Queen of Frost follows Ember and Eli as they leave there dying home of Dusk in search of the mythical city of Frost. Unfortunately this book wasnt for me. It felt to me as if the book could have been fleshed out a lot more. It feels like you are dumped halfway into the middle of a story. Not much is explained about this new world and how it came to be, which maybe it will in the sequels but I wont be continuing on to find out.

I was excited to read this because of the description and my love for fantasy novels, but it fell far too short of my expectations.

The novel so closely follows Ember that the third person felt awkward. I think first person would have greatly aided the reading experience, as Ember uncovers the mysteries of Frost alongside the reader. Another problem I had was the pacing. Ember and Eli find Frost immediately, so the struggle of journeying across the tundra and frozen wastes doesn't really come across. Ember hints at a "Before," but gives absolutely no information for over half of the book. They arrive, she and Eli bicker, and then she explores town a bit. This is half of the book. There is no momentum, as they had no plans for what to do AFTER they find the city. Because that happens in the first chapter, it leaves them completely directionless. They aren't able to meet with the queen until halfway in, so there's no stakes or sense of urgency or any tension at all. There are so many questions I had (why are two teenagers looking for this city as opposed to LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE? What is the Before? What is the wall and why is it not mentioned at all until a third of the way through? What do they even want to do once they're here? What role does this goddess figure play in the world's mythos?). None of them were answered, so there was no payoff. This, combined with the lack of direction and inconsistent characterization (Ember was skeptical of Eli trusting Maudie. She then immediately trusts Felix, and ELI becomes suspicious of her trusting a stranger).

It feels as if this was an early draft that didn't sort out tension/stakes, worldbuilding, or pacing. I love the concept of an icy, post-apocalyptic fantasy world, but it simply did not live up to the bare minimum of what I would expect from a YA fantasy novel.

Ember and Eli live in a time after the Before. Their world is one of snow, cold, food insecurity, and a non-stop fight to stay alive. They have grown up listening to the stories told to them of a place called Frost. Frost has machines, innovations, and food. Eli has dreamed of discovering this amazing world and finally decides that he is going to take that perilous trip across the frozen tundra. Against her better judgement, Ember accompanies him.

Miraculously, after several weeks of travel the duo come across a world surrounded by a sheer wall of ice. Frost is a place with warmth, electricity, and plenty of food. It almost seems like paradise. But something feels off to Ember. The people do not seem quite right. Upon meeting the Queen of Frost, Ember is assigned a special task, she is challenged with fixing the malfuctioning automatons. During their time in Frost, Ember and Eli begin to grow further and further apart. At some point Eli wants to return home to Dusk. Ember has made a new friend named Felix and with his assistance she wants to stay and discover what is really going on in Frost. What is the secret the Queen is keeping? Do her dreams mean anything. What are the automatons trying to tell Ember?

Aria Noble has created a beautiful described world. Ember and Eli are both endearing characters. The story developed by Noble was easy to read, fast paced, and action packed; I couldn't put the book down and completed it in one sitting.

Queen of Frost is a dystopian novel following Ember and Eli as they navigate across the unknown to find the seemingly mythical city of Frost.

While I appreciate the opportunity to read this story from NetGalley it was just okay for me. The pacing was decent and the world building was unique but the character development felt lacking and the world just wasn’t as well explained as I would have liked. What really grabbed me at first let to my interest petering out toward the end as more questions were asked then answered. I do acknowledge that this is one of three in the series but I just don’t know if the first book gave me enough to keep reading.