Shadow Frost

First of all, I loved this story so much. There’s not enough words for me to express my love for this book. I know that 2019 hasn’t ended yet, but Shadow Frost has become my top favorite read of the year so far. Judging by how the story ended, I’m sure there will be a sequel. And as much as waiting for the sequel is painful, I’m so excited to see the continuation of the story and which direction the author will go for next. Shadow Frost was so epic, amazing, it was truly magical and purely brilliant. If you don’t know what to read next, pick this one up!

After I read the first few chapters, I knew straightaway that this book will have lots of intense battles that involved magic. The magic that were used for this story is the elemental magic. I loved the concept of the elemental magic and how the nine elements has different type of magical powers. I also get to learned how many elements can one person wield. The author really did a great job of explaining how the magic works and how some people can wield one element, and some can wield three, and there are those rare people who can wield all nine elements. Each of these magic are unique, seeing the characters in the book using it during the battle was just breathtaking. I was in awed seeing how the elemental magic works and what each of the magic can do to a person or any other sinister creatures. There was also a mention of shadow magic, which was something that I was curious about the whole time.

This book has unique and brilliant concept when it comes to magic, but the world-building…it was very well-crafted. I really dig the world-building of this story. This book focused more on the mortal realm, since that is where the heroes and heroines of the story lived in. There was a slight mention of the immortal realm, but I’m hoping we’ll able to see it in the sequel. I was wondering how the immortal realm looks like, the description doesn’t do it justice, but I pictured it as the post-apocalyptic realm that are full of fires everywhere and it kind of looks like hell.

The setting of the story was very interesting, I can already imagined how beautiful it all looks like. The story takes place mostly in Axaria, one of the kingdom in the mortal realm. There was also a mentioned of other kingdoms, but the only kingdom that gets a huge mention was Eradore. We’ve seen what Axaria looks like, and it was described as majestically beautiful, which is true by the way. How I wish I can live there, well…in my own imagination that place does exist and that I actually live there!

The writing was excellent. It does make the story flow so well and also it’s easy for me to understand the whole thing; the plot and the concept of the story. The writing makes it all better. With good writing, come a good story. I truly enjoyed the whole book, literally devoured it deeply. It wasn’t a predictable story, and I was happy nothing is obvious. The more I read it, the more I was curious about so many things, especially the true identity of some characters. The story brings out the detective in me, I was trying to find all the clues/hints about certain characters, and just when I thought I already unlock the mystery, the story just keeps on proving me wrong and it played a bit of a trick with my mind.

The story also has lots of great big plot twists that shocked me! As I said in the earlier paragraphs, there are lots of secrets being buried for years and that secrets has secrets in it, which interest me more. All the twists and turns made it hard for me to believe which one is real and which one is not. So many things I didn’t see coming which was good, because if I see it coming then it means the story is predictable and there will be not enough surprises to surprise me. I was glad that the author write the story to be so unpredictable.

This book has so many actions, and all of it was very intense. Trying to write a big fight scene that involved lots of magic is hard, but the author knew how to do it right and how to write it properly. I was amazed by how amazing all the fight scenes were, especially the one where all the royalties were involved and all of them fought the main villain, that will go down as one the most epic magic battle in history. Also, Asterin and her friends using each of their elemental magic to fight the villain, that was pure awesomeness.

The ending was bittersweet. I was sad for what happened to everyone, but I cried so hard for Asterin the most. She did what she could, and it was sad to see her being alone and feeling so lonely. Her friends also has their own journey and they also want to continue living their lives, and Asterin has a bigger duty and responsibility now, so it was understandable why the story ended the way it did. I just hope they get to be back again as a group and going on a new adventure. Here’s hoping the sequel will mend my broken heart after that ending. The ending also set up so many new things for the sequel, and there are some unanswered questions that still needed to be answered.

The characters in this book are so likable, even the villain was surprisingly good. We get to meet Asterin (the main protagonist), Quinlan, Rose, Luna, Eadric, Orion, Harry, Prisiclla, and Garringsford. These are the main characters in the story, and I get to know what are their connections with Asterin since this is her story. I never read anything like this before where all the main characters are consistent because they were written so well.

We get to see the backstory of these characters and how their past lead them to where they are now. It was an epic journey to be able to read and learn more about these amazing characters through their own chapters. These characters are all equal, nobody is powerful than the other, all of them are strong and powerful—not just in terms of power and strength, but also their cleverness. All of them are so unique in their own way, we get to see what type of magic they wield, and how intelligent they are when it comes to making plans.

As for the villain, well…this one can get a bit complicated due to the fact that the villain’s identity was still unclear in the beginning up until the final few chapters. The demon was supposed to be the main villain because it terrorized a lot of people, and the thing with the demon has a twist which was a huge surprise, but it was an amazing twist that I didn’t even see coming. I was shocked to find the main villain is actually the character that I didn’t expect to be a villain at all. The reveal was a jaw-dropping moment, but then after learning the truth, it make sense why the author chose to go for the ‘non-suspicious’ type to be the main villain. The author surely knows how to do it right, she knows how to make her readers keep on guessing who the villain is. That was a clever move on the author’s part.

