author: Kate Avery Ellison
series: The Frost Chronicles #1
published: 29 March 2012
publisher: self-published
genre(s): dystopian, fantasy, romance
pages: 195
source: author
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads
rating: | series rating:
the blurb
In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, compassion might get a person killed, and Lia Weaver knows this better than anyone. After the monsters kill her parents, she must keep the family farm running or risk losing her siblings to reassignment by the village Elders. With dangers on all sides, she can't afford to let her emotions lead her astray. But when her sister finds a fugitive bleeding to death in the forest, a young man from beyond the Frost named Gabe, Lia does the unthinkable. She saves his life. Giving shelter to the fugitive could get her in trouble. The Elders have always described the advanced society of people beyond the Frost, the "Farthers," as ruthless and cruel. Lia is startled to find that Gabe is empathetic and intelligent-and handsome. And she might even be falling for him. But time is running out. The monsters in the forest are growing bold and restless. The village leader is starting to ask questions. Farther soldiers are searching for Gabe. Is compassion-and love-worth the risk? Finally, when a startling discovery challenges everything she thought was true about her life, Lia realizes exactly what she must do.
my review
Frost is the first in a new series, The Frost Chronicles, by Kate Avery Ellison, author of The Curse Girl and an anthology of short stories, Once Upon A Beanstalk. I loved The Curse Girl so I was very excited to be asked to review this new book from Kate. As much as I loved the previous book, I think I loved this one even more. It was gripping from the moment I opened it.
For a book to fully have my love, it needs to ensnare me and make me feel with the characters, lost in its world and its story. One of things I love most about Kate’s writing is her ability to pull her readers in and not let them go until the very end, and sometimes not even then! She combines reality with the fantastical to create a world that is entirely believable, and fills it with characters that you feel like you know. Just the opening passages had me shivering with chills up and down my spine. She has a style of writing that I really enjoy. While she creates a world that I can totally visualize, she does it with a minimal style, using strong words as opposed to many words, leaving things open to the imagination of the reader.
Lia is a wonderful character for this book, saddled with the pressures and responsibilities of adulthood, long before she should. She is so real a character that you quickly fall into her story, feeling her emotions along with her. I was so pro-Lia as I read the book, that I suspect I was feeling more intensely than she was from time to time! I love an author that develops even the lesser characters as much as the central characters, and Kate definitely does. It’s probably because those less central characters were so well-developed that I was so pulled into the emotions of the plot.
Not generally one to judge a book by its cover, I would nonetheless be remiss if I didn’t mention the stunning cover! It is simple, but elegant and beautiful. The color effects of it so richly fit the story and is one of those covers that really lends to the feel of the story.
The only down side to this book? I FINISHED IT AND NOW I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE! Loved it and I know you will, too!
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