Rating-
4.5/5 stars
(Rounded up!)

Genre-
Romantasy

Age Rating For It-
18+ because there is abuse (off page), attempted murder, death, drugs, murder, profanity, violence and sexually explicit scenes too.

Tropes-
Enemies to lovers
Royals
Protective mmc
Forced proximity

Quotes-

“Love is not a simple thing to break.”

“‘I am not a conquest, Eoghan’…’ No, Mave. You’re everything.’”

“‘You’re doing that thing again.’
‘What thing?’
‘Where you make me wonder how I am ever going to spend another moment not thinking about you.’”

“‘Kiss me again,’...’No,’ he laughs…
’Why?’
‘Because if I kiss you again, I’ll never want to stop. I’d let the world come crashing down around us, and I wouldn’t even flinch’”

Thoughts/Would I Recommend This?-
I honestly loved this book so much and thought it was great. I love the enemies to lovers trope so much and thought they did that trope really well, whereas some people definitely don’t, and so I loved that aspect of it so much. I thought the whole story was fun and the fmc Rapunzel vibes were really fun to have and that they did that well as well. The only real cons that it had I think was that at the beginning there were like 20 pgs of just explaining different world building stuff, which was a lot I think. The ending was also pretty predictable as well, which I didn’t love, but I also didn’t hate it either. All in all, though, I would definitely recommend this book and think that it’s a great book that people should definitely read!

Thank you to Whitney Welsh Gibbs and Netgalley for providing me with an arc! I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Actual Rating: 4.5 ⭐

What to expect:
-Enemies to lovers
-Royals
-Adorably grumpy side character
-Protective mmc
-Secret identity
-Forced proximity
-First book in unfinished series

What I liked:
The relationship. I loved the relationship between Eoghan and Maeve! Of course, it didn’t help that I’m a sucker for a good enemies to lovers. In the beginning there was a lot of animosity and hatred but by the end, there is no doubt in my mind that Eoghan would have died for Maeve. One of my favorite parts was seeing them together at the end. It's like I could feel the chemistry! My one con with the relationship is how fast it developed, as much as I do love enemies to lovers, I also enjoy a slow burn too. It just felt a little abrupt. One minute Eoghan hated her and the next he was in love with her.

Galgalesh. Is there really any explanation needed? He was hilarious. Seriously, some of his one liners had me rolling! Not only was he a great comedic relief, he also had a really great story line. I loved his relationship with Peadair. Don’t get me wrong, I hated Peadair but I thought his actions and Galgalesh’s response to them were definitely unique. Also a great LGBTQ+ rep!


What I didn’t like:
The lack of explanation. At the beginning of the book there are pages worth of lore, from seasons, to kingdoms, to gods. It honestly felt a bit overwhelming. To the point where the author really didn’t want to do any explaining in the books, so she just did it all in the beginning. Kind of like one big info dump, but the story hasn’t started. Now, granted, a lot of fantasy authors will do this so it’s not a huge deal. I just would have liked to have more explanation in the book, verses having it solely in the beginning.

The predictability. I’m going to keep this one short because I feel this has more to do with me personally as a reader. To me, the ending seemed quite predictable. Maybe not everything but with that specific character reappearing it definitely didn’t surprise me. Though, the foreshadowing throughout the book was well done, and I think the reappearing of this character will be a very interesting plot driver in the next book.

All in all, this book was great! I can’t wait to read the next one… Please let it be out somewhat soon! 🤞

This was a pretty cool start to a series! It takes some time to really get into it, but by the end I was fully invested in Maeve's story. The Land of the Frost has an interesting world, some loveable characters, and a steamy romance as well.

Read if you like:
- extensive worldbuilding
- training sequences
- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity
- "touch her and die"
- political intrigue

Our FMC Maeve has some strong Rapunzel vibes as a locked up princess with magical hair (that dies when cut). I found her to be a little difficult to like at first because she's 100% the cat that we worry about being killed by curiousity. I love an inclined FMC when they want to get strong or smart but Maeve spends so much time feeding her curiosity by being rash that I kept getting frustrated with her. I did grow to love her though and I also kept reminding myself that she was sheltered and didn't understand a lot of things so it is natural that she's curious and ignorant much of the time.

