A review by maaikereadsbooks_
Frost by C.N. Crawford

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Many thanks to Victory Editing and C.N. Crawford for the advanced copy of Frost via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel. 

Frost is the first book of Crawford’s new Frost and Nectar duology. This story mixes contemporary life with classic ‘medieval’ style Fae tropes. One trope which Crawford does not follow, however, is referring to Fae as males/females rather than men/women. This isn’t something I’d actually ever sat down to think about but, as ‘Fae’ are definitely one of my main wheelhouse topics, I’ve realised this is one of my big bugbears. Fae aren’t human, therefore shouldn’t be, to my mind, women or men, but females and males. 

This book is a quick, fun read, with a bit of teasing, slow-burn spice which puts it in the ‘new adult’ category which continues to sit awkwardly between the ‘no sex please’ young adult and ‘sex is boring now’ full-on grown-up books. There’s swearing, there’s sass and there’s humour, but there’s also a good dash of blood, violence, and death. 

Whilst nothing spectacular happens in the book, and the ending is pretty predictable, the conundrum posed at the beginning of the book is a clever one and overall, it’s a good read which draws you in, and it can easily be read over a weekend for someone who has the time and inclination! 

I’ll definitely be reading the second book, Ambrosia, when it comes out (currently due January 2023). 

Tropes: forbidden love, marriage pact, unknown identity 

Spice: 2/5 

Trigger warnings: Alcohol, Blood/Gore, Cheating, Death, Death of a family member, Guns/weapons, Violence 
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