An easy read but no anything special. The dystopian setting was great and I love fairy tale retellings. But it was all way too mediocre for me to really love it and lack world and character building.

This is one that I think I would enjoy better reading myself because the narrator was a struggle to connect with. I loved the idea of the story. An earthquake revealing the world of the fey? The ice queen taking over and freezing everyone’s emotions? Fey stories are always good. I just felt the main character was flat.

I love a good fairy tale retelling! Though this was a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, if you're not a fan of the Disney version, this is one I would still be comfortable recommending. It's more grown up, with more age appropriate themes and more romance. The narrator was fantastic and did a great job portraying the individual voices. I'm looking forward to recommending this to customers and reading more from this author/narrator duo.

This is a cute YA retelling of Sleeping Beauty.

I loved Jade as the protagonist especially when her abilities were displayed during the giant attack! Wish there were more action scenes like that one. The author kept labeling her as a killer repeatedly. This is ridiculous for someone who hasn’t killed anyone in her life for the first half of the book. I started laughing when she admits to never actually killing someone. She just has the skill set to kill. The prince was meh and immature.

Why would the queen single out Jade when she doesn’t make any attempt to speak to her throughout the book?

No character development with the queen or the commander (on Asher's side) which was a missed opportunity. There’s no way they would have trusted Jade and followed her and Asher to the city to attack. After the giant attack they just leave on their journey which didn't make sense especially with her leg injury. That would have been a good opportunity to create a relationship with the commander because she just saved the day and proved she was a good guy.

The ending would have been better to show not tell to make it more impactful. The curse was too simple and easy to solve but it is based off of a fairy tale.

Loved the narrator's voice and her ability to make each character sound unique.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

The story was OK I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was younger. I liked the blending of worlds with the magixal world colliding with the real world. I didn't get strong Sleeping Beauty vibes from this one which is what I was looking forward to. I enjoyed the narration and it was an easy to follow story but didn't have enough to keep me hooked.

Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of Search for my honest opinion.

What would you do if your world as you know it just disappears because of an earthquake and then to have it replaced with a village that seems right out of a fairytale. Oh, and we can’t forget you then find yourself to be in the hands of an evil queen.

I thought this was a very interesting read. I really liked that we had a dystopian retelling of Sleeping Beauty even though at times I really didn’t get the whole retelling of Sleeping Beauty feel, but it was still an enjoyable book, I would rate the age from 14+ for readers. I thought the world building was done well and the characters were relatable. The plot was well done, with twists and turns and well-paced. Oh, and if you don’t like cliffhangers be prepared to have one at the end of this book. I did feel like something was lacking or missing after chapter 6, but it does pick up again and there is action, drama, confusing feelings for the main characters and hope.

I enjoyed that the MFC was strong and was the hero of the story. I do like when the men characters come in to save the day but there is just something when you have a strong female character saving the day. What can I say, she is a badass female. Prince Asher is so sweet, caring but at the same time wary of people who come out of the city to where he is and that is understandable, but I love when he finally sees the changes and lets loose on his fun personality.

I had the audio of this book, and I thought the narrator did a wonderful job. She is the reason I was able to let this fantasy world play out in my head and could see it as if I was watching a tv or movie. The narrator was clear and understandable.

I want to thank NetGalley and IBPA, and members Audiobooks for the opportunity to review this book.

This book is a great mix of Divergent and The Selection with a mix of magic that makes it uniquely lts own.

As a Veteran and a military child, who knew I was bound for the military from a very young age... I felt very connected with the main character, Jade. Also, semi related, we both have brown hair and jade green eyes who fall for introverts... but I digress.

I DEVOURED THIS BOOK. I can't wait to catch up on my netgalley shelf so I can read the rest of this series.

