This one was wild! It did have a pretty slow start for me personally but once it picked up I was hooked. I love a good dark romance and this definitely hit the mark.

Thank you NetGalley and dreamscape media for the ALC

4⭐️
HOLY HECK!!!!
Talk about a great read!!!
I loved the storyline in this book. It really brings up how victims are usually labeled as liars but the truth always comes out!!!
The cliffhanger!!! I need the second book to come out asap!!!!

I always read trigger warnings, and I’ve handled sensitive content in dark romance before without issue, but for some reason, this one really hit hard… I wish I’d been more cautious going into it, because certain scenes left me feeling pretty shaken.

The biggest issue for me was one of the main characters, Grayson. I found his actions extremely difficult to stomach, and they overshadowed the parts of the story I did enjoy. I genuinely liked the other two guys and parts of Riley’s story, but Grayson’s presence completely pulled me out of it.

On the flip side, the narration was excellent. The writing flowed well, the pacing kept me hooked, and the tone was exactly what you’d expect from an intense, emotional read. It’s clear the author knows how to craft tension and atmosphere. I just wish the emotional payoff had landed differently.

This one won’t be for everyone, especially if you’re sensitive to manipulation, trauma, or dubious consent. If those are tough spots for you, I’d suggest proceeding with caution. This story had potential, but for me, the emotional impact wasn’t the kind I could sit with comfortably.

This is a bully romance, and I have a hard time with where I draw the line between enjoying them and hating them. Unfortunately this one for me was too far on the hate side. The MCs in this book dont have any redeeming qualities and the FMC never is able to stand up for herself. The son of her rapist being involved was really too far for me and Grayson just totally ruined this book

I want to preface in that I had NO idea what I was getting into; I applied for this ARC audiobook based on the cover and title, thinking it would be a hockey romance.

I’d also like to note that I give this more like 3.5-3.75 stars.

This book started out strong, however I slowly became confused with all of the character additions. Despite names being included, I was easily losing track of who was speaking and how they all intermingled.

The book started to make more sense once I realized it was a dark romance, however it continued to feel choppy. Piecing together backstories between current moments gave me a bit of whiplash. While it made sense in the end, I hate reading/listening and feeling confused or like I missed part of the story earlier, only for it to be explained down the road. It’s one thing to layer the information, but this happened so often, that I was regularly going back to see if I’d missed something.

Now, with that being said, once things started to flow, I liked the premise of this book, as well as the FMC and MMCs (despite their flaws). The broken woman/college student/single mom who is trying to get her life on track for her daughter was a good plot. I also liked the edge and sweetness the MMCs brought to the story.

As it ended on a cliffhanger, I am unsure if I will continue with the story. Part of me wants to know how it progresses, but the other part of me feels like it could’ve continued and just been one book; I don’t know how this will move forward into another entire book. But who knows? There are likely more layers to be added that cannot be predicted within this book alone!

Regarding the narrators… not my favorite. I think this is why I was getting so confused. Having multiple MMCs with only one narrator, without much difference between voices, made it more difficult to keep up. I liked both narrators’ voices, however they were both cringy when speaking for the opposite sex.

Overall, I think I would’ve liked this better if I’d physically read it versus having the audio format. If you like dark romances with a hint of sports and millionaire status, take that into consideration and enjoy the book. I don’t think I’ll recommend the audio format, though.

I honestly don’t know what to say about the book. I didn’t hate the writing per say, but I also don’t find it super realistic. All of her relationships through the book are super abusive and messed up. I was hoping for a character who grows from her trauma. Unfortunately, none of the characters grow. If anything they all become worse people. The main FMC has been raped by her stepfather and has a kid from it. Her evil mother is barely taking care of the child while she goes to school. She works as a stripper to pay for herself, her Child and her mom. Then she falls for a guy who then kidnaps her for his friend (her step brother) and is forced to dance for them and another trashy friend. Which basically ends with him taping her. His friends walk in on it and tell him to stop but instead of calling the police they give her alcohol and lay next to her. She’s kind of a doormat and they should all be in prison. I don’t know why when she has her phone or goes to see her daughter she doesn’t go get help. Plus the reason she doesn’t is apparently she thinks it’s hot. I just don’t see someone who has been sexually assaulted being like hey kidnap me and every time you try to have your way with me I’ll just start kissing you because it’s hot. Plus her stepbrother even without the drama with his dad literally keeps going when she says to stop and pulls her hair out of her head. The one she wanted a relationship with pretends like he’s a protector but doesn’t actually protect her. This passes the line of dark morally grey and just skips to immoral. I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy and I’m leaving this review Voluntarily.

