Cover Image: A Curse of Frost and Fate

A Curse of Frost and Fate

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This book was an interesting, exciting, nutcracker retelling. I liked how parts of the original story were kept but i also liked how some aorta were added to keep the book from being predictable. This book was filled with romance which made it very enjoyable to read. My main issue with this book is how long it is. I think this book definitely could’ve been made shorter and was very very dragged out. I believe this book could’ve been better if it was more of a slow burn rather than be insta love. I wasn’t a big fan of the fmc either. Overall, I don’t think this book was bad but definitely not the book for me.

Was this review helpful?

A Curse of Frost and Fate was an enjoyable take on the Nutcracker. I found the characters well-written and the setting fantastic. It is a perfect story for the holiday season.

Was this review helpful?

So I don't like reviewing books I DNF but I wanted to like this book. The eARC I got though had so many errors and was so poorly formatted that it was actually difficult to read. I may try giving this a go again at another time, right now it's just too difficult to try and puzzle through the bad formatting.

Was this review helpful?

A cute retelling of ,,The nutcracker" best to read around the holidays. Was fun to read. Not amazing, not bad. I enjoy it!

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this title, in exchange for this honest review.

This book, while a great concept, was executed incredibly poorly. The names of people and places were sometimes ridiculous, sometimes ill chosen and sometimes both. What do I mean by ill chosen? The author paid NO attention whatsoever to connotation, for example, the kingdom was called Vartikan, which sounds uncanny much like the Vatican. Sorry but the last thing I want to compare the love interest in a spice book to is the pope.

Furthermore, it was laced with grammatical errors and the author not using words correctly. A few of them seemed to have been a case of the the author misremembering the word and writing an entirely different word that sounded similar, but meant something else entirely.

The main character was also annoying and I honestly didn’t care for any one of characters. The only reason this isn’t a one star is because of how much I liked the idea behind this.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC.
This was an interesting read. I liked how there was travel to a new world and that we got to experience it. It felt like the author made a list of things the Nutcracker had to have and they incorporated it however possible. It felt like there were too many 'extra' things that were added to the story when there could have been more of a focus on the story and romance.

Was this review helpful?

I first picked up this book because the title and gorgeous cover drew me in. It is a Nutcracker retelling, but as I have not read/seen the Nutcracker, I cannot say how similar or different it is to the original storyline. However, this book was amazing. I stayed up late trying to finish it, it had me so hooked. The worldbuilding in this book is just enchanting and the love story between Klara and Jaemis just draws you in. You really get a sense of all the emotions and events the characters go through, from their amazing adventures and battles, to heartache and despair to falling in love. This book has it all.

Was this review helpful?

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

I wanted to love this book so so much. The concept and general story were great but I just found something was lacking for me and it was extremely hard to get into. It’s a good holiday read though if you’re looking for one!

Was this review helpful?

A Curse of Frost and Fate is a book with an intriguing title and a stunning cover. It caught my eye right away. I then discovered it was a retelling of The Nutcracker. And I fell in love with the story.

I found myself swept away by the beautiful scenes and the unique take on the original tale. With its magical elements and characters, I found myself completely enthralled and in love with the story.

The story follows some of the classic Nutcracker storylines, with recognizable characters for fans of the tale. It also introduces new, interesting characters, each bringing their own unique charm. The setting is described in beautiful detail, transporting us to a magical land. There is also plenty of magic, romance, and love.

The story kept me up and reading late into the night, the passionate romance made me swoon and the hot scenes made me blush. It is a beautiful romantic story that is filled with love, magic, and hope and leaves us with a feeling of joy and contentment at the end. The characters' journeys through the story, with their ups and downs, only add to their happily-ever-after ending.

I adored this adult retelling of the Nutcracker. I highly recommend it to fans of the original story and those who enjoy fantasy romance novels.

I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley, I am writing this review voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

I was excited to read this book. I love fairytale retellings; they are probably my favourite books to read. Overall, this story was good-ish. I enjoyed the story direction and characters that Verika created. She was also able to create a setting that easily transported readers to the world that she made. I loved that it had a spicey scene in it. For me, the story fell a little flat because I found it dragged in some areas and confusing in others. There is plenty of protentional for this story. It needs to be cleaned up a bit.

Was this review helpful?

it’s a dnf at 30% for me. it’s very badly written, the romance is just too quick, Klara, the main character who’s supposed to be 27 just doesn’t behave like an adult and the guy (don’t ask me his name) has virtually no personality. at least he’s not a doll. the only good thing about this book were the vibes.

Was this review helpful?

