This book.... was a LOT. While I won't lie to you and say that I hated it, I certainly didn't love it either. The writing was bland and repetitive, the characters were frustrating, and the plot was almost nonexistent. And yet, somehow, I couldn't stop reading this book to save my life. It was akin to passing a fatal car crash or a train wreck, where I wanted desperately to look away but just <i>couldn't.</i> I also kind of imagine that this is what it feels like to enjoy soap operas, as it felt very much like a guilty pleasure. Like fast food, I knew it was bad for me, and yet I couldn't help but consume it anyways, down to the last drop.

Though <i>Firefrost</i> is part of a series, it doesn't appear to follow any of the characters from the other books in the series. The story is told from the perspectives of two characters named Sol and Kelan. Sol has been trained her entire life as a huntress, and has just taken a job escorting a princess named Lady Isabelle to a neighboring kingdom for an arranged marriage. Kelan, a Flameskin, has dangerous powers that will one day consume him, and is trying to stop the marriage alliance that will wipe out his people for good. When a sudden avalanche wipes out everyone but Sol and Kelan, the two must learn to work together to survive... and soon realize that they have much more in common than they previously thought.

Because I absolutely loathe giving criticism to someone else's art, I will start with what I liked. This story had a really intriguing and promising premise, and I really liked the idea behind this world. In this universe, Flameskins like Kelan are hunted and killed simply for existing, even as innocent children. Some of the surviving adults have banded together to form their own army to combat the tyrannical government trying to kill them off.

This universe also features mages (who can control fire without losing themselves to it) and dryads, giving it a lot of versatility and opportunity to create interesting stories. I also really liked the idea of a "pyra," or demon, slowly taking someone over as they use their powers, thus making them a legitimate danger to society. This series is filled with a whole slew of morally ambiguous questions about who is right and who is wrong, and I think there's a lot of creativity in the world building.

That being said, the story chooses not to focus on any of this world building. Instead, it follows Sol and Kelan, two mildly interesting characters who meet by chance and fall in love incredibly quickly for being on opposite sides of a vicious war. I will be the first to admit that I am a huge sucker for romance, and can get behind almost any canon romance that is shoved at me in YA. I realized upon reading this book, however, that I <i>do</i> have limits, and there has to be a little bit of substance for me to really get invested.

I'll be frank; the romance in this book felt rushed, juvenile, and insincere. The characters go from hating each other to loving each other almost instantly, and spend the rest of the book waffling back and forth on their feelings and fighting. It felt a lot like the romance in <i>The Notebook,</i> a love story I find nearly intolerable. I'm all for the "enemies to lovers" trope when it is done well, but there was just no reason in my mind for these characters to ever fall in love, especially when they're consistently nasty to one another throughout. While I'm used to romance happening quickly in YA, this was a fairly large book that had the time to really explore these characters and their feelings, and yet the author chose instead to have them fight pointlessly, and threw conflict at them every other chapter to make things more interesting.

In my opinion, if your book is centered around a romance, it should be interesting enough to stand on its own without pointless conflict. To compare the romance in this book to a similar "enemies to lovers" romance, I'll use <i>A Court of Mist and Fury</i> by Sarah J. Maas. ACOMAF, as it's often abbreviated, features two characters who begin as enemies and slowly learn how to trust one another. It's an effective slow burn romance that establishes the characters as allies, then friends, and finally lovers, and it takes MONTHS in the story for this to develop. The romance feels incredibly organic, and the characters have to learn and grow before they become a good fit for one another. This book, on the other hand, relies solely on gimmick. The characters fight, fall in love, fight some more, and the rest of the book is the author throwing conflict at them to keep things interesting.

While I'll admit that I was drawn to some of the drama of this book, there wasn't enough substance behind the characters for me to stay invested all the way to the end. At first, I was hooked on the drama and wondering what was going to happen next, but by the end I was glancing at the bottom of my screen to see how much I had left to read. One particular scene in which there is good tension that immediately fades is when Sol is compelled to marry the prince in Lady Isabelle's place. During her procession to the prince's estate, Kelan and the other Flameskins see her, and Kelan believes he has been betrayed.

