My Ranking: ★★★ (3 stars)

As a fan of fairytales, I was immediately drawn into this story. The world-building was commendable, yet I found certain sections to be somewhat dragging. While the romance aspect was enjoyable, I longed for greater depth in the characterization. Nevertheless, it was a decent read overall, leaving me intrigued enough to consider picking up the sequel.

A cute YA fairy tale romantasy! I love a fairy tale retelling and romatasy is one of my favorite genres to read so this book was right up my alley. I really enjoyed the way the fairy tales were brought into our world and what an interesting world this has created now. I loved how fierce and strong the FMC was and I really connected with her. The journey we take was really interesting and the entire journey was really enjoyable. The ending was so good and I love the idea that our MC's are now traveling to meet other fairy tale legends to continue the series.

this book was really promising. I think if I was reading it, instead of listening to it I would have finished it. It is about a girl, who was 5 years old when a fantasy world grew from under Central Park new York. the fantasy world took over, most adults died, and the children were taken by the queen. Not it is 10 or so years later. There is no emotion in this fantasy kingdom, and our girl is now part of the night watch. She goes after the Queens son, when he is discovered around the city. She follows him to Ohio, where she is quarantined, (held Prison) so she can clear herself of the spell and feel again.

It was the quarantine that lost me. It was slow and lacked the charm of the rest of the book. I found my mind wondering and not caring what was happening. I DNFed. if I was reading and could have skimmed through this, i probably would have. But that was not really possible with the audiobook. I set it aside and never picked it back up.

"I wish I could say I was the hero of the story. A resister. A rebel. Someone who lived to bring an end to the queen who stole my childhood--my mother, my life, my very world. But I'm not. I'm not the good guy. I'm the one who puts the good guys in their graves.”

Gathering Frost is a perfect blend of fantasy and a dystopian adventure which is based somewhat on the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. .

The idea of a modern day city being reverted back to an almost Medieval style village with no technology and characters you may find in a classic storybook alongside enchanted forests. The world-building is excellent and I loved how everything comes to life from the page. Kaitlyn Davis has created not only a wonderful world with characters whose entire world has become unrecognisable unless you recall being afraid of the troll who frightened Billy Goat Gruff, or houses that look like something you'd read about in Hansel and Gretel. I thought that the way the origin story of Sleeping Beauty was woven into the book was done in a unique and subtle manner so that it isn't a retelling but is instead its own story that holds the attention of the reader from the first page.

The main character is far from the stereotypical helpless girl but rather a fighter who clings to the memories of life before. Whilst Jade isn't initially one to connect with, you witness her growth as the story unfolds you see the mask crack and her true self unfolds. She's not defined by who she loves, or how she should be and I couldn't help a low chuckle at how she hates the stereotypical gowns etcetera.

She along with characters both good and evil are excellently written and every single one we encounter contributes to the story and brings it to life.

It's a brilliant introduction to a series, and I hope with each book? More and more of the world comes to light because I'm really curious to see how everything will inevitably come together or fall apart.

Only time will tell.

Had potential and moments that were good, but overall I don't know if I liked it. It was slow and then a lot happening but leading to nothing. I felt bored a lot. This one was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

I loved that the protagonist for this story starts out as one of the "not-so-great people working for The Man" and kinda knows it from the start as opposed to simply feeling like she's on the right side of things. Too often the trope of being someone working for a corrupt kingdom is treated as a secret kept from the MC who then discovers it and feels betrayed, but this MC is a bit more clear-eyed about where she stands even though she knows she doesn't know the full story and doesn't have all the answers. It makes her discovery of what's really going on feel more authentic. Of course the slow-burn romance works well too, though I wish the villain were a bit more roundly drawn. Overall an enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

I tried several times to get into this book and I just couldn't. I'm such a mood reader and this just didn't catch my attention enough in the beginning. I did not finish.

Couldn't get into this audio book so stopped 50% of the way, sometimes I struggle with some
I liked the characters and the plot but I'm a mood reader and that can sometimes have an effect of a DNF
I hope to read at a later date, I may get the eBook.

Gathering Frost is a fantasy retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Jade was a little girl when the earthquake hit, splitting New York City in half. The Queen welcomed her and was the first to have her heart frozen. Over the years, she is taken in by the commander and is trained to be one of the Queen's soldiers. On her way to receive a new mission from the Queen, Jade runs into the runaway Prince Asher, but despite there being a bounty on his head, she lets him get away. Jade is tasked with bringing back Prince Asher alive, but what she doesn't realize is that's she signing up to have her heart thawed. It's an interesting take on the Sleeping Beauty tale with several roles switched.

