Frost by C.N. Crawford – Review

Published: October 3, 2022

Publisher: Self Published

Series: Frost and Nectar #1

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 326 (Kindle)

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Synopsis:
On the worst birthday of my life, I come home to find my boyfriend in bed with another woman. Within hours, I’m drunk, homeless, and pledging to stay single forever. And that is when the dangerously sexy Seelie King rolls through town, looking for fae like me.

Every generation, the king holds a competition for Seelie queen. But for reasons he won’t explain, Torin is looking for a charade, not a real marriage. So when I drunkenly sling insults his way, I have his attention.

When Torin offers me fifty million to participate, I think, “What have I got to lose?” The answer turns out to be “my life,” because my competition will literally kill for the crown.

And the more time I spend with the seductive king, the harder it becomes to remember it’s all supposed to be fake. Now, my life—and my heart—are one the line.

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I picked up Frost during one of the quarterly “Stuff Your Kindle Day” events, precisely for a fun vacation read and it didn’t let me down. This is super standard modern fantasy romance with a fun televised competition aspect that made it truly feel like trashy reality tv. I had a GREAT time with it.

This follows Ava, a half fae who’s just found out her long term boyfriend has been cheating on her, and on her birthday no less! She gets absolutely smashed drunk and unfortunately the Seelie King of the fae shows up at the bar she’s at and she tells him off and totally embarrasses herself while a ton of strangers record it. Fortunately(?) for Ava, she’s exactly what Torin is looking for – someone he could never possibly fall in love with because he’s cursed and whoever he loves will die at his touch. Which is the edgiest thing everrrr. Rather than appeal to her emotions, Torin offers Ava fifty million dollars if she’s able to win an upcoming competition for Torin’s hand in marriage. Ava, being the sensible woman she is, agrees and is whisked away to his palace where she’s primped and prodded until she looks the part of a competitor. What Ava didn’t expect is just how bloodthirsty the other fae women are and to what length they’ll go to in order to win.

This was straight up fun and I think it always helps for me to pick up this type of book with no expectations of greatness. This is a perfect popcorn read that promises action, intrigue, and romance and then delivers on all those aspects. Ava and Torin have excellent banter and Torin has enough angst for the both of them. Probably my favorite part of the entire book is when Ava becomes a fan favorite in the competition and her awful cheating ex gets doxxed and absolutely raked over the coals by the media. There’s also this absolutely hilarious date portion of the competition (much like the Bachelor show) where each of the remaining competitors has to make Torin a meal and then talk to him and it’s just a bunch of fae nobility giving him really absurd stuff.

Overall, this was exactly what I wanted it to be – escapist fun with a decent plot and a decent amount of spice. There is a sequel and I’m a little tempted to check it out, but I honestly don’t know that I would enjoy it as much as Frost. I loved the televised competition and all the associated drama and I’m not sure this would hold up as a true ‘fantasy’ romance without the reality show vibes.