Upon meeting the prince, Sol realizes he's gross and creepy and longs for Kelan once again. This scene was setting up some great tension between the two characters, but it is immediately resolved a few pages later when Kelan and the Flameskins "kidnap" her. This is a rinse and repeat plot device, where conflict arises and is almost immediately resolved. Because of this, it feels as if the narrative is simply meandering, with no real purpose or destination. The story doesn't ever feel coherent, and it never really gives you time to get attached to any of the characters outside of Sol and Kelan (who are themselves not very compelling). Overall, the romance feels rushed and insincere, and even though I found myself drawn into what was happening for a few chapters, everything is resolved too quickly for the tension to stick.

I really hate having to give this book a negative review, as I was hopeful at the beginning that it would be an interesting new fantasy series. The bones of a great story were there, but the author spent too much time focusing on the romance, which wasn't written well enough to carry the story. I would've much preferred for the story to focus on the Flameskin rebellion, especially considering the fact that the Tokken people were committing literal genocide on anyone with Flameskin abilities. Focusing on the plight of Flameskins as framed by Sol, someone who grew up hating and fearing them, would've been a lot better than the pointless conflict Longley kept introducing in order to spice up the forbidden romance aspect. In addition, the plot is confused and meandering, and it seems as though Longley isn't quite sure where she wants to take it. It was a good start, but wasn't executed well enough to grab and keep my interest in the end.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this to fans of romance OR fantasy, as the fantasy takes a backseat and the romance (as mentioned before) just isn't strong enough to carry the story. While I do think Longley has the skills to improve and create a better story in the future, this one just wasn't compelling enough to stick with me. Because there is so much YA fantasy and romance out there, you are almost guaranteed to find another series that does everything this book tried to do successfully, making this one (regrettably) yet another forgettable attempt to write the next big YA fantasy romance.

I was so excited about another YA Fantasy, but unfortunately, I felt like this was a typical story that I've seen before. I got confused with some of the characters and their drives in the war, and the magical system started out to be interesting enough.

But I decided to put it down roughly 35% of the way through. It just didn't seem worth the read a the time.

Enemies to lovers trope got me into the book and definitely stayed for the heat and passion and the world.
Sol and Kelan both have an interesting personality and I really like the base: they were said to hate eachother but when fate brings them together they start to wonder if everything is the way they were told. Of course not! They start to fall for each other and I was so ready! Firefrost is a really good debut with fresh writing and great characters and good world building,

This book was an awesome ride. I loved the twists and turns throughout that caused my mind to wonder what was going to happen next. It activated a part of my imagination that has been dormant for quite a while.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who are fans of Sarah J. Maas. I think it does what it's trying to to well enough but I am no longer within the demographic that this book seems to be catering to. This book didn't speak to me for the same reasons I never liked Maas' books: there's a lot of shallow melodrama. The book is written like a new adult novel, but I feel like it's more targeted at younger impressionable people (teens) who find the tropes tthat you find in these types of books to be romantic.

I like fantasy books that have a different twist on the magic in it. I liked the idea of the Flameskins and how they were persecuted, but also not innocent. I liked the two main characters and the overall plot of the book. Sol was interesting and I liked her connection with the mountains and how she overcame what she was taught. I found the book a bit rushed, it seemed like everything happened in quick succession. I also felt like you got introduced to a lot of characters at the end and I would have liked them to get more depth from them. This book read like a standalone, and then I saw it was a series and I was worried. But it turns out to be a prequel which I am okay with because I think the story for these characters is done. I didn’t think it was necessary for there to be two adopted children, they didn’t add really anything to the story and since the next books seem to be many years later they wouldn’t even directly be in them. If the book hadn’t felt so rushed for me near the end I would rate it higher than 3.75.

I had an incredibly hard time getting into the book. I’m not completely sure what it was except for the way it was written. Words were used a bit too repetitively for me within close proximity. And the writing felt more matter of fact rather than me getting lost in books like I usually do.

*Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

This book started off really interesting, and I was really enjoying it, but then I felt like the plot came to a close and the book just kept on going and going. I think that this book would have been better suited as a duology, or a few novellas. I became less engaged as the story went on, and after finishing the book and reflecting on why, I realized it wasn't because I disliked what I had read... It was more because it seemed like too much all at once. The parts I did really like: the different types of magic in this book. It was interesting the difference between the mage's and the flameskin's and how their magic works. I also really liked Sol's connection to the forest/mountains.
I do know that this book was set up as a prequel of sorts for the Flameskin chronicles series, so I might try reading the next book and see if the story is more evened out.