This is a really incredible New Adult dark romance and book 1 of a series. There are some dark themes, so please check triggers before reading.

The story begins with the FMC, Riley, who is beginning her time as a scholarship student at Halston University, which is a haven for the rich and powerful. She finds herself in the thrall of three friends - Logan, Royce, and Grayson. Riley and Grayson have a history - he was her stepbrother until an accusation against his father split their family apart.

The book is pretty dark - Grayson is out for revenge and will stop at nothing to get it. But Riley's connection with each of the guys grows and changes during the story, and it's interesting to see how things change over time. Even with the darkness, the spice is hot, and the why-choose aspect adds a lot to the story. As an FMC, Riley is interesting because she's scrappy and resourceful - <spoiler>as a single mom</spoiler> she has to do anything she can to get by for her family. Her backstory and relationship with her mother further complicate things as well.

I loved this book on audio - the narrators were excellent. I only wish that the times when one character was narrating but another was speaking, they used the narrator for the person speaking - it was weird to hear Logan's words in Riley's voice (even if deeper), especially when there are multiple narrators for the book. The only other little distraction was that at times the dialogue was stilted - "However" was used a lot in a way that college students would never use it.

I found myself becoming attached to the characters and wanting them all to come around and get together. I'm hoping to hear more about how things evolve in Book 2!

1 star

~

Frozen hearts by R.A. Symth is a dark why choose romance that centers around Riley, a young women with a traumatic past who accepts a scholarship to Halston University to have a fresh start. There she meets Logan, the golden hockey player who she tutors, dangerous and brooding Royce, and Grayson her estranged stepbrother. But what happened when her traumatic past comes knocking at her door in the form of a vengeful Grayson? Will her lingering attraction conquer or will it leave her broken after it is all done?

The beginning of the book was quite interesting, especially with the engaging prologue. I appreciated that there was no instalove or instalust when she met Logan. I felt that this made their relationship a bit more believable and naturally flowing. There were adorable little acts of kindness from Logan and I felt like he was the only one who liked Riley and tried to understand her. Royce can also be seen later on in the book trying to engage with Riley and we see this softness to him that puts his whole brooding mask in question. The narrators were great and managed to embodied the characters emotions, so I did not have any problems with their work.

Something I didn’t like was Riley’s personality and actions, especially towards the last half of the book where she gets attached too quickly and becomes somewhat desperate at times. She talks about self-respect, but yet she doesn’t have any. I don’t like the transition from nearly having a panic attack from SA memories to suddenly being horny. Not to mention that her stage name as a dancer at a strip club is a child’s name, one who is of importance to Riley. I think there was a lot of emotional and mental work that Riley should have done to better herself and achieve her goals. As for two of the main male characters, Logan and Royce, I felt like they lacked in critical thinking and simply thinking for themselves when sucked into Grayson’s plan. They simply went along with whatever Grayson said most of the time even when they had their doubts. Grayson, I felt was a vile character just like his father, following his steps and forcing Riley to relive her trauma. So, I’m not sure how he’ll come back from this one in the second book.

