Smut is not her strong suit, but I get that it’s her first book with smut in it. I was bored.
The plot was predictable. I guessed who Rune was at 19% of the way through the book, and knew that Cora would betray her. The advisors were very obviously red herrings.
I enjoyed the little bits of worldbuilding, and I think I would’ve liked to see more! Especially interested in the world’s religion(s). The author touched on them, but didn’t go super in-depth.
I feel like this book should’ve been a quick read, but I didn’t find it to be engaging. There wasn’t a character I was particularly fond of.
The biggest sin (and this could be a personal pet peeve of mine) was the repetition!! So much of the diction/vocab was repetitive and was incredibly distracting. The worst of all was her overabundant use of the phrase “a ___ thing” (ie, “a silly thing” or “a dying thing”. Could you seriously not think of a better, more descriptive word than “thing”??? Reminds me of Alex Aster calling the sun “a yolky thing” - and that’s not a compliment. I think I highlighted every instance of this, and it bugged me every time I saw it. PLEASE STOP
Anyways, I was very excited by the premise (and the initial meeting between the two MCs was intriguing), but this book was ultimately a letdown. I will, however, still read her other book! I’m optimistic!
2/5 stars
Merged review:
I really wanted to like this book. The FMC was okay. The author certainly has potential - there are some beautifully written quotes, comparison, and imagery in this book, but it sometimes felt overdone at points? While the writing felt on the more amateur side (which is reasonable, given I think it’s only her 2nd book?), it wasn’t necessarily -bad-. I think that as she continues to write & grow, we can expect to see some great work from this author. This just isn’t quite there yet.
Smut is not her strong suit, but I get that it’s her first book with smut in it. I was bored.
The plot was predictable. I guessed who Rune was at 19% of the way through the book, and knew that Cora would betray her. The advisors were very obviously red herrings.
I enjoyed the little bits of worldbuilding, and I think I would’ve liked to see more! Especially interested in the world’s religion(s). The author touched on them, but didn’t go super in-depth.
I feel like this book should’ve been a quick read, but I didn’t find it to be engaging. There wasn’t a character I was particularly fond of.
The biggest sin (and this could be a personal pet peeve of mine) was the repetition!! So much of the diction/vocab was repetitive and was incredibly distracting. The worst of all was her overabundant use of the phrase “a ___ thing” (ie, “a silly thing” or “a dying thing”. Could you seriously not think of a better, more descriptive word than “thing”??? Reminds me of Alex Aster calling the sun “a yolky thing” - and that’s not a compliment. I think I highlighted every instance of this, and it bugged me every time I saw it. PLEASE STOP
Anyways, I was very excited by the premise (and the initial meeting between the two MCs was intriguing), but this book was ultimately a letdown. I will, however, still read her other book! I’m optimistic!
2/5 stars