I received this book in change for an honest review.

I really liked this book, it’s a classic “enemies to lovers” plot but with something more.
It’s not just love but it’s also grief, racism and action all intertwined together in this really well written book with a fast pacing that allows to read it in one day!
The only “negative” aspect that I found is the beginning, I find it a bit slow, and the relationship a bit rushed (you could understand what was going to happen), compared to the rest of the book that was really fast. Not too many details but enough to build a world without being over descriptive!

Really liked this debut and I will surely read the sequel.

Great world-building and a thrilling adventure. The enemies to allies aspect really appealed to me and I loved how the characters grew as the stakes of them remaining enemies became larger. Great start to this series!

First the characters hate each other, then lovers. Great idea that is used time and time again, but it makes for a good book. I enjoyed the story and the world building. I think this book is a fun read but I just got a little bored in the middle of the book a bit. But overall, I enjoyed the supernatural pieces of the book. I think the characters will grow on me more because I don't think I got as invested with them is this prequel as I thought I would. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. My review is my own and not influenced in any way.

The cover of this beautiful book captivated me right away. But, like most YA fantasy books, the romance aspect was heavily piled on along with the sacrifice of some (in my opinion) much needed world-building and plot complexity. If you're looking for a fun, endearing, and entertaining book, then this is the one for you.

This was actually surprising, in a good way. Though a 3 star read for me I actually went into it totally dissing it. The plot was very fast-paced which is an element that totally caught me off guard. However, I wish there was more actions and details describing certain scenes such as the battles and not just focus on the main character's attraction for one another. I wish it went into more detail about the characters we meet and learn more about their personality.

This book went in all sorts of directions with trekking through the mountains, to faking an identity, and then finding a place to live. I really enjoyed the concept of this book with Flameskin being possessed by their pyra eventually, in which the person lose their own sense of will. The politics in this book were very simple and didn't go into much detail which I didn't mind. However I feel like there should have been more background on it. I also wished to know more about Sol's background and truly know where she is from. Overall, the concept of this book was great. It was easy to follow and enjoyable most of the time. However, I felt like it lack details and we didn't really get a whole picture.

This book was full of adventure, magic, battles, and romance. This enemies to lovers romance had multiple twists and surprises, and kept me enthralled until the very end. Firefrost is set in a richly detailed world, with novel sources of magic and a battle raging between those with and without magic.

Sol is a huntress, hired as a scout to guide journey of Lady Isabella to her betrothed. A war is raging between Flameskins, those with fire magic, and Tokkens. While on their journey, a fight ensues with a camp of Flameskins who have been tasked with killing Lady Isabella to destroy an alliance that would add more soldiers to the Tokken cause. After a series of events, Sol and Kalen are the only survivors. Sol has grown up with a deep prejudice and hatred of Flameskins. Kalen is a soldier, trying to avoid possession by his pyra while also fighting those who would kill all the Flameskins in existence. What transpires is a journey through the mountains, through hostile lands, and to a happily ever after that seems to elude both of them.

I enjoyed this journey, but the ending left me wanting more. The ending leaves the story open for a follow-up or sequel, and I'd like to enter this world again. And I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers!

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was not fond of this novel. It read like a second part of a series with hardly any background story to explain what was going on. It opens with a lot of war like action scenes but barely any character development. The main characters are thrown together by circumstances and not given enough chemistry to make us care about their union. Just not my reading preference.

I received this book for review free from Netgalley. Opinions are my own.

I'm not convinced Firefrost is a book for me. I think like many people, I did not understand that Firefrost was not a book #1, but instead a...Book Zero? It's apparently a prequel, which is actually a tricky place to start. Should I have had some familiarity with the world Fire Frost is set in? I'm not sure. Essentially Firefrost is an enemies to lovers/opposite sides sort of story, told by shifting viewpoints between the protagonists. Kelan is a Flameskin, which is essentially similar to the D&D Warlock class - they have a fire demon called a Pyra which inhabits/partly possesses them. Flameskins eventually are overtaken by their demons. Sol is a huntress who is familiar with the bitterly cold mountains and reminds me a bit of Ygritte from the Game of Thrones show. She is also secretly a mage - and can use fire magic by relying on a stone for her powers, but this would eventually make her an unfeeling shell, apparently.