Overall, I think the audiobook was good, but the actual story was not my favorite. There were just so many moments where consent seemed lacking and bordered more on noncon than dubious consent. Therefore, I suggest looking at the trigger warnings before starting this book.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook arc.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW:
Story: 4 stars Narration: 5 stars Overall: 4 stars

Frozen Hearts is a dark reverse harem college romance. This is part one of a trilogy that ends in a cliffhanger. Please read all trigger warnings before listening.
Riley is a freshman scholarship student at Halston University. She goes to class, works, studies and generally keeps to herself. That all changes when she is asked to tutor an athlete in statistics. Logan is a hockey player who really starts to like Riley once they spend time together. They start dating and then things change. His two roommates, Royce and Grayson, are now involved because of Riley’s past. Now everything is wrong and just when you think it’s all okay again…the book ends.
The dual narration by Helena Waters and Oliver Highpoint was phenomenal. Helena Waters was perfect in role as Riley. I could feel all of
Riley’s angst, fear, uncertainty, self-doubt, love as well as her sass, spunk and intelligence through her voice. Oliver Highpoint was spectacular as Logan, Royce and Grayson. He captured their different personalities, emotions and tones perfectly. His sweet but sultry voice for Logan was divine. The gruffness and alpha tone coming from Royce was exceptional. I could feel all of the love/hate, uncertainty that Grayson expressed towards Riley. These two fantastic voice actors brought this story to life. I highly recommend listening to this audiobook.
Thanks to the author and NetGalley for this ALC.

Book: 4 stars
Narration: 4.75

I would have given the narration 5, however the male narrators female voice was sometimes hard to listen too, but nonetheless overall the narration was phenomenal! It was really easy to listen to at 2x and still get the emotions from the narrators use intonations.

This story was a true dark why-choose romance, I strongly recommend carefully reading the triggers. Riley is a scholarship students at a prestigious, frankly pompous university, forced to live off-campus due to lack of on campus accommodations and work to pay both her own costs of living and her moms. She is a survivor of SA at the hands of someone who is referred to as HIM and HE early on, and lives with PTSD. The story also follows three men, one of whom is a star hockey player on campus who happens to be failing Stats, and convinces the top student, Riley, to tutor him. The two quickly develop feelings for one another until Riley's secrets come forward.

I devoured this audiobook! The romance between Logan and Riley is so heartwarming, the way that they initially get what they need from a relationship, being truly seen, having fun and feeling safe. The way my heart was wrenched from my body when Riley's secrets blow up, it was a lot, but I can also see how the author set the characters up for a lot of meaningful character development over the course of the trilogy. I look forward to reading the rest of the series!

Thank you dreamscape media and netgalley for the ALC.
Honestly It started off very meh! there was a lot of fluffy that could of been skipped but was a huge plot twist once Logan kidnaps James. THINGS got very interesting. Royce was the best character in this book truly loved him the whole way we was such a moody black cat "boyfriend" ahaha.
truly hated Grayson throughout the whole book and the stepbrother romance was a little strange. especially how vile he was.
Logan was your typical golden retriever MMC.
all in all it was a good read

okay, loved all of this and cannot wait to read book two! Not sure I can wait for the audiobook at this point knowing the Ebook is available .. the narrators were amazing, the storyline just perfect!

Frozen hearts by r.a Smyth has been on my tbr for the longest time. Right about when I binged pacific prep and the ruthless boys of ridgeway. But I had been waiting for the audio because I prefer the audio and the book too. Well the audio is finally releasing with Helena waters and Oliver highpoint being the narrators.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to ALC review!! In saying that all thoughts are my own :)

I live for a dark romance and r.a smyth just knocks it out the park, frozen hearts had my emotions quite literally everywhere, I loved logan Royce and greyson!! Don’t get me wrong i did go back a fourth with hating n loving them. Riley, man she’s so strong, such a survivor. I can’t wait for the next book, I need the grovel desperately 🥰

Riley is trying to keep her head down and get through school as quickly as possible so she can be able to provide a good life for her daughter who is being cared for by her mom while she's a student. She catches the eye of the star hockey player and then a mysterious man and then UNFORTUNATELY the son of her repeat abuser and all hell breaks loose.

