The first part of this book was very much a survival/wilderness story, with a pair of mortal enemies forced to depend on each other to make it through deadly and inhospitable mountains. It's a trope I love, and the mountain land they were travelling through was well-written, vivid and dangerous. The whole concept of Flameskins, with powerful magic but linked to a demon which will eventually possess them, and mages whose magic gradually burns away their ability to feel was fascinating, and had a lot of potential for character growth and conflict. Sadly I felt the potential was wasted, in favour of an underwhelming and unconvincing romance and a somewhat repetitive cycle of running and being discovered and running and being discovered; using magic then swearing they wouldn't then using it again; and endless, endless angst over the same old will they/won't they should they/shouldn't they... The twists and political situation after the survival section was done were thrown in from all directions without necessarily making a lot of sense or ever being fully explained and resolved. All in all, a disappointing read after a promising beginning.

~ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own ~

The focus is mainly on the love story, not on the world building, which is too bad as I was really liking the pură concept.

2 stars!

Firefrost – Camille Longley

I was given a copy of this story by the publisher in order to provide an honest review.

Camille Longley is an American author who has written the “Flameskin Chronicles” and the “Talons and Teeth” series.


Sol is a huntress working for the Tokken army, fighting for the survival of her family and her village, she must undertake a mission that is dangerous as it is desperate.

Despite her skills and hunting prowess, after the people she was with die in a tragic accident, Sol is forced to rely and work with her sworn enemy – a flameskin named Kelan.

Yet as Sol discovers there is more to Kelan than she first anticipated. He isn’t as soulless as the other flameskins. He has had to fight his whole life, for his freedom, and just to be himself as the pyra inside him, that also gives him his powers, threatens to overtake and control him. Kelan risks losing his very self the more he is forced to rely on his powers.

Together as their fight for their survival they also forge an unlikely bond that ultimately blossoms into love – now they are in danger more than ever. Sol’s family will not accept Kelan and her own people would cut his heart out and kill him. The other flameskins would just has happily kill them both or let Kelan’s pyra take over and destroy them. This forces Sol and Kelan to head to the only place left that could possibly let them live in peace – Hivid Haven.

Though some believe it to be a fairytale it is their only chance at a life together in peace. Unfortunately, their trouble and fate, has followed them. Now they must fight for the home and the family they have made for themselves – as the fates of the flamekins and Tokkens raged all around them. Will their wills and love for each other be enough to see them through this war?


“Firefrost” is a YA Fantasy story that was a light and pleasant read. I found the concept of the flameskins and pyras to be quite a novel and original idea. The ending was good and seemed to finish off most of the story threads quite neatly, with only one main threat that wasn’t really explored enough to my satisfaction anyway. I’m hoping in the next story of the series (if there is one) then this question is answered and explored properly. I was fond of the female protagonist being written as strong and independent but also able to allow herself to open up to love despite what had been drilled into her at a young age.

2.5 stars

When I started Firefrost I was so thrilled. I found the concepts of Pyras and Flameskin very interesting and refreshing. I loved the internal battle/dialogue that Kelan, as a Flameskin soldier, had to fight with his Pyra and the consequences of using his power. Despite a bit simplistic and predictable, I also liked the romance at first.

Then...
Then the fragile worldbuilding and weaknesses and repetitions in the plot made my interest wane more and more as I kept going. And in the end, I did not care anymore for the characters and their fates.

Above all, I am quite disappointed because this story could have been so much more.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book!

This was SUCH a good read! I was completely drawn in the whole time, and I loved every second. The main characters were so easy to fall in love with- they weren't perfect and it was 100% ok. I haven't been this into a new book in a long time, and would absolutely recommend picking this one up! I need to read more in this world!!

Firefrost follows Sol, a huntress, and Kelan, a Flameskin soldier, as they fight for survival in the middle of a bloody war between their peoples.

I liked this book. A lot. It was easy to read, but still had certain depth - even if the character and relationship development was too rushed for my liking. The plot was full of twists and action, with a few moments when I thought I'd get a heart attack :D
The characters themselves were quite well-developed, backstory and all, and likeable. Although the choices they made and their doubts annoyed me towards the end, because they were simply repeated over and over.