Take everything you’ve ever learned from fairytale and throw it out the window and you have gathering frost from an undermining queen to an unsuspecting hero to a prince who doesn’t save the story this is a very entertaining look at what I can only call a modern day fairytale antihero every girl can route four. I listen to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job I will be honest and say at the beginning when they went from New York City to the alternate universe I was a bit confused but that’s the story goes along with made perfect sense. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This post-apocalyptic fantasy gives a new edge to Urban fantasy. You follow the story of an average girl growing into herself and finding that maybe she's not as cold and heartless as she thought. It's always a nice touch to have your heart melt by an adorable Prince.

True to its form this YA book is a tension filled and clean romance of two young adults caught in a world that wants to keep them apart.

The middle dragged a little and I had to speed read to the end, but I wanted to know the ending which is not something that all books can boast. If you don't like to be left in a tease a.k.a. hook/cliffhanger skip the last 5-10 minutes on audiobook or the last few pages.

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

I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this! I've been listening to a lot of retellings lately and they can get old but this one was easy to listen to. It could use a little more depth to it but that's my main complaint. The narrator was good as well.

I LOVED this dystopian take on Sleeping Beauty - and Jade was a total badass character! Her interactions with Prince Asher, when trying to get into his good graces to ultimately turn him over to his wicked mother, were fun. Asher was a strong male character. I want more!

Excellent narration!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley and Author (IBPA). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5 Stars
Publishing: June 25, 2019
Series: Once Upon a Curse Book 1
Pages: Audiobook Listen

“Gathering Frost” is a first time by Kaitlyn Davis, new author to this listener. This was a very interesting take on Sleeping Beauty and not what I was anticipating. I thought the book was enjoyable for a fantasy read. Although it started off well, it did fall a little lacking after chapter six for me. I just couldn’t get into the enemies-to-lovers trope which I totally love with my reads but the slow burn to the romance I could not connect with in this story. Although the performance by the narrator, Ellie Gossage, new narrator was good. I ended up continuing the listen but it wasn’t what I anticipated.

I must start out by saying that I recieved the audio book version of this story from Netgalley for free in return for an open and honest review.

I will start by saying that I really enjoyed the narration. It was wonderfully done.

Next I will say that I was drawn in by the idea that this was a twisted retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I am a sucker for that type of thing and this is no diffrent . Once I started it I couldn't put it down I had to know what would happen next .

It really was wonderful. I can't wait for the next part of the serries!

The blurb and first few chapters of the book were quite interesting. I loved the idea of two worlds colliding together, where magic and everyday life is possible.


I didn't realise it was a sleeping beauty reimagining, it felt more like a mix of Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent. The book also felt a mix of fantasy and sci-fi, I'm not sure if the author was going for a mish-mash but that's what I've gotten from it.

Somewhere after chapter 7 the book fell flat for me, quite slowly and for the life of me, I did not feel the slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance that the author was trying to show us.

Now for the audiobook:

Although very soothing voice, it was so monotone and had 0 emotion in. You couldn't tell when she was scared, or angry, or happy - everything just sounded the same. The 'male' voice the narrator tried to make was barely an effort, I did end up listening to the end but I'm not sure if it was worth it.

Maybe if there was more emotion in the audiobook, I would have been more invested into the book, but as it is, for me, it is average.

The characters, plot, world, twists, narrative - all was just a bit bland, it was lacking spice and the oomph. It was average and perhaps targeted to a younger audience (12-16 old?)

Many thanks to the author and Netgalley for providing me with a free audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just came out of reading a great fantasy book and decided that I needed to dive into another one. I was rather disappointed by this one though, unfortunately! I wanted to love the idea of our world magically merged with a parallel magical world through some catastrophic spell-gone-wrong. I wanted to love a strong emotionless woman fighting for her freedom. I wanted to believe in the hidden prince/love interest that was out to save her soul. And I wanted to love hating the evil queen who has to suck the emotions out of her citizens in order to feel anything at all. But everything just seemed to fall flat for me!