I wanted to like this one, the beginning was really promising but too many things really were too far. I read dark romance and the dub con and extreme violence here from her abuser's son was enough to send anyone off the deep end, somehow it's almost never triggering for her and I don't get that either. Even the other two were capable of some pretty terrible things with literally no proof of the accusations that were the reason for the abhorrent treatment, I would really hope that any random male would at least try to make sure there's an actual reason before they just go with their best friend and keep a girl tied to a stripper pole for weeks on end. There were some promising character developments for some of them but it's pretty slow-moving to get to them, make sure you really really check those trigger warnings before you dive in.

This is not my favorite sub genre and I lost interest in the characters. For me the chemistry was lacking and I was rooting for them not to get together.

This book was a frustrating read. While it started off strong with an interesting plot and some promise in the characters, things quickly went downhill. I usually enjoy dark romance, but this one just didn't work for me - mainly because I couldn't bring myself to like any of the male leads.

It honestly felt like none of them even liked Riley, and that made it really hard to stay invested. Logan seemed promising at first, but as soon as he believed Riley lied, he completely turned on her and acted like a jerk. The way all three guys treated her throughout the book was hard to stomach. Riley herself just kept taking their abuse, which made me even more frustrated.

The writing itself is decent, and there’s definitely drama and intensity, but the characters - especially the MMCs - felt irredeemable. I found myself increasingly angry as the story went on, and by the end, I pretty much hated everyone involved.

I'm reluctantly curious to see where the series goes, but if there's not some serious character development in the next book, I won’t be continuing.

I give this book 3 stars. It, to my knowledge, lacked a content or trigger warning at the beginning of the recording. It went straight into it and didn’t give a warning. While why choose isn’t my go to, I did enjoy some parts of this book. But at parts it felt too much with the content. Again, I did enjoy parts and found myself wanting more of the “good.”

R.A. Smyth's "Frozen Hearts" is not the dark romance that I signed up for; it's merely a hot mess that left me utterly frustrated and actually upset. While I love reading about the darker side of romance, this book crosses lines that never should be crossed, let alone made lawful.

The very first thing that caught my attention is the total disrespect for consent. What is offered here isn't "dubious consent"; it's straight-up abuse and, honestly, rape. The history of sexual assault of the main character is employed as a plot point to rationalize additional non-consensual activity, especially by the primary perpetrator, Grayson, who is unrepentable. His behavior, such as physically hurting the FMC in a rage, is disgusting and inexcusable. It's surprising that any reader, or the FMC herself, could find a "good" in these men after so terrible a treatment.

The male characters are not "men"; they're a collection of toxic traits. From their unreflective adoration of Grayson to his depravity, to their appalling lack of respect for women (who thinks rudimentary feminine hygiene "gross"?), they have nothing good about them. The idea that a love interest would be okay with the FMC living in the house of someone who despises her, or that she would brush aside her realistic worries, indicates a failure of fundamental empathy and common sense within the narrative.

Talking about the female protagonist, she's being treated like a complete doormat. Her passivity and her strange acceptance of being kidnapped, beaten, and exploited is not a statement of strength, but instead an exceedingly disturbing characterization that shows she is, as they say, "brain dead." There is no believable way to a healthy relationship after the behavior of this book, and the implication that she will be a doormat in future books is a complete turn-off.

I like to finish what I start, but "Frozen Hearts" tested me to the limit. It's unrealistic, illogical, and offending at its center. This is not a dark romance; it's a novel that condones abuse and disrespect, with a bitter taste. Do yourself a disservice and find a book that's worth your time.

This book PMO so bad. That ending - it’s just going to be stretched out into another book. The lack of consent, especially to a girl who has been abused, is beyond sickening. I just can’t do it.

R.A. Smyth has done it again!

I was giving the opportunity to ALC the audiobook by NetGalley. Helen and Oliver did an amazing job telling the story of Riley and her boys. I could feel every emotion in the chapters.

This is not the first book I have read from R.A., so it wasn't a surprise that this story is 5 stars across the board. I plan to read book two right away so I can find out what happens. Of course when the audiobook comes out I plan to also listen to it!

Tropes:
Dark Romance
Why Choose
College
Suspense
Forced Proximity
Sports Romance