I really loved the other main and side characters! I think they were all super compelling and I liked their relationships and interactions with one another as well. I hope to see more of Finn and River in book 2!

The extensive worldbuilding is really awesome and is definitely desired by a lot of fantasy readers. However, personally I think it may have been better to put just the family tree and pronunciations at the front of the book along with a note to find a full glossary at the end of the book. 20 full pages of detailed notes on the entire world is a touch overwhelming at the beginning of a new book and I'm not sure I would've kept going after seeing that had this not been an ARC I already committed to review. That being said, I do love the attention to detail there, I just don't think it's necessary in the front of the book.

My only real complaint is I had a lot of trouble with the pacing of the book. It took until halfway for me to truly get captivated and even then the plot is a little non-existent (but it does help that the characters become more enjoyable at that point). The gist of the premise is that it's a revenge story but with no clear plan as to how the revenge is happening other than training to become strong. That could definitely work if the plan is to get a revenge body, but that's clearly not the plan here so most of the story felt a little meandering.

Eventually we uncover other elements and the plot becomes more intricate. Now that all this is in play, I'm so into this world and I can't wait to read more about this story! Fantasy and Romantasy readers will eat this up. This book is perfect for fans of The Winner's Curse and A Court This Cruel & Lovely.

Thank you to Azala Press, Whitney Welsh Gibbs, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

Thank you to Azala Press, Whitney Welsh Gibbs, and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved this book! I appreciate how thorough and informative the guides at the beginning were. I don't often see such detailed guides, and it was so helpful to better understand the world as I began my reading journey. I initially skipped the pronunciation guide, but when found myself getting attached to the characters, I had to go back and learn their true names. I spent have the book calling Eoghan “Enough” in my head before learning his name 😂
I stayed up well beyond my bedtime two nights in a row to finish this book.
The plot is captivating, and the characters are all so unique.
I loved that the world itself is so vibrant, and detailed. The contrasting terrain in each territory makes for a fun adventure where you never feel bored reading about the landscape. I can’t wait to learn more about the other territories in the upcoming books.
I don’t know if it’s just me, and because I read through it so quickly, but it did feel like some things were a bit rushed. I found myself wanting a little more yearning.
The twist was also a little predictable, but also what I’d want to happen in order to make the next book more intriguing. The Land of Frost took over my life for the last few days, and I can’t wait to read the next one!

An intriguing beginning for what looks like a fascinating series.
The FMC, Maeve, is a princess who witnesses her family being killed and swears to exact her revenge. During her journey, she's forced to reconsider and confront some of her beliefs.
The story was captivating. Admittedly, the abundance of names, places, species and intricacies of their magic system and politics were a bit challenging to navigate, but I got used to it.
The characters felt alive, I loved the interactions between to romantic leads, the ending sets up an intrigue for the next book.

I will always say this but I'm a sucker for great world building. The world building in this was amazing and it really captivates its readers..One thing that I really enjoyed and that I feel as though most fantasy books should have is the glossary section. The glossary explained the different types of lands, religion, languages, creatures, social systems, certain terms and pronunciations. This was a great addition to the book because it allows for readers to easily understand the world building and can allow for them to go back if needed without having to search for where certain things were mentioned. The Land of Frost was phenomenal from beginning to end. It was filled with an amazing plot, action, banter, and the perfect amount of romance.

WOW!
Seriously, this book was soooooo good!
It has everything survival, revenge, romance, awesome banter and one-liners, betrayal, twists, love, and a Fire Daddy! The characters and world were so captivating, I felt like I was right there with them.
I had so much trouble putting this book down, but when I absolutely had to I was thinking about it non-stop. Right from the first chapter I knew this was a new favorite.

