It had potential but I don't like switching the romance leads ( )

Fantasy of Frost is very readable and immersive. I really liked a lot of the story and many of the characters. BUT there were a few things that I really didn't like about this book.

The main character is strong and bad-ass, but she's always going on about how she almost exclusively eats apples (not that many of them), and is super small and delicate. How is she supposed to be able to do these awesome things without fueling her body with food?! Come on.

Then another character, who I think is supposed to be a "good guy", is really controlling in the book and it's basically treated like no-big-deal. It goes beyond being overprotective and into being unhealthy.

Lastly, there is a lot of juvenile-sounding swearing in this book. Like when a kid isn't allowed to swear at home so they obnoxiously swear with their friends. It's not really that big of a deal, but it's a bit cringey.

Despite everything that I don't like, I enjoyed reading Fantasy of Frost and I'll read the next book in the series to see where the story goes. ( )

Looking at the broad strokes, this one is better than most I've read in recent times which sadly doesn't mean as much as I would like, but really, it was pretty good.
There was something quite annoying tho. Even tho the plot was refreshingly unconventional while not messing up pacing which in itself is an achievement there was a lot of flawed logic.
The author took time to explain decisions (via internal monologue) that at first sight might seem illogical or out of character but those explanations themselves often were flawed. Some of these contradictions were incredibly obvious and sometimes even in the same sentence.
If you are taking the time to give an explanation for a weird decision it should actually explain the thing, not exaggerate the problem. It's like the author noticed the flaw but wasn't able to find a convincing explanation but left the failed attempt in the script.
But then, astute logic was generally not the strength of this novel.
Getting back to the plot, the story had a lot of obvious opportunities to follow beaten paths which is something most authors can not resist but this one did. Things happen much more naturally, so much so that the few instances of plot convenience fall easily within the willing suspension of disbelief.
There are a few outright mistakes that broke my immersion a bit like the number of dead people someone might be considered responsible for. Important things like that which makes those quite jarring sometimes.

I am usually quite good at picking up new and different worlds and their rules like fundamentally different climate or seasonal rhythms, unusual orbits and anything of that sort but this one failed miserably at conveying how this world or might I say "worlds" work. Terms associated with location or season and other things of that sort are thrown all over the place in various contexts. It really was a nightmare to grasp how the climate is supposed to work and I have yet to fully understand even the fundamental ideas and rhythms behind the system. All I could tell for sure was that there is more than one important rhythm and that there are cold and warm regions.

I have quite a few, maybe a bit petty criticisms concerning specific scenes or facts but that would quickly degenerate into something resembling an in-depth line by line critique which, not only I am not willing to write, but would also be an incredibly boring waste of time because I am not able to write engaging reviews. (well, Grammarly tells me this one is engaging apparently but who the eff knows, its neural nets.)
I am tempted to give this 4 stars but so much of the things I heard about the world and the plot is so incomplete that I will defer judgement to when I am finished with the series.

Edit:
I've read the series up to the middle of the third book where I dropped it. It doesn't get better.
The praise I gave the first book is sadly less and less applicable the further you read into the series. The hints of flaws in the first one are exacerbated and we are being served increasingly stinky piles of bullshit.
Carefully crafted reasoning becomes rarer and rarer and the audaciousness of the whisked shit we are served increases constantly up to a level of a third-tier overemotional romance novel.
It goes exactly the stupid and lame route almost every other average book in this genre takes.
It ends up being forced melodrama following worn clicheé patterns.
Well, that's not really true. There wasn't really any promise but the story appeared to be aware of the beaten path and seemed to purposefully avoid it. I had so much hope. All... Crushed... There is nothing left but pain... the love in my heart... will it ever recover? Oh no, the book might be infectious!
I am tempted to reduce my rating to 2 stars tbh but that wouldn't be fair to this book. The series as a whole is for sure not worth more than 2 stars though. ( )

It had potential but I don't like switching the romance leads ( )

I was given a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

To begin with, I have to admit I'm not a fan of books written in the first person. I find that my interest wanes a little too fast and the narrative is a little monotone for my liking. However, much like The Hunger Games, there is a good story here and plenty of action to keep you gripped, though I have to say I found the book to be a little too descriptive in places.
The story centres around a Princess, but it's far from a perfect fairy tale. Without giving any of the plot away I would say it's a dark, cruel world she has lived in to date. But, that is all about to change with the arrival of a Prince from an opposing world, whom she has to show around her planet. He becomes her first real love interest but his destiny is about to throw her whole life into turmoil. Action, adventure, intrigue and mystery follow, as our strong, vibrant heroine survives a catalogue of dangerous incidents.
It has it's own style but think Throne of Glass crossed with The Hunger Games and you won't be far off (both excellent books in my opinion).
This book is well written and well paced. There are a very few typos and tense confusion here and there despite the excellent editing but this does nor detract from what is a very clever and engaging plot. It was enjoyable to read and I would recommend it to any fans of science fiction or fantasy. ( )