Although, as I said, I enjoyed the book for the most part I had one MAJOR issue - it felt like reading a trilogy, plot-wise and development-wise. I'm not saying this as a writing expert, I'm saying this as someone who has read 600 books. This could've been easily made into three books, and I believe it should have. Instead of writing a colossus of 380 pages, Camille Longley could have written three shorter books, which would 1, make the plot make sense and 2, give her more space to explore the characters and make them and their relationship deeper and simply BETTER. Oh, and 3, as a bonus, it would give her more space to cover some unexplained topics - such as, how do the pyras work? Why EXACTLY was the war started? And other stuff that's a bit spoilery, so I won't put it in here. But you get the point.

In conclusion - this is an immersing fantasy read that isn't perfect, but full of fun. (And potential. Oh, the potential.) I recommend it if you aren't looking for something mind-blowing, but maybe are in a book hangover :)

As a debut, Firefrost is a really nice read and well written book. I also enjoyed reading the perspectives of both characters.
If you like the enemies to lovers trope then you will enjoy this one for sure!
I will wait for the sequel to come out!

This is an enemies to lovers YA fantasy. Sol and Kelan are on opposite sides of a war between humans and flameskins. Now they are forced to work together and cross through the mountains. Along the way they reevaluate age-old grudges and they begin to question everything that they have been told about the other side.

I really enjoyed the cnaracter development in the book but the world building fell a little short. It wasn't as immersive as a lot of other fantasy novels tend to be. But I wouldn't disregard this novel and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Oh I am a sucker for enemies to lovers, however toss in some fantasy, SOLD! What we get with this book is an epic tale of war, passion and magic. I found this had great flow with some interesting twists and amazing attention to detail. Creating a world is never easy and I found the author gave great detail of this concept. There is some interesting push and pull between the characters. Overall, I found this book fairy enjoyable!

A lovely debut novel by Camille Longley. A well-crafted fantasy story that takes the reader on a wonderful adventure. The storyline was imaginative and the world-building beautiful, with vivid descriptions. The protagonists were well developed and had substance and I enjoyed the enemies to lovers aspect of this story. The action was fairly paced, it dulled down halfway throughout the book and picked up at the end. But the plot was intriguing enough to keep my interest until the last page. I'll definitely continue reading the series!

this was a really enjoyable read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed going on this journey. I look forward to more from the author.

Captivating. It has an interesting plot and the points of view of the characters mean that we can have different perspectives. I really enjoyed the reading.

A enemies to lovers story about two people fascinated me but I think the story needs much more impact than it has. The plot was just okay. The writing was a bit meh for me. Overall I enjoyed it if I may talk about story wise.

3 stars.

I really enjoyed this! The world building was really quite well done.
I'm super excited for the next book.

I received this book free as an ARC from Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Firefrost is a sweet, hate-to-love romance, set in a high fantasy world. It has a beautifully developed romance with a great magic system and political backdrop. First and foremost is the romance but the setting was interesting and ties the whole thing together. If you love sickeningly sweet, star crossed lovers in a magical war torn world, this book should be great for you.

Some MILD SPOILERY thoughts. Look away if you want to keep all the surprises!

This book has one of the best hate-to-love romances I've personally read. It's development made total sense throughout and didn't have the highly toxic traits many hate-to-loves seem to have. They started off hating each other for excellent reasons; due to being on opposite sides of a war and racial prejudice. They had to work together for obvious reasons; they needed to work together in order to survive and would have certainly died without each others specific skills. They fell in love with a natural progression; they got to know one another over an intimate period of time and had to unlearn the bad prejudice they grew up with. The development felt natural and unforced to me. All the conflict was due to their own upbringings and prejudices or the war and them being on conflicting sides. I loved the self reflection process these characters went through and all the political elements made for a grounded story in a fantastical world. The only critique I would give the romance would be it could be a little sickly sweet at times. (Maybe that's just because I'm not the biggest romance lover.) If you love the cheese and all the romantic feels this should be a positive rather than a negative, but it depends on your taste.