Asterin is the most fierce royal princess. She’s everything I hope for in a female protagonist. She was so strong and powerful, and she knew how to fight so well. Asterin isn’t just someone who can fight and become powerful so suddenly, she started her training since she was still a little kid, she always trained with her guardian on how to fight, how to use a sword, and how to wield her own magic. To me that part is very necessary to include in the story, at least I knew where she got all the skills and that she had a proper training all those years. She has a lot of potential and the author didn’t waste it at all, I’m happy to see the good development the author gave Asterin’s character.

Quinlan is so amazing! He’s the most powerful magic wielder in the story, he even taught Asterin how to wield all of her magic without any struggles. He doesn’t just become the most powerful all of a sudden, just like Asterin he has a lot of training to do all those years ago. His heartbreaking backstory revealed so much about his life, and how he came to learn about his magic and how he was trying to use it and control it on his own. He’s an amazing character and he keeps on getting a lot better later on, and most importantly he cares about everyone and always looking out for everyone’s safety.

The romance in this book was great. I loved the pairings that they author choose. The relationship that has a lot of focus is obviously the one that Asterin is involved in. She and Quinlan has great chemistry and they shared a deep connection that they didn’t have with the others. I knew they would somehow ends up together, but I didn’t know it took them that long. Their romance is more of a slow-burn type, they often teased each other, especially Quinlan did the teasing a lot. The slow-burn really fits them, it was a long process but the build up wasn’t disappointing at all. That’s why I love a slow-burn romance, the process helps a lot in building up the relationship to be epic and it also helps develop two characters and their connection and chemistry with each other and make it more realistic, instead of just rush things out and the outcome of the relationship doesn’t make sense and it didn’t look so convincing. Asterin and Quinlan truly meant to be together. I loved these two so much. I hope to see more of their sweet and romantic moments in the sequel.

The story was excellent, the book is truly the best. Can we please appreciate the simple and yet beautiful cover, after finishing the book, I understood the meaning of the cover and what connection it has with the storyline. You’ll be surprise when you find out! I highly recommend this book if you love so many great, strong and equal characters, high quality and original story with big plot twists.

This was one fantastic way to kick off a new YA fantasy series. It has a little something for everyone. The high-fantasy and epic storytelling of Throne of Glass. The supportive #squadgoals of The Lunar Chronicles. And the tragic backstories of Six of Crows.

Largely because of the multiple POV format, by the end it is kind of hard to say there are “main” and “secondary” characters. They’re all an ensemble cast.

It’s honestly astonishing to me that this was written by a teenager. Coco Ma’s writing capabilities can outshine even the most experienced of writers. She was born to write.

This series will likely become my new obsession. This was my 96th book read in 2019 and it has shot right to the top of my favourites list.

A heart-stopping adventure with twists I did not see coming, this book was exceptional.

Strong female characters are always great, and here is one such individual. Asterin is not only a strong character, but she is, ultimately, such a flawed character. Driven and powerful, she is always eager to try to better herself to make sure that she is the ruler her people need her to be. Asterin is ready to jump into battle with her warriors rather than sit idly by. Moreover, while these are all great merits, it’s her insecurities that make her come to life. Asterin seeks the approval of her mother and attempts to control the power inside her that she doubts. She is human and relatable, and that’s what keeps her from falling into the trap of being a Mary Sue character, which she was close to becoming. She has all this power, all this skill, but she doesn’t know how to use it, her decisions are conflicted, her choices are complicated, and the outcomes do not always favor her. That’s the compelling part of her narrative, how twisted she is inside to do what’s right for herself and her people, while also challenging herself and growing through the story.

However, the story goes beyond Asterin, expanding to her band of friends. Each character has a unique voice, making them stand out, but, much like with Asterin, they each have insecurities that make them relatable, and ultimately, they balance each other out wonderfully. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, but they love each other leading them to fight for one another in fantastic ways, even while they battle their misgivings and insecurities.

There is something to be said about the pacing of the novel. It does a decent job of world-building, and the opening sequence is dark and tantalizing. However, from then on, the pace is slower, it takes a while to pick up the pace and then in the middle it slows down again. It is clear that the intent is to showcase the characters, to focus on their dynamics and growth, and at least Ma does an excellent job of summarizing the passage of time in a remarkable way, but while that is happening it almost feels as if the main story is being put on hold to do this. It makes the pacing feel choppy even though it picks back up and speeds towards an action-packed ending.

Shadow Frost is, ultimately, a riveting debut that has such a fascinating story of magic and gripping character development. It breaks apart by giving all the characters their chance to shine and grow, while also introducing tension throughout the layers of the story, making it an excellent read.

Okay, this is the only site that I rated it with 5 stars because apparently, 4 stars meant “good” and this is beyond “good”!
I was given an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) of this book via digital means through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review .

I loved this book so much. For a debut novel, it was wonderful! As an avid reader of Maas, Black, Clare, Bardugo and a lot of Fantasy novels, this is easily one of my favorites! The world didn’t take long to get in it. I found the characters likable and had strong identities. They were also quite human, which is unlikely of Fantasy characters. If you’d like to read more of my review, it’s posted on NetGalley. Here’s the link –> https://www.netgalley.com/book/161796/review/455949