The in depth glossary and pronunciation guide was also an great touch!
The only problem is now waiting for book 2.

Thank you Whitney for this amazing book!

I really enjoyed Maeve as a main character. She was vulnerable but showed character growth and resilience throughout the story that was relatable. The slow unraveling of her past was interesting as well. The tension between her and the MMC had the right amount of push and pull to keep me hooked, and I enjoyed learning more about him as well. Their dynamic added so much to the story, and I loved watching it develop.

That said, I struggled a bit with the setting. The prison felt a little inconsistent—there was a town nearby, prisoners seemed to have a strange level of freedom, and the magic rules weren’t always clear, which made it hard to fully immerse myself at times. The plot also had moments where I felt a bit lost, but the overall progression kept me engaged.

Despite those inconsistencies, this was a solid read with great character development and tension-filled relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley and Azala Press for an eARC of this book!

What a fabulous fantasy read!!!

This a new to me author. The synopsis drew me in. From the first page we were BAMM! into the action. Maeve is a strong heroine. She is trying to navigate her new reality while surrounded by the worlds worst criminals. And then their is Eoghan. Wow.....he is all dark and broody with a soft little heart hanging in there. I loved watching Maeve's curiosity bloom around him and their friendship build.

Here is my one picky detail. And it might just be me, but I honestly almost put the book down after the forward and end page materials. PAGES--of decryptions and pronunciations and back story. I did muddle through that. I don't think it was necessary--maybe the name pronunciations and a map---. But the author did a great job with world building and I wasn't left questioning anything. I know some readers love to have all that, but I enjoyed the story (nope-- I didn't read all the details in the front of the book) as it stood.

Great intro to this author and to this wonderful fantasy realm!

This is a cliff hanger so hold on while we wait for the next book in the trilogy. I really can not say enough how epic this story is. Grab it today!

The Land of Frost by Whitney Welsh Gibbs, was such a captivating fantasy book! I fell in love with all the characters but the growth that Maeve made throughout the whole book was amazing. She went from a clueless person to someone who could hold her own. She might not have been as strong as the guys but she never gave up! Eoghan was swoon worthy; at the beginning he came across as the "villian" but it was really a front in the effort to protect the princess. The end though killed me; I hate, hate cliffhangers! I will definitely be look out for the second book because I must know what happens!!!! Thank you #netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

Absolutely addictive!

I nearly DNF'd this (because Maeve was annoying me so much at the beginning) but I'm so glad I didn't. I was glued to the pages, cheering her on and warming to her more and more as we got to see into her backstory.

I adored Gálgalesh (probably more so than Eoghan)

Everybody needs to add this to their TBR!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ARC Review ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to Azala Press, Whitney Welsh Gibbs, and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Land of Frost has many great characteristics, and some characteristics I felt needed a little more work. I’ll start with the good and then find my way to what I think could have been better.

The worldbuilding is phenomenal. There is an extensive glossary at the beginning that breaks down the different providences of the kingdom, the different types of magic, religions, languages, creatures, objects, and a pronunciation guide. It was almost overwhelming to be hit with right from the beginning but was great to have access to throughout my read. The book starts with a lot of fast paced action and immediately grips you into the story. The spice is fun, and the characters are well fleshed out. The ending had me excited for book 2!

Now for some areas I felt needed a little work. Overall the pacing at times felt weird. Sometimes it felt more like we were forcing the story to a certain point instead of letting the story naturally evolve. Like if we wanted two characters together we had to awkwardly write the way there. I felt it dragged a bit in the middle. It felt like it took a while to decide what the driving narrative of the story was going to be. And the buildup of the main love interests relationship did not necessarily feel like it evolved naturally. The main character Maeve was at times a bit intolerable, but thankfully the side characters also recognized that and called her out anytime she was too weak or too whiny.

