Reviews of Frost

Frost by Kate Avery Ellison brings to life a beautiful world with a complex history, full of secrets, betrayal, and hope. She captures the world with vivid descriptions that bring this place to life in your mind. You can picture yourself walking with Lia and experiencing her fear, her stubbornness, and her loss as the story progresses.

Lia is a wonderful main character with her strength in hardships and loyalty to her family. I don't think that I would be as open to raising my flaky sister and brother who can't walk. This isn't to be mean but I think I am probably more selfish which makes Lia all the more admirable. Her selflessness is continually proved throughout the story as she gives up everything for her siblings. It makes me want to cry when she gives up her chance at love and happiness to make sure that her siblings will always be taken care of.

The Watchers were intimidating but not as scary as I expected. They have more history behind them and mystery seems to cling to their character so I wish I would've learned more about them then I did. Now, I am not into horror stories or anything but I think that the Watchers definitely could've been amped up more and their history should've been expanded on. History could've either made them more relatable or scary.

The Farthers are an interesting element to the story that kind of appears out of nowhere in the story. If there is any real bad guys in the story, it would definitely be this group of people. They have a lot of evil that is more than perceived like with the Watchers. It's really cool to shift between which one was a bad guy.

I love this book and it's an awesome read with a lot of great pieces to the story.

This book was everything I expected and more. The author was descriptive and the story was captivating. I started the book expecting to put it down after a few chapters and ended up reading it the whole way through.

You really feel for the MC Lia. Her family was killed, leaving her in charge of her younger sister and crippled brother. The town wants her matched and that would mean leaving her family. Lia became all work and no play in an effort to avoid such action and keep her family afloat.

Then one day her sister found a "farther" in the woods and Lia's world was turned upside down. Everything she thought she knew was questioned. She must learn to follow the rules or put her trust in this new stranger, Gabe.

There was a good dose of mystery in this book. It kept me guessing until the very end. I was pretty sad to see the story end. I am thankful there is a sequel to Frost. Thorns will be out in July 2012. I for one am stoked and will be one of the first to see how this journey continues.

WOW. This is the second book I've had the opportunity to review by Kate Ellison and her writing keeps getting better and better. Absolutely LOVED this story and found that I couldn't put it down once I started. My one complaint is that it was too short. It introduced some interesting characters that I would have loved to know more about but overall I found it to be an excellent intro to what I hope will be a great series.

Ellison weaves a beautiful story of a girl named Lia who is forced into the adult responsibilities of taking charge of her two siblings and their farm after her parents are killed. The weight of keeping her family together and alive weighs heavily on her shoulders. She realizes that her own dreams aren’t important anymore, only survival. The imagery the author creates of the frosty woodland where she lives was vivid. Life in the community where she lives is rough. Money doesn’t exist, only the trade of goods and everyone works to meet a weekly quota that keeps the village thriving. South of the village beyond the frost is the sophisticate and advanced city of Aeralis where people they refer to as Farthers live. In Aeralis there is no bitter winter, electronics & machines exist, the military rules and most importantly there are no Watchers. Watchers are creatures of the frost that come out at night and hunt. Lia’s world is turned further upside down after she saves the life a dangerous Farther named Gabe and the world as she knows it changes forever.

I liked Lia a lot. She’s a survivor who is trying to make sense of the world around her. The romance in the story was subtle, sweet and heartbreaking. As she asks "Is this struggle to feel worth it?"

Again, my only complaint is that it was over too soon. I wanted to learn more about Adam, his family and Lia's brother Jonn - who broke my heart. I can't wait for book 2 and seriously, stop reading reviews and just go read it!!!

I recently received an ebook copy through Goodreads of Kate Avery Ellison’s debut of a new young adult series that had me SHUSHING the “target audience” in my own home! Descriptive without being heavy-handed or obvious, I could see and feel the harsh environment that is the setting of the story. Ellison put me right into the terror that is Lia’s life in the Frost. Gradually I learned more and more about Lia, her family, her circumstances, and the other characters that shape her desperate existence all the while tensely waiting for the horrible Watchers in the woods to make their appearance. I cared about what would happen to Lia and her family. I hoped that they would make good decisions and be heroic. And I sincerely wish that a sequel is coming soon!

Lia Weaver is left to take care of her family farm and two younger siblings when her parents are murdered in the woods one night by Watchers. The inhabitants of Frost live in fear of the Watchers – monsters who come out only at night. At the beginning of the book Lia’s top priority is to take care of her family and keep them safe from the Watchers. Then she meets Gabe and everything changes. Love blossoms and secrets abound.

I loved this story. It was very different from other dystopian books I’ve read. Ellison’s writing is very lyrical and enchanting. I loved her descriptions and sensory details. Gabe is an endearing hero and Lia is a strong character. I loved them both. This a delightful story and I can’t wait to read more from this author!
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"We all have a fear of the unknown, what one does with that fear will make all the difference in the world" (Lillian Russell quote). Thought this quote was fitting for the book since so much of it is fear of the unknown.

