Fantasy of Frost (The Tainted Accords #1)
by Kelly St. Clare
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Blurb:
I know many things. What I am capable of, what I will change, what I will become. But there is one thing I will never know…The veil I’ve worn from birth carries with it a terrible loneliness; a suppression I cannot imagine ever being free of.
Some things never change…
My mother will always hate me. Her court will always shun me.
…Until they do.
When the peace delegation arrives from the savage world of Glacium, my life is shoved wildly out of control by the handsome Prince Kedrick who, for unfathomable reasons, shows me kindness.
And the harshest lessons are learned.
Sometimes it takes the world bringing you to your knees to find that spark you thought forever lost.
Sometimes it takes death to show you how to live.
My Review:
Wow this book was so good! After reading the first chapter of this book I knew this would be my next read. I was curious about the story and I decided to follow my mood and start this book. I am really glad I did as I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has an imaginative new fantasy world, a rich cast of characters and a well done slower pace that first the book perfectly. The plot kept me thinking and guessing about what would happen next.
While this book is definitely a fantasy book first, it also has a bit of mystery plot lines woven into the story. The main character Olina has worn a veil for as long as she can remember, she doesn’t know why and is forbidden to remove it. I kept speculating about the the veil and why she was wearing it and had a few theories. Only by the end of the book we find out why she wears her veil and it was a great plot twist. One of my theories came sort of close, but I hadn’t predicted that! There’s also side plot line concerning an event that happened and who was behind them. We don’t find out who is behind that in this book yet, but hopefully in the next book we’ll get the answer to that.
I am not sure what exactly about this book it was, but I really enjoyed it and kept thinking about the story. I tried to read an extra chapter whenever I was taking a break and I just had to know what was going to happen next. The story is very well written and there’s enough going on. While the pace could be a bit slow at times, this total fit the book and even when no big things were going, there were still small scenes that all felt important too. There are a few small mysteries throughout the book that kept me guessing and some nice twists. And the ending was great. It nicely set the stage for the next book and it makes me want to dive into that book right away as I want to know how Olina is going to handle this new situation she has landed in.
The book has a rich cast of characters. There are many characters we meet, but for the most part it wasn’t confusing. I had a bit of trouble keeping the delegates apart at first, but most have enough personality that I learned to tell them apart. We get these bit sand pieces of personality about all the characters, enough to get a feel for them and at the same time the parts we got just made me even more curious about the characters and made me want to know more. I already have grown fond of many of the characters and can’t wait to read more about them.
The story is told from the first person point of Olina, which worked great. Due to the first person perspective we’re limited in what we know about the world and characters to what Olina knows. And in other situations I was able to figure out what was going on or the meaning of something as while Olina doesn’t know that, the reader does know the meaning of some words and actions.
I liked Olina as main character, I felt like she was a realistic character. She had her fears and issues, but that just made her more real and relatable. And I felt so bad for her because of how she was treated for by her mother, but luckily she also has some friends and makes even more ones as the story progresses. She also knew how to make the best of the situation she lands in, was resourceful and stood up for what she believed in. I can’t wait to read more about her and see how she changes along the series!
Fantasy of Frost is about two worlds: Osolis (a warm world) and Glacium (a cold world). They are connected by a scattering of rocks in between the two worlds and they have been in peace negations for a while now. There is a world map picture in the front of the book and on the author’s website that helped me visualize things. I loved how the author build these two worlds and made the whole world come alive. Once you accept the premise of these two world existing, one warm and the other cold, everything makes so much sense and naturally flows forth from the premise. The world was well thought out and both worlds had their own customs and habits. They are so different and I enjoyed getting to know both worlds and see the differences. There are some great scenes illustrating these differences and I enjoyed learning more about the worlds. At first I had so many questions, but gradually as the story progressed we learn more about it and many of my questions got answered.
To summarize: Fantasy of Frost was a great book and I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre. The story is really good, with some mystery, intrigue and even a bit politics. There are some nice twists and I liked how the ending nicely set the stage for book 2. The characters in this book are great to read about and I just wanted to get to know them better. I liked the main character Olina and thought she felt realistic. I admired how she made the best of her situation. She also had some fears and flaws which made her feel more real and relatable. The world is unique and well thought out and I loved reading about the two different worlds. I can’t wait to start book 2 in this series!
Links:
– Goodreads
– Amazon
– Audiobook Amazon
The book is only $0.99 on Amazon!
You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon.
Neat about the fantasy world of both groups, the mystery of her veil, and the likeability of the heroine. I don’t read much fantasy, but I like it. I’ll have to add this one.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Reader and Author Get Together 2017 #RAGT17
Same here, I don’t read as much fantasy books, usually I go for urban fantasy or paranormal romances, but I am so glad I gave this series a try! It’s so good. I really enjoyed reading about the two worlds and the mystery of the veil is very interesting, I think the veil and the why behind it will be a big plot point in future books as well.
I really like the sound of this one, Lola – many thanks for sharing… I really found The Keeper of Lost Things made a big impact on me – mostly because it was far better than I thought it would be.
sjhigbee recently posted…While the Morning Stars Sing
It was such a good book and book two was even better :). It’s great when a book surprises you like that and it’s far better than you expected.
Thanks for sharing. I love books with great characters – and I’m glad they weren’t too hard to follow. Glad the mystery was a good one too.
Let’s Get Beyond Tolerance recently posted…Heels Over Head by Elyse Springer
It really was a great read and I liked how all the characters came alive.
Sounds interesting! Slow pace can definitely work when it fits the book and is done well. Same for a large cast of characters. As long as they’re all different enough and introduced not too many at once, it can be a lot of fun! The little mysteries sound fun too. Glad you liked this!
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Random Musings: Introducing My Supernatural Sims House
I thought the slow pace worked great in this book. And the author handles the large cast of characters well, she actually introduces many new characters in book 2 as well and while it takes some time to remember them all, they all have their own story and personality. I am really enjoying this series so far! Book 2 was even better and got a 5 star rating.
Oh that sounds quite good. I’m curious as to why she’s worn the veil for so long. I think the last book that made a big impact on my was Styxx and Acheron both by Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Review: DegustaBox- June
It was really good! The mystery of the veil was so interesting and I think the veil thing stays part of the plot line in future books as well.
Fantasy with a little mystery? Now I’m signing up. Awesome review Lola 🙂
Vanessa @ Blushing Geek recently posted…Book Review – Happily Ever After by Kelly Oram
I liked the bit of mystery added to the plot line and it kept me guessing.
I’m glad that you enjoyed this one. It is always fun when you find a new good series. I really love that cover. I also like the sound of this story. I hope you love the second book as much as the first. Great review.
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…#JIAM Melanie’s Top 10 Stand-alone Audiobooks #LoveAudiobooks
I found a great new to me author and series when I picked up this one. The cover is great, although I like the new hardcopy covers even more. I enjoyed book two even more than this one :).