Balancing the romance out nicely was the world. I loved the political elements and the themes of war. Neither side of the war were just, they both were working off of hate and prejudice from the people before them, which seemed very realistic and telling of real life war. There was an arranged marriage of a princess to align two kingdoms and I found these realistic elements brought this story to life and gave it a great grounded feeling. I like books that have realistic themes and both the relationship and the politics did that.
The magic system was what brought the magic and fantasy. There is a race of people in the story called Flameskins who can produce and control fire. This is because of of their pyra, their word for a demon. The demons live in the Flameskins minds, urging them to cause destruction, kill and burn. The pyra can take over or possess a Flameskin after time and it is why the humans hate them and believe them dangerous. The fire magic was fun to read about and I liked the demonic element. The pyra that spoke to our main character gave this story such depth, danger and reminded me of real life mental illnesses. It was fantastical and the morality throughout the story was great to see.

To enjoy a romance you have to like your main two characters and I did. They balanced each other out well and had good personalities. This book is duel POV which I enjoy and it was fun to see each others perspective on the other. Sol was a take no prisoners, knows what she's doing kind of character. She had a great internal process of unlearning the racial teachings of her father and community and it was fun to learn and grow with her. Kelan was sassy, funny and endearing. His internal conflict between him and his pyra was fascinating to watch and I found his character very likeable. Both characters were almost opposites of what you'd expect them to be from the outside and the fun was in watching them realise that they could not judge so quickly. They didn't feel stereotypical or cut out archetypes, they felt like people with personalities. They made a great team and fit well together.
The pacing was a little unusual. Not bad, but the story goes further than I thought it would. The hate to love process felt natural but the story continues on into more phases than I expected. When they fall in love and decide they are going to try and make it together, it's only halfway through the story and there is more to come. It was a nice surprise but did break the typical arc of most stories. It was both a good and bad thing I suppose.

Overall I loved the themes in this story. Internalized racism, lack of good sides and bad sides in war, self-control against bad thoughts and more. That coupled with a pretty healthy hate-to-love, star crossed lovers romance that sweeps you off your feet? Great combination. I recommend this for romance lovers who also love magic and fantasy sprinkled in and enjoy realistic and introspective topics subtly woven throughout.

Firefrost just didn't do it for me. The hatred between the two characters seemed forced and then the budding romance came out of nowhere.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the review copy!

This book was so much fun! If you love a good enemies to lovers story, this is your book!

This story is solid and was told great. The plot was told very well. It does have a touch of romance in the book but it wasn't that over took the book! I loved the characters and the world building was great.

I highly recommend this read!

STORY
Characters | 2 stars
Plot | 2 stars
Setting | 4 stars

TECHNICAL
Writing | 2 stars
Editing | N/A
As an ARC, this is not a final version and editing will not be rated.
Execution | 2 stars

Emotional rating | 2 stars

I enjoyed this. It was a fun debut and I do really enjoy the enemies to lovers romance trope!

It read quickly and easily, which I really appreciated.

Will read the sequel when it comes out.

Flameskins have this fire “spirit” thing inside them called pyra and when they grow up it consumes them and takes over. They are feared, hated and persecuted for it. Flameskins and a kingdom called Tokken has been at war for a long time. Sol, a Tokken huntress, and Kelan, a flameskin soldier, end up travelling together and things happen.

I really liked the idea of flameskins and how pyra just takes control pretty much turns them into a demon. We get the story from both sides as every other chapter is from Sol’s pov and every other is from Kelan’s pov. The plot revolves mostly around Sol and Kelan and their relationship from enemies to lovers. I liked Kelan instantly and I did like Sol, but she was so hung up on her ideals at first.

My complaints are that there was little of world-building. We didn’t really learn about like the cultures and people in it. Sold and Kelan are most of the book alone in the mountains but still. But apparently, this is a prequel to the actual series, and I hope the world-building gets better in that. And I would have liked less focus on romance and more focus on world-building.

That being said, I didn’t want to put the book down because I wanted to know what happens next. So that’s a good thing. A great debut book.