Jade was the most fleshed out characters, but I just couldn't find an in to truly understanding her character or finding some kind of connection to why I should like her or want her to succeed, except for the fact that the author tells me to do so. I think that if any of the other characters could be more than flat caricatures, then they could have helped build Jade up into a real person, but nothing quite lived up to my storied expectations. Perhaps it would have been too simple, but even adding in a few alternate POV's from Prince Asher, especially as he's trying to convince her to you know, "be a real girl," with emotions, we could understand why it was so important, how everything hinged, why he found her intriguing, instead of feeding us wooden dialogue of how he knew she was different through some amorphous and undefined "feeling."

And my final note: if I didn't read the final bit about how the next book was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I would have not looked to see that this one was based on Sleeping Beauty, which was not apparent to me AT ALL during the course of reading this book. It even had a scene or two in the middle of the story about how Jade was reading Sleeping Beauty (so on the nose) and I didn't even see the similarities, if there were any. Maybe I'm dense which is highly possible, but I think this was a bigger stretch than thinking there could be an alternate universe merged with our world with magic.

Final, FINAL note: There were four more books written after this in the series, so perhaps I just need to give the author another chance to capture my attention, since I know the fairy tale I'm supposed to be jumping into, this time!

I think that the narrator, Ellie Gossage, did the best that she could with the words she was provided. She provided great voices for the characters and did what she could to draw me into the story, but it wasn't enough for me to give this a higher rating, unfortunately. :(

Thanks to Kaitlyn Davis, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks via NetGalley for the advanced audiobook copy to review.

Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis is a unique mix of fantasy and dystopia, taking inspiration from Sleeping Beauty and weaving it into a story with its own twists and turns. The book introduces us to Jade, a member of the queen's guard who has been stripped of emotions along with everyone else in the castle. When the queen gives her a mission to let Prince Aster, the queen's runaway son, capture her and gain his trust so that Jade can let the queen know his secrets, everything changes for Jade. As she begins to feel emotions and question everything she has ever known, she wonders whose side she is really on.

One of the strengths of Gathering Frost is its well-developed and imaginative world-building. The book takes place in a version of New York that has been replaced by a village and castle straight out of a storybook, complete with enchanted forests, dragons, and mythical creatures. The author has done an excellent job of creating a fully-realized world with its own history and mythology. While the book is meant to be a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, the nods to the classic tale are subtle and the story stands on its own.

Jade, the main character, is not immediately relatable, as her emotions have been stripped away. However, as she begins to feel again, her character becomes more sympathetic and likable. She is not perfect, but she is strong, compassionate, and adept at playing a long game. It's refreshing to see a female character who is not defined solely by her romantic interests, as Jade is primarily focused on completing her mission for the queen. Similarly, Prince Aster is a refreshing departure from the typical alpha male or strong silent type that often populate YA novels. He is intelligent, witty, and charming, and the interactions between him and Jade are one of the highlights of the book.

One of the most interesting characters in Gathering Frost is Queen Deirdre. She is an evil character, but the author has given her understandable motivations and vulnerabilities that make her more than just a one-dimensional villain. The reader can't help but feel a sense of pity for her, even as she commits heinous acts.

The romance between Jade and Prince Aster is sweet and heartwarming, but it never overshadows the main plot. While the book is fast-paced and full of action, it is also a character-driven story with well-drawn relationships between the characters.

One of the few criticisms I have of Gathering Frost is that I would have liked more world-building. While the book does an excellent job of introducing us to its world, I would have liked to know more about what is happening in other countries and how the events of the story are affecting the wider world.

Gathering Frost is a well-written and enjoyable YA novel. It's a great mix of fantasy and dystopia with strong characters and an imaginative world. While it may not be a groundbreaking work of literature, it is a solid addition to the genre and I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Withering Rose. I would recommend Gathering Frost to fans of Fireblood by Trisha Wolfe and other books by Kaitlyn Davis.