This was a super quick read/listen. The plot was definitely interesting, but the plot felt very underdeveloped. A lot of things happened too quickly and it felt like there were some things that didn't really add up in the end. It was also looser adaptation of Sleeping Beauty than I initially would have thought. All in all, it was a cute and intriguing, but not a favorite of mine.

This felt solidly like a dystopian YA that I would have read in the Hunger Games/Lunar Chronicles/Uglies era. I liked the premise (a fairy tale-esc world collides with ours and the magic dominates the areas in their control) and the book moves at a solid pace. Jade is very typical in terms of YA dystopian FMCs (the best at fighting and emotionally cold for survival/because of magic) and the insta-love between her and Asher also was very typical of that type of book, so it's very familiar, but also doesn't stand out. Because of the curse, Jade doesn't have emotions (except fear) and as she is removed from the Queen's thrall, she then starts to experience feelings for the first time in a decade. It's nice, but (and this could be because I blew through the audiobook quickly) it doesn't have the same depth as some of the other books in its genre; Jade's interactions with others is limited to essentially the Queen and the Commander, and with the rebels it's essentially just Asher and one rebel friend she had maybe 3 interactions with. Nothing is bad - it's just not as developed as other series. It's very bingeable and readable, and I am intrigued to keep reading in the series and see where it goes.
The audiobook narrator was great though!

Decent start to a new fantasy series of fairy tale retellings.

I appreciate that this retelling of Sleeping Beauty felt quite different than all the others I've read in the past. Couldn't feel myself really relating to the main character at all or sympathizing for her. This may have been intentional, seeing as her emotions have been taken away from her, but even as her character developed, I still find myself not relating.

I felt like much more world building was needed, so hopefully that will come as the series progresses!

I wanted to like this more, especially as I'm the target audience. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. Lots of repetition, and while there are a few gems of information, it felt like it was mostly filler.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for offering this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

What a fun retelling of Sleeping Beauty! Great narration on the audiobook. If you are fond of fairy tales, this won’t disappoint! Great for middle and high school.

I am a fan of fairy tale retellings and this was just great. Jade is a character you just feel for. Asher is a lovable character. Together they are just perfect. I love the world this author has created. It is so interesting. The romance is sweet but there is still a lot of action and some drama. I will definitely be continuing this series. The narrator is just awesome! Thank you to NetGalley and IBPA for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Quick easy read. Narrator is great. Not too deep but very enjoyable. The twist at the end seemed forced but will check out the next one.

I felt the narrator really helped to bring this story to life. Loved all the little details in the story and the character were fun and story enjoyable

Gathering Frost is the first in the Once Upon a Curse series. In this reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, an earthquake hits New York City and the city falls to an evil queen. Ten years later, Jade is working as one of the queen’s guard.

I’ve read many retelling of the classic fairytales, but this was an angle I haven’t seen done before. I liked the modern world meets dystopian society aspect tied into this classic fairytale. It was an enjoyable read and a creative world. I really enjoyed the characters of Jade and Asher. I am always interested to see new retelling of those classic fairytales we all know and love and this one was no exception. I look forward to seeing what comes next in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audiobook version of this book! I really enjoyed the narration.

Ultimately this was another forgettable fairytale retelling. It's been a couple weeks since I've finished and I've already forgotten the names of our lead and her love interest. I didn't really care for them which ultimately lowered the stakes and made the book quite boring.

This would probably be good for someone just aging out of middle-grade and getting into reading YA.

Dnf at 50 percent I just wasn’t enjoying it. It seemed like every other young adult book I’ve ever read and I didn’t feel any connection to the characters.
Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.

Gathering Frost is a Romantic Fantasy retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I did not initially catch on that this was a retelling and I appreciate that the author made it so subtle and original. I enjoyed Jade’s inner monologue and found her to be a likable character. At some parts she has no emotions due to the Queen's curse so she can seem very cold, but that is to help the reader understand how terrible it is for the people stuck in the curse, living everyday like that. I found the world building was explained really well but not so elaborate that you couldn’t follow it. The story was interesting and kept me engaged for the entirety of the story. The other characters in the story are likable and generally good, explained but not overdone.

I listened to the audio version of this book and I enjoyed the narration. The narrator did a good job of changing her voice based on what Jade was feeling in that moment and not just having a monotone even when Jade was still “frozen”.