Oo so this was an instering book to read but Im very glad I did read it. Found it via netgalley. Blurb caught my eye so I read and man I need more. It kept me pulled into it. Couldn't put it down at all. Abostly loved it and gonna reread it next year. 5 star book and I highly recommend it. Already told a few people that they need to read this book as soon as they can which I'm hoping they do

Was this review helpful?

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be far too fast paced which immediately takes me out of the magic that could have been in this book. Saying I love you on the 4th day of knowing each other and proposing on day 12 just felt unnecessarily rushed. As a loved of the Nutcracker story, this felt very amateur and juvenile while, compared to the amount of explicit scenes, felt uncomfortable and unnatural.

There are a lot of grammar and spelling issues that need addressing, as well as clumsy sentences or phrases. I think with some editing and revision this could be a better book, but overall it just felt underdeveloped.

Was this review helpful?

I really wanted to love this book. The cover is gorgeous and the idea of a fantasy retelling of the nutcracker just sounded like the perfect read for the Christmas holidays.
I like the world building in this book. There’s some lovely descriptions of the different kingdoms and scenery. The main characters were likeable and it was really easy to be rooting for them throughout.
Unfortunately the pace of the book was a little slow at times and it is riddled with grammatical errors that made reading it difficult at times. Some of the sentences seemed to be cut and paste into the wrong sections and so you lose interest as you try to figure out what has actually been written. If the book had a good proof read and edit then I am sure that could be resolved :)

Was this review helpful?

I was really excited to read this book but was pretty disappointed about 5 chapters in. The story is cute, but is way too long. There’s not really much going on, and I just kept finding little grammar errors. I’m sure the final edited version won’t have these errors but I couldn’t get past them.

It was also advertised as a ‘steamy adult romance’ and It was not. The smut was cringy and average. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley for providing an Ecopy of The Curse of Frost & Fate!

It's a YA Fantasy with a twist of the Nutcracker retelling filled with magic & curse with a happy ending! The Curse of Frost & Fate is the perfect read for the wintery/Christmas season.

Although I did enjoyed the fascinating realm and character development, sometimes I felt there's lack of chemistry between the main leads plus the romance was a bit rushed.

If you are a fan of fairytale retellings with a sweet+ happy ending, do check out this cozy read!

Was this review helpful?

This story did not convince me. The love story was too much, too soon. I felt like the plot was introduced at the beginning of the novel but that then it was forgotten when the love story took so much place. I did not read it entirely because I was tired of getting nowhere.

Was this review helpful?

<b><i>“From all my travels in the Terrene realm, a few things were universal in ever land. A smile is a smile. A friend is a friend. And family is simply everything.”</b></i>

I’ve never read a Nutcracker retelling before, so this one really intrigue me the first time I read the synopsis, not to mention the cover is beautiful as well!

This book has some similar elements to the original story but also has some twists and turns which makes it feels different all the same.
The world building where Klara enter the Nutcracker realm is magical and fascinating to know, I really like the time she went there and explore the unknown land as well as her hidden identity.

While I like most of the things here, there are some things that I wish was more developed.
The pacing of the plot is good, but the pacing of the romantic relationship between the two main characters progresses too fast. I wish they have more time to get to know each other first and create a chemistry.

The story also focuses more on the romance part. While I don’t really hate it...I kinda wish there’s more battle actions and strategy-making to defeat the villain.

Overall, this is a unique and light reading with fun characters and good storyline. I would have given this a higher rating if the romance doesn’t have the insta-love trope.
I’m willing to read other books in the future from this author!

I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and publisher!

Was this review helpful?

A curse of frost and fate is about Klara who falls asleep and wakes suddenly up in a different world. A magical world. She meets the prince Jaemis, who she spends a lot of time with. But he’s hiding something, and Klara wants to figure out why.

Although a slow start, I really ended up enjoy reading this. Jaemis was my favorite, who craved to be near another person again, but because of his secret he doesn’t allow himself the joy of company from another being. I can understand he’s afraid, and I can understand the frustration from Klara. If Jaemis was here I would give him a big hug. He deserves that.

The plot was promising and when I started reading this, I had never read a Nutcracker retelling before. It was amazing and I’m so happy I got the chance to read it! I would recommend this to all fantasy readers out there, and if you like smut, read this! Other than that,

Happy reading!♥️

I got this book for free from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I really wanted to love this book as I enjoyed the synopsis: a nutcracker re-imagining. In this book we follow Klara who feels like she ends up in a dream trying to battle a madman and a prince. She is in the realm of faeries, magic, danger, and desire and it feels way to real to even be a dream. Klara finds out that her fate is tied to the prince and in a dark way that neither one of them can imagine.

I only made it 22% into this book before I DNF"d it. I did not enjoy the writing style and it was very repetitive. I was bored and I just did not find myself excited to pick up this book and continue.

Was this review helpful?