Review:
Title: Frostbitten
Author: Heather Beck
Publisher: Enchanted Publishing
Publication Date: September 13th, 2014 {Paperback}
Format: ARC
Source: Author {In exchange for an honest review}
Genre: MG; Romance; Paranormal
Blurb:
Great beauty hides dark secrets…
Seventeen-year-old Anastasia Lockhart has never led an easy life, but when she starts getting into serious trouble, she’s sent to live with her grandparents in Cedar Falls. The small, picturesque town hasn’t changed since she visited four years ago, with one exception – the presence of a handsome, mysterious boy named Frost. Despite warnings from her grandparents and friends to stay away from Frost, Anastasia can’t deny their attraction, and the more time they spend together, the deeper in love they fall. Unfortunately, Frost has a secret that is beyond Anastasia’s wildest imagination, and she soon finds herself in the midst of a supernatural legend that has haunted Cedar Falls for years.
Can Anastasia and Frost’s love really overcome anything, or are their fates much darker?
Thoughts:
When I first received this ARC I was intrigued; this book came into the market into the market at a time when paranormal romance isn’t exactly at the same high that it was several years ago. The blurb sounded strikingly similar to other series that I have read so I proceeded with caution.
Before I continue: while this book may be marketed and labeled as YA it is most certainly more of a Middle Grade novel.
We begin our book with Anastasia (whose unique name bothers me in the sense that in reality very few people have that name, thus making her hard to relate to), a newfound delinquent who is sent to live in her grandparent’s small town because she has become too much work for her mother. Overall, I liked the world building for the town was nice but a little under developed for what I am used to. I wish that we had gotten more time as a reader to really understand the dynamic between Anastasia and her mother and the time leading up to Anastasia’s delinquency. It feels disjointed from the novel.
Proceeding on, the majority of the book is focused on Anastasia’s relationship with her romantic interest Frost and interest that he brings into her life. Between the blurb and the cover you can likely already determine the plot of the book, but I will admit that it had aspects and details that surprised me. Overall everything could have been developed and expanded upon more
The only part of the book that I found truly odd was the town and town’s people. There surely should have been more drama about Anastasia’s mother’s estrangement from her parents, or about the fact that Anastasia was coming to live in town. Also, Anastasia’s lack of going to class should have alarmed someone, considering how small the town is supposed to be. The towns people were all bizarre; hard to picture due to lack of descriptions and or relevance to the overarching story.
The teenaged girls in the story, other than Anastasia, were all strangely linked to the plot or had a notable lack there of. I was frustrated with how their friendships were choppily woven in throughout the story and felt that overall they were mostly unnecessary characters. Many of which were classic character archetypes, which was annoying.
The pace of the book is rather slow until the end, where the story suddenly decreases and comes to a pause. It is obvious that this book is intended to become a series, but I dislike it’s inability to stand satisfactorily as a stand alone novel.
In Retrospect:
Much of my little nit picky problems with this book are due to the fact hat I’m comparing this novel to YA standards, which it cannot possibly meet because the style and plot are without a doubt Middle Grade. People who enjoy paranormal romance but like a little bit of surprise will enjoy this read.
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