This young adult novel is a retelling of sleeping beauty that features a morally grey female main character (Jade) and a cinnamon roll male love interest (Asher). I enjoyed how this novel gave a new spin to the sleep curse, changing it to be a loss of emotions instead of eternal sleep. It allowed for great character development, as Jade discovered herself and her emotions. I loved that this retelling was feminist, with a female lead who didn't need saving from a prime, and discovers things on her own.

Overall, the book is fast paced and the story starts right away. The world building is great, with both the history and setting of the book being well described from the beginning. The magic system was also well defined, and the explanation behind it made sense.

The love interest was obvious from the beginning, and although I wanted Jade and Asher together, I didn't love how quickly their relationship built. There was something lacking for me personally. Because of this, Jade's motivations for her morally grey actions felt weaker.

The ending was incredibly satisfying, and it sets up a sequel well that has me curious enough to pick up the next book!

Additionally, with regards to the audiobook version, Ellie Gossage was fantastic! I loved how she used different voices for the different characters that really sounded like what I pictured these characters would sound like. She's great at infusing emotion into her voice. Her reading of this book made me feel like I was being read a fairytale before bedtime, it was so relaxing and soothing!

I don’t read much sci-fi but I did enjoy this one. It was a pretty cute little love story in which both characters were willing to die for each other but in the end their love saves each other.

🌀Synopsis
Jade is numb. She remembers the world before but she doesn’t have any feelings about it. When she is given a special assignment from the queen, she willingly takes it.
Meeting the prince changes Jade. In the resistance community she finds friendship and people who not only remember the world before- they fight for it. They remember loved ones lost and keep trying to find them. This, in turn, reminds Jade of her feelings. When she finds out the only way to save the world is to kill the queen and then the prince- she knows she has to stop it.
She loves the prince too much to let him kill himself. So, when the queen is going to make her the heir of the power she goes along with it. She’s determined to kill the queen but in the end she can’t do it. Someone else can though and suddenly- Jade has the magical powers for the whole kingdom and the prince she loves too.

Jade is a little girl who is excited when her storybook collides and she sees the princess come to rescue them,. Only problem is that life seldom matches what happens in stories. This evil queen is far from the princess in her book. She steals the feelings from the people who come within her grasp. Years later the Queen puts Jade on the task of returning her son.

This is a retelling of sleeping beauty, but It takes a lot of deviations from that story. I really like the twists of this story. It almost reminds me of the TV show Once upon a time. The setting of this book is the NYC area that collided with the storybook world. This book is a great mix of dystopian, classic fairytales, and good vs. evil. Multiple times during this story I forgot that this was supposed to be based on the tale. I am thankful to get the chance to listen to this Audiobook. I look forward to other books in what is sure to be a hit series.

A pleasant distraction from real life.

Jade was only a little girl when the earthquake struck. Before her eyes, half of New York City disappeared, replaced by a village that seemed torn out of a storybook. Horses and carriages. Cobblestone streets. A towering castle. And, above all, a queen with the magical ability to strip emotions away.
Ten years later and Jade has forgotten what it is to feel, to care...even to love. Working as a member of the queen's guard, she spends most of her time on the city wall staring at the crumbling skyscrapers of old New York. But everything changes when the queen's runaway son, Prince Asher, returns. Under his relentless taunts, her blood begins to boil. Under his piercing gaze, her heart begins to flutter. And the more her icy soul begins to thaw, the more Jade comes to question everything she's ever known--and, more importantly, whose side she's really on.

Gathering Frost ai presented as a retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
I don't like romance very much (no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to like it) but I must admit I enjoyed it in this book.

The story is very gripping, full of romance, magic and action. The characters, both main and secondary, are well characterised.

I really enjoyed the character of Jade, the protagonist of the story, as she is not the classic damsel in distress who has to be rescued, but she is a very strong character who doesn't let anyone walk all over her.
Asher, on the other hand, is the classic hero we often find in YA: loving, loyal and honest. Impossible not to love him.

The fight scenes are very gripping and detailed, while the ending is very unexpected. It made me wish I had the sequel in hand.

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. The narrative voice is fabulous, clear and captivating.