Great beauty hides dark secrets...
Seventeen-year-old Anastasia Lockhart has never led an easy life, but when she starts getting into serious trouble, she’s sent to live with her grandparents in Cedar Falls. The small, picturesque town hasn’t changed since she visited four years ago, with one exception – the presence of a handsome, mysterious boy named Frost. Despite warnings from her grandparents and friends to stay away from Frost, Anastasia can’t deny their attraction, and the more time they spend together, the deeper in love they fall. Unfortunately, Frost has a secret that is beyond Anastasia’s wildest imagination, and she soon finds herself in the midst of a supernatural legend that has haunted Cedar Falls for years.
Can Anastasia and Frost’s love really overcome anything, or are their fates much darker?
Seventeen-year-old Anastasia Lockhart has never led an easy life, but when she starts getting into serious trouble, she’s sent to live with her grandparents in Cedar Falls. The small, picturesque town hasn’t changed since she visited four years ago, with one exception – the presence of a handsome, mysterious boy named Frost. Despite warnings from her grandparents and friends to stay away from Frost, Anastasia can’t deny their attraction, and the more time they spend together, the deeper in love they fall. Unfortunately, Frost has a secret that is beyond Anastasia’s wildest imagination, and she soon finds herself in the midst of a supernatural legend that has haunted Cedar Falls for years.
Can Anastasia and Frost’s love really overcome anything, or are their fates much darker?
My Rating
3.5
My Review
I'm almost always a fan of supernatural lore, and I definitely love it in my fiction. When it comes to a good story with a paranormal twist, Frostbitten doesn't disappoint. It has action, romance, suspense, and a pacing that allows readers to power through the novel in a couple of sittings. I enjoyed the reading experience.
Werewolves aren't exactly new to paranormal fiction. They've been done before in novels and they will likely be done again. But Beck had slightly different twists on the werewolves that still made the read fresh and enjoyable, without completely changing everything originally included in popular lore. Although - being a fangirl of myths and lore - it would've been nice to learn a bit more about the back story, I definitely respected the paced delivery of information. Whenever giving a history, there's a fine line between enriching the story and dulling it, and I thought Beck gave all the necessary information without losing the interest of the reader.
Anastasia is an interesting character. It's quite easy to root for her and be on her side, because readers can relate to how increasingly infuriating it is that hardly anyone seems to listen to her. Although I enjoyed her as a character, I never really saw too much of the whole "bad girl" image she was supposed to have grown. On one hand, that's sort of the point, but on the other, it felt like she was telling me "yep, I got into a lot of trouble and was bad" when I never actually saw it. Any trouble she found herself in seemed pretty ridiculous and completely out of her control.
Frost was absolutely compelling. (The name seems so obvious, yet I love it). He had layers to him. Although he could be dangerous when he lost himself, I loved how shy and unsure of himself he was at points. It wasn't the kind of whiny insecurities that some teen characters seem to have, but a very realistic attitude that would pop up in between humor, intensity, and confidence. He had so much going for him, and I enjoyed reading more about this character. (And when have I refused a swoony love interest?)
Almost as much as I adored Frost as a character, I liked the relationship between him and Anastasia. Their attraction happened rather quickly, but I didn't mind. (It seems that a lot of reviews shout "insta-love" way too quickly. It's realistic that sometimes, people feel a connection and really hit it off. But that's for another day.) I just wish I saw more of a progression in their relationship. It felt a little static. Still, I absolutely loved what I did see, and I thought they worked so well together.
Frostbitten is an excellent start to a series, and I'm eager to read more. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about the book (besides Frost) and absolutely loved the tone and resulting mood. If you're a fan of paranormal, romance, good writing, action, and/or swoony boys, it's definitely worth a look.
No comments:
Post a Comment