Book Review: Gathering Frost
The Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis
Gathering Frost by Kaitlyn Davis re-imagines the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty in a dystopian romance. Years ago, an earthquake hit New York, separating the heroine of this story, Jade, from her mother. Years later, the city is nothing like it was before: instead of cement roads, there are cobblestone streets; instead of cars, there are horses and carriages; instead of houses and skyscrapers, there is a single towering castle. Above all, New York now has a queen with the ability to strip emotions away. Jade, too, has changed; she no longer has feelings, her heart cold as ice, and she works as part of the all-women queen’s guards, the Black Hearts, where spends her days staring at the ruins of the city. However, things start to take a turn when the queen’s son, Asher, returns from his runaway. For once in Jade’s life since the earthquake, she starts to feel emotion, from Asher’s constant taunts that spark anger to his steady gaze that cause her heart to skip a beat. As Jade and Asher grow closer, Jade’s icy heart starts to melt, and she begins to question her loyalty; is she on the queen’s side or Asher’s?
Jade won me over as soon as she introduces herself: “I wish I could say I was the hero of the story. A resister. A rebel. Someone who lived to bring an end to the queen who stole my childhood—my mother, my life, my very world. But I’m not. I’m not the good guy. I’m the one who puts the good guys in their graves.” From the start, I understood that Jade is going to be an unconventional heroine that I am going to love. Honestly, the novel was a delightful read, especially the romance within. The romance between Jade and Asher was slow and sweet, with plenty of moments between the two that was swoony and adorable. Davis was able to make the simplest acts of touching hands to looking in each others’ eyes way more compelling than that of romance scenes packed with complex actions. Additionally, there was no love triangle in sight, which I greatly appreciated. The only complaint that I have about this book is that I feel like it doesn’t completely represent the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. Even though I can see how it incorporates the classic tale, there’s just not enough resemblance; if I were to go into the book without knowing that it’s supposed to be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, I would have no idea until about half-way through the book. On the other hand, Gathering Frost does give off a fairy tale vibe, due to some things being too convenient and the fulfilling ending (it checks off all the boxes in a fairy tale). Overall, I enjoyed Gathering Frost, and I look forward to reading the next book in the Once Upon a Curse series, Withering Rose.
This is the book for you if you enjoy re imagined fairy tales with kick-ass heroines and story lines filled with cliché romance along with action scenes.
-Review by Teen Advisory Board Member, 11/30/20