Frost Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

To view the full tour schedule for the Frost tour hosted by A Tale of Many Reviews, click here. I have a book review to share today, followed by an opportunity to win a copy of the book.

Title: Frost
Author: Kate Avery Ellison
Published: April 18, 2012

In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, one wrong move and a person could end up dead—and Lia Weaver knows this better than anyone. After monsters kill her parents, she must keep the family farm running despite the freezing cold and threat of monster attacks or risk losing her siblings to reassignment by the village Elders. With dangers on all sides and failure just one wrong step away, she can’t afford to let her emotions lead her astray. So when her sister finds a fugitive bleeding to death in the forest—a young stranger named Gabe—Lia surprises herself and 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. But Lia is startled to find that Gabe is empathetic and intelligent…and handsome. She might even be falling in love with him.

But time is running out. The monsters from the forest circle the farm at night. The village leader is starting to ask questions. Farther soldiers are searching for Gabe. Lia must locate a secret organization called the Thorns to help Gabe escape to safety, but every move she makes puts her in more danger.

Is compassion—and love—worth the risk?

REVIEW

Kate Ellison’s Frost is an interesting blend of speculative genres. With legendary creatures, backward societies and magical gates, the story here is a fairly fascinating one. It’s clear that Ellison is an able writer. For a book so short in length (barely 200 pages), it is actually pretty fulfilling. There are aspects here and there that had a very watered-down feel, but overall, it was enjoyable.

I had little trouble appreciating the setting, complete with its lingering chill and ubiquitous snow-blossoms. The Frost is, as the name suggests, a bitingly cold place. Beyond the Frost lies Aeralis, home to the Farthers, a ruthless race of people that thrive on technology. Although I was reasonably impressed with the world-building within the Frost itself, and equally fascinated by the brief description of Aeralis, I couldn’t help but wonder about what else lay outside these two main areas. Perhaps this is something further explored in the second book. I also felt that some explanation of the origin of the village in the Frost should have been served in this book. There is a disturbing sense of isolation surrounding the village and its characters and I still can’t get my head around how a settlement in such a horrific place came to be. What’s more, each family is required to meet a quota for their household and this is tied to their names. For example, the ‘Brewers’ are responsible for brewery and the ‘Dyers’ are responsible for dyes and paints. This was an interesting aspect but quite befuddling. Are those their real family names or were they allocated those names? If so, by who? Details like that – which may not be so pressing for some readers – held me back slightly.  

The characters were fairly likable. After the death of her parents to the Watchers, Lia Weaver has had to shoulder the responsibility of caring for her two siblings and ensuring that their household quota was met. She is a hard worker and that I liked, but I did feel there was a lot missing from her character. I felt similarly about the love interest, Gabe, the Farther from Aeralis. He is likable, but nothing more. Although I was invested in the two of them, and fairly invested in their romance, there was nothing particularly remarkable about either of them, separately or together. I’m hesitant to mention the word ‘forgettable’ here, as they are not completely lacking in complexity, but I do wish there had been a little more for me to grab hold of when it came to their personalities.

The plot was my favourite aspect. Albeit not exceptionally intricate, it is an engrossing one with a heart-stopping ending. There is much left that is yet to be resolved, and curiosity (mixed with a burning desire to get some important answers) means the second instalment of this series is one that I will definitely be reading at some point. Despite the negatives I have mentioned, I did mostly enjoy reading this book and do think it is worth picking up, especially for those looking for a quick but decent read. 

Rating: 3 stars

GIVEAWAY

There are a total of 10 ebook copies of Frost available for international and US entrants, and 2 signed copies for US entrants only. I am not in charge of this giveaway, so please bear in mind when you enter that the tour organiser or author will be contacting all winners and not me. A note about the first entry option: Any decent blog comment will count. You do not have to tell me your favourite book. (As this is a group form being used across all tour participants, I can't change the option in the widget) Good luck! 

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