[ARC Review] Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz

Thursday, September 19, 2013


Title: Frozen
Author: Melissa de la Cruz & Michael Johnston
Genre: YA, Dystipian, Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Source: ARC received by publisher for honest review

Purchase
Amazon | Chapters | TBD | Goodreads





From New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston comes this remarkable first book in a spellbinding new series about the dawn of a new kind of magic.

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.



I will honestly say that I have not read the Blue Bloods series, so Frozen was my first time being introduced to Melissa's style of writing. Frozen was an interesting book even without being read. The concept of having the city of Las Vegas coated in a large sheet of ice and snow with no end in sight was enough to made me interested. But add in the paranormal element of The Marked- A group of people that have mythical and magical powers and I was game. But sadly this story lacked something for me.

When I read a dystopian that is so different from the norm I want a world that is so real and well described that I can picture it in my mind. But sadly that did not happen here. I was thoroughly confused for most of the novel. There were so many elements that I kept confusing characters and races of people. It was almost like that wanted to cram so many different things into the book as possible, but I really wish they would have simplified the world in order for me to relate and become accustomed to it.

Nat, our main character was a great character because she had a secret that she wasn't ready to divulge, and she never really knew who she really was until the end of the book. But this book was told in dual perspectives, so we had Nat and then we has Wes. Now I loved Wes because he was so determined and honorable. He has such a difficult and tragic past that at times I preferred his story to Nat's. Their story was predictable to the least, their feelings for each other were evident from the very beginning and honestly I felt like i wanted more conflict than what I received. Having a story told in dual POVs can have its advantages, you get to know both characters and fell in love with each in different ways. But it can also go wrong. When I am reading dual POVs I want there to be structure of when each person speaks. But in Frozen it seemed to follow this at the beginning of the book, with every other chapter being a different person. But then everything seemed to meld together and I found myself becoming confused on who was speaking.

Although I though the concept was interesting and the characters were unique and well structured at times, the world building was not as strong as I thought it would be and I found myself confused at multiple points through the book wondering what was happening. Although this book was not for me, it will be loved by many. So pick it up and find out which side you land on!

You Might Also Like

1 comments

  1. This book doesn't seem to be getting much favourable reviews since it cropped up on everyone's radar. I wasn't a fan of her Blue Bloods series, to be honest so I'm not that excited about this. It looks like I have a reason not to.

    Thanks for the honesty!

    ReplyDelete