The concepts involved are all very interesting as they've both been taught to hate and fear each other - Sol moreso - but *everything* is just explained outright. Want to know how Pyra's feed? Well don't worry, the book will tell you in a list which emotions make them stronger, and which don't. Don't know what makes mages different from Flameskins? There will be a few sentences of exposition explaining just that exactly. Both characters will detail their thoughts about the differences and what it means and talk about it, in case you didn't get it in the narrative, or the flashback. The issue of the Pyra being a sort of "third character" in the mix just feels like a way to remind everyone that there are stakes! Right here! Kelan is a host to a fire demon! And to that extent, it's a little difficult to really build up to the tension there, internally or otherwise - I almost wished this kind of danger had been teased at or hinted at more than it had been immediately revealed by Kelan's side of things. Even Kelan self-repressing his own thoughts and fears about having his Pyra take over could've allowed for more genuine drama. Every detail of world building seems to be just handing to us. "This is the world," it says, "Also did you know there are rumors of these women called The Saints? Now you know." Or "These ice wolves are literally made of ice. They're from the glaciers just like the legends say." This would be so cool, if literally every piece of information wasn't delivered like this.

The beginning thread of fantasy geo-politics that starts off the story is quickly buried - quite literally - in an avalanche. Sol's introduced to us as an escort for a Princess crossing the mountains to enter a marriage to fulfill a treaty. And pretty quickly the story gives us a "snow falls and almost everyone dies," sequence of events for the characters. That's really difficult to do - whether or not an author intends to feint and mislead, or if their goal is to follow through with destroying the first introduced plot thread and just keep going. It means that the initial conflict we invest in is immediately no longer the conflict we're following, and the plot becomes...just survival, I suppose? It's hard to sit down thinking you've been introduced to an epic fantasy that will start with a small moment in a difficult journey, and then just...destroy the point of the journey that suggests beyond the mountains is an "epic". There's a lot of meandering in the snow and exposition to get through, here.

Sol is also so unbelievably prejudiced that it comes off like a paper cut out. How can we sympathize with a character who immediately just goes to "Yeah, children who are flameskins should be murdered on the basis of that alone," right off the bat? Woof. It's a tricky needle to thread from the start, and I just couldn't get into it, despite a love of "enemies to lovers."

DNF
I just wasn't in the mood for another fantasy with one-dimensional characters. I did only read around 15% of it, so there might be more development. I just don't care enough about the plot to find out.

E-ARC Provided by NetGalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review.


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Uhg I always feel bad giving books a less-than-stellar rating, but I just can’t help it.

I feel like this had the potential to be really good, but the circular plot, uneven character development, boring romance and lack of any real tension made it seem more like a first draft than a real finished story.

It was intriguing at first.
The potential of an enemies-to-lovers romance was there, along with an interesting source of potential conflict; but nothing was ever really done with it.

The romance - rather than a slow build - happened quickly and did not align with the character goals, and plot wise the story felt very circular and dragging with little real tension.
I would’ve liked more world and character building as well, but it just didn’t happen.

I thought the author did a good job at making the characters feel realistic, with individual personalities and I do commend her for her ability to create a setting for an individual scene, but overall this one just didn’t do it for me.

Enemies to lovers is possibly my favourite trope then throw some fantasy in to the mix and I’m sold!

As soon as I saw Firefrost and that beautiful cover, I knew I had to read it. As a debut novel I think the author did a good job, there were a few minor issues I had with it- the pacing was a little off sometimes, I wanted slightly more world building (although she did build a good magical system) and finally the story became a little repetitive at times BUT I enjoyed the mix of romance and fantasy, I liked the characters and I enjoyed the plot.

I will definitely be looking out for the next book
In the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of the book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
I loved this book! It had great characters who were great to read yet relatable at the same time. There was plenty to get your teeth into, with fantasy, romance and plenty of adventure.
On the flip side, at times the action felt rushed and in particular, crammed in at the end. I would have also liked more world building and exploring of certain characters (spoilers!) at the end.
On the whole, a thoroughly enjoyable and beautiful read. Be prepared to stay up until the early hours of the morning with this page turner of a novel!