Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Gathering Frost Review



Gathering Frost (Once Upon A Curse #1)
Gathering Frost (Once Upon A Curse #1)
Release Date: 02/17/15
Will his kiss be enough to revive her frozen heart?


Once Upon A Time meets La Femme Nikita in GATHERING FROST, a dystopian romance from bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis that reimagines the classic fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.

Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.

Ten years later and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel, to care...even to love. Working as a member of the queen's guard, she spends most of her time on the city wall staring at the crumbling skyscrapers of old New York. But everything changes when the queen's runaway son, Prince Asher, returns. Jade is tasked with an unusual mission--to let the Prince capture her, to make him trust her, and then to betray his secrets to the crown. In return, she'll earn her freedom. But life outside the queen's realm is more than Jade bargained for. Under Asher's relentless taunts, her blood begins to boil. Under his piercing gaze, her heart begins to flutter. And the more her icy soul begins to thaw, the more Jade comes to question everything she's ever known--and, more importantly, whose side she's really on. 





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About the Author:
I've always been a writer. I grew up duct taping my novels together, started writing complete manuscripts in high school and studied creative writing at Johns Hopkins University. Upon graduating, I decided it was finally time to actually give my dream career a chance. So, of course, I started writing a young adult paranormal romance series -- and no, I'm not jumping on the bandwagon. I've been a true paranormal supporter for my entire life! I blame my obsession almost completely on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my all-time favorite television show. And, before you ask: Yes, I own every season... even the post WB ones! I especially challenge anyone to watch the first three seasons and not fall in love with Angel, securing a lifelong love of vampires! Other culprits of my paranormal obsession are some of my favorite authors: JK Rowling, Raymond Feist, Meg Cabot, Richelle Mead, Lynne Ewing and Tamora Pierce.

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My Thoughts:
Author Kaitlyn Davis is on to something here. Seeing this is book one of a new series, Once Upon a Curse, I am pretty interested in where she is planning to take us next. 

Jade is a fun character to be with in this story. Things happen kind of quickly in the beginning and we are missing a lot of the 'feels' which usually ties a reader to the story right off the bat. That is where I can see Davis had to have had a difficult time writing this book! We meet Jade as she is in the Queen's service. The Queen has a magic that takes away everyone's emotions and makes them as hard as glass. This was a bit hard to understand at first but made more sense as the book progressed. So because Jade can't experience emotions, it did take me a bit longer than usual to connect with her. I think Davis still did a fair job creating a character that we as the reader could care about and root for. 

This title does contain a romance that progresses a bit quickly. It is still adorable to watch unfold however. I found it fitting for the book which feels to move at such a rapid pace. It felt like the author was so excited to tell the story and get to that dramatic love scene that she knew we wouldn't mind hurrying along with her. And she was right. 

Overall, 'Gathering Frost' has some minor flaws. I found them completely easy to overlook and continue on with this fun modern-dystopian Sleeping Beauty influenced tale. You will enjoy this one if you like fairy tale based stories, quick, passionate romances, and a MC who has been trained to kill emotionlessly. I'm giving it 3.5 stars and can honestly say I can't wait to watch the author improve and grow as she continues this series. 


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5 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for joining my blog tour Alyssa!! I'm so glad you enjoyed Gathering Frost -- and you're right, I did give myself a bit of a challenge :) I'm excited to write the sequel and take on Beauty & the Beast with a female lead who has all of her emotions in tact! Have a great week!

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  2. The ending was so fantastic! Thanks for your long hours and hard work :))

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  3. Hmm...I like fairy tale retellings, and I typically don't mind characters with limited emotional responses, but rushed romances? They can be harder to swallow depending on my mood. Still, it sounds interesting and I can definitely see lots of creative room for the series to develop. Great review!

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  4. The premise reminds me a little of Throne of Glass, but that cover, is that a Kardashian? I love retellings and this one has me really intrigued. Might grab a copy and add it to my ever growing list. Thanks for the wonderful review Alyssa, really enjoyed it <3

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  5. Yeah the rushed romance got me too, but I do think there is a lot of room for development within the series! I'm really interested in her Beauty and the Beast book

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