Overall though, this was a fun read. I enjoyed the read and the world building a lot. I am excited for book 2 and to see how we explore the world even more. I gave this book 3.5 stars. I think it has the makings of a good romantic fantasy series and will definitely add the second book to my TBR!

As much as the plot twist is rather predictable, this first book definitely gets off to a good start, so much so that it kept me glued to its pages for two consecutive days. The characters are of some depth and, although certain shifts in sentiment are a bit odd even in hindsight, the story flows and is also compelling. Now I only hope that the next volume in the series won't make me wait too long, otherwise I'll forget everything that happened till now.

Per quanto il plot twist sia piuttosto prevedibile, questo primo libro parte decisamente bene, tanto da avermi tenuta incollata alle sue pagine per due giorni consecutivi. I personaggi sono di un certo spessore e, anche se certi cambi di sentimenti sono un po' strani anche con il senno di poi, la storia scorre ed é anche avvincente. Ora spero soltanto che il prossimo volume della serie non mi faccia aspettare troppo, altrimenti mi scordo tutto....

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I was so grateful to have a chance to read this book as an ARC.

Maeve’s story was compelling, emotional and action packed.
The beginning felt quite disjointed with the story jumping from one area to another without much transition, but overall I very much enjoyed this book and the characters created within it.

Maeve starts as a sheltered and naive princess but goes through wonderful growth. She becomes more aware of the world she lives in, who her family was, her own strengths and weaknesses and what trust really is.
It is wonderful to see her developing throughout the book, growing, maturing and strengthening as the story progresses which makes her such a likeable lead.
The MMC Eoghan is a fantastic complex character that shows many different sides to his personality and is a believable yet captivating love interest.
So many of the supporting characters are fantastic additions that add so much to the depth of the story. Galgalesh is perfection and adds so much to the book. I also really love the interactions with Finn and River, they add some much needed levity to the story but also show a warmer side to Eoghan, I hope they will feature in the next book more.
The villains in the book are distinct and hateful and definitely made me feel suitable levels of outrage at their behaviour.
The surprise at the end was one I guessed earlier in the book, but I assume that the reader is supposed to guess based on the hints left throughout the book.
But even having guessed it, the reveal has still left me desperately wanting to know what happens next.
I’m very much looking forward to the next book.

Holy moly...this is a top notch romantasy! Banter, betrayal, adventure, and jaw dropping moments. Everything you could want in an addicting, page turning fantasy.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. And honestly, I feel like I won the ARC lottery.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 - 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺… 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦.”
At first I was convinced I would absolutely dislike Maeve. She starts out naive, self-centered and rude. She also seemed to have no sense of self-preservation whatsoever, surrendering quite easily as she and her family are captured, just wishing for a quick death, and again when she’s attacked in Bascogar, she barely reacts, not even to scream.

As the story goes along we see her gradually improving and growing into a woman instead of a child. People tell her their stories and she could’ve easily and petulantly refused to acknowledge what they tell her because it doesn’t fit with the image she has of the world. Instead, she listens and hears the truth, even when it contradicts everything she knew and opens her eyes to who her father really was; a selfish and cruel man.

She turns into someone strong, selfless, courteous and self-aware. She calls herself out on problematic behaviour and petty, childish lines of thought. She continually tries to be a better version of herself and to be kind and less of a burden to others. That’s what I call top notch character development.

“𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 - 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴?”
I loved loved 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 Gálgalesh. The big grump initially seems cold and unfeeling, but he’s absolutely hilarious.The 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 and creative ways he threatens Maeve had me giggling at almost every scene they had together. He calls her out on her BS when she’s being a brat, but he’s also kind - in his own way.

“𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴? 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵."
Rhyses, Kais and Xadens of the romantasy world, make way, ‘cause there’s a new book boyfriend in town.
With his infuriating little smirks, the sarcasm and the possessive jealousy, in addition to being sweet and funny when it’s just the two of them, Eoghan Kael has catapulted right into S-tier book boyfriend territory.
I’m glad we don’t have another shadowdaddy on our hands, and I enjoyed how the unique magic systems in this book allowed Eoghan an unusual way of expressing his flames - though don’t think I haven’t noticed we’ve yet to find out what his individual power is.
One thing: while River, Kai and Finn are all very acceptable and manly names, we instead got the most unpronouncable moniker in the entire book.
Speaking of Finn and River; they’re hilarious, and I need more of them and their brotherly goofiness in the next book.

I feel like there could have been more contractions used; I’m, you’re, it’s. Though I realise that Maeve was brought up a certain way, and this story is set in medieval-like times, sometimes the narration and dialogue felt a bit stilted. It might not be a problem for most, but it’s something of a pet-peeve of mine.

The ending was not a complete surprise, and I’m not sure it was supposed to be. It seemed more inevitable than anything else. I feel like this will be the catalyst for change, like this book was only an introduction into the world and we’ll be seeing an epic story unfold in the next books, the likes of SJM’s novels. This book hasn’t even been released yet, and I already can’t wait for the next.

"𝓘'𝓶 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓜𝓸𝓻𝓪𝓷, 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓮𝓷𝓭."

*reduced for Instagram, Amazon review will follow when book has been released

I honestly didn’t expect this book to be this incredible.
Easily a 5-star read!
Now I’m just counting down the days until the next one!

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me an ARC via NetGalley!

As an avid fantasy reader, I was a bit hesitant to read this book for fear it would mingle too much with other fantasy books I’ve read and be ‘same as the rest’. Oh how wrong I was. I was thrown into this book immediately after reading the first few sentences. The scene setting? Impeccable. The character introductions? Stunning. I told my partner straight away “this is gonna be a good book” and my god was I right. The character development, the plot, the twists, everything was just incredible. The glossary at the front of the book was also mega helpful. I love a strong female lead, and I truly loved how the FMC changed from a bratty impatient little girl into a woman who could save herself and fight her own battles. The pacing of the book was superb, and everything seemed to flow at such a good rate that it was an easy book to consume. This book inspired me to create a new collection on my Kindle called “favourites” to make sure I’m able to keep an eye out from other books from this author. I will be counting down the days til the second book comes out and I genuinely really loved the book this journey took me on.

Rating: 5/5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

I really enjoyed The Land of Frost for its original world, captivating characters and interesting storyline.

The book was fast-paced, easy to understand, especially for the provided glossary at the beginning.
I loved Maeve's story and her development from the beginning to the end. She's a strong, determined FMC, driven to get her revenge. She goes through a lot of really traumatic events throughout the book, it's truly a wonder she manages to come back stronger, especially after being on the brink of death each time.

I think her relationship with Eoghan, the MMC, started quite suddenly, but for how fast-paced the book was, it's not a shock. I still enjoyed their interactions and giggled and kicked my feet every time they shared a sweet and romantic moment, especially during Eoghan's love declaration!

All in all, it was a great book and the ending was quite surprising (though I already had my theories after reading Maeve's flashbacks). I am really interested to see what happens in the next book!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Okay, so the publisher was right, this book does give off Rebecca Yarros, and in my opinion, a little Callie Hart with its enemies to lovers dynamic. I kept myself open to surprise, instead of being weighed down by the similarities to other authors, and I really enjoyed this book. I stayed up late reading it, ignoring my homework, and any other activities that wouldn't let me finish the book. I kept saying to myself, "this will be the last chapter then I will put the book down," but let's be real, I was lying to myself. I kept turning the page because the story gripped me more than the romance. I felt myself asking every question Maeve did as her world was torn apart. I also felt for her as a person because she lived a secluded life in a gilded cage and her responses to others after that experience is actually understandable; usually I see a character like her as prying and self-centered, but just really doesn't know, but she wants to know, which is why I found myself liking her. Her male lead is cool too. I just admire how Maeve keeps herself moving forward, even if it is propelled by revenge, because she does it in a way that lets her grow, while also not letting go of who she was before her world was turned upside down.