Lia lives just outside the gates of the Village on a small farm her parents had bought way before the Watchers killed them. No one else wanted it because it was too far from the safety of the Village gates. But now that they are gone, Lia is left to care for her crippled brother and scatterbrained younger sister...all while trying to make quota each week for the Village. And sometimes it proves to be too much for the young girl. So when her sister demands they care for a dying Farther, one of the very people the Elders have warned them against, Lia believes this could be the final straw that could finally tear her family apart.

Lia is breaking all the rules and possibly putting her family’s lives at risk to care for this young man. But there is something about him that pulls her in and soon feelings start to grow. Lia thinks she is crazy for falling for a Farther of all people. But this is just the beginning of the story...more and more secrets unravel and now Lia must help him escape her people and his own to get to safety. Lia will sacrifice everything she has ever known for him, but in the end is it worth it or will it cost her her life and the lives of those she loves?

This book to me was like some crazy mix up of The Village (M. Knight Shyamalan) and The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Carrie Ryan) all jumbled together...in a very good way. I was creeped out through a majority of it wondering what the Watchers really were. I only know of a handful of books that have brought on such intense feelings of fear and this one did it. That shows the author knows what she is doing and doing it well.

Loved the intensity and emotion that Frost had flowing through it…you will have a hard time finding a stopping place. The author throws a few twists out at you, having you remember things from the beginning you thought meant nothing. I thought the whole storyline was great and loved how it all played out in the end. Would definitely love to read more about these amazing characters and hope the author plans to continue on with it.

*Received a copy for a honest review.

I have got to say Frost is not your typical read. It is in the shadows and the darkness.

Lia Weaver lives with her siblings, her sister, Ivy and her brother, Jonn. Her parents were killed by watchers. In Frost there are secrets that could kill you and if you roam around you won't live for long. The Watchers watch your every step. They are monsters. The Fathers are from another land. It all starts when Ivy finds him lying on the snow bleeding. By Lia looking after him it means betraying the villages trust. But when they find out that he (Gabe) is a Father and a rouge, Lia's world turns upside down. She finds secrets that have been hidden from her and also finds love. But some time's it can be too late.

Hold on, i need to breathe! I just can't stop boasting about this! Everything was perfect except *one little thing*, and i repeat: "one little thing." Anyway, moving on. First things first: i love Kate Avery Ellision! Her writing is so beautiful and the way she puts twists in her story! The plot of this story is set in a fantasy world, where people live in Frost and the Fathers live in a world of dull days. There are also Watchers (god are they creepy!) Every time, the pop up into the story it sends you shivers down your spine (and let me tell you, it's not in a good way.) These people do not mix together! And oh how i loved it! I just loved each and every single thing about the plot, the Fathers and the Watchers.

The only thing that annoyed me was that Lia, our main character, was brave but she couldn't make her mind up! Seriously! Make your mind up, girl!! Gabe, i thought, was a interesting character but he was more of a normal guy to me. The story didn't really look into him in more detail of his feelings and i would have loved it if there was. The only things we know are little detail was his story of how he got here. Other than these things i loved every single thing about it!

The mystery in this story is just mesmerising. You can't help but wait in anticipation (and maybe skip a few words or paragraphs.) The different characters in this book are all for a purpose and oh was i shocked when i found out some things. Some of these characters don't even look like they could kill people!

So, in the end, i have to say i loved reading Frost! It's one of my favourite book for a creep-you-out read. And i would highly recommend to read Frost or one of Ellison's work.

I loved this story, it was enchanting and magical. The setting was so well described I could actually almost feel the chill on my skin. The characters were awesome and believable, I only wanted to know them more and read more about them. The story itself was definitely amazing; the author spun a tale of originality with dread and suspense laced in the folklore of the world. I was on edge on the scenes with the Watchers, I really want to know what they are specifically but boy I would not want to meet one! The touch of romance was definitely a plus!

To make a world all nestled in the cold of ice, snow and frost and still maintain the vivid imagery to get the story flowing is extremely difficult but this author did it perfectly. I want to read the sequel and I want to read more about the complexity of a great cast of characters: Lia, Gabe, Ivy, Ann, Adam and Jonn. The Farthers were perfect villains and I loved to hate them but I would definitely like to see what their world is all about too.

Overall a thrilling, enchanting read that I would love to read again, which is something I rarely do. Great job!

I was lucky enough to be given a free copy of this book to review by the author through Goodreads. I had read and reviewed The Curse Girl, by Kate Ellison, and I was really excited to be given the opportunity to read this one as well. I was not disappointed! Though this book was brief compared to what I usually read, the world was very well built and the characters were nicely fleshed out. I really liked Lia a lot. It was great to have a strong young female protagonist and I really felt for her. I liked Gabe, Ivy, and Jonn as well. I was expecting the twist at the end, but I wasn't expecting the *who*. I feel like I should have, but I thought it was going to be someone else. It was fun. At first I thought the person I suspected was good, then thought thatnerson was going to be the ultimate evil one of this installment. It was fun to be a bit surprised! :)

I did have two issues. The first is that there were so many questions left unanswered for me--it wasn't so much the questions that I can see being answered in later books, like, "Who is Gabe, really?" but things that I felt may have been obvious to Kate Elliott when she was writing that didn't quite make it into the story. Things like the relationship between Lia and Ann--though it's mentioned a few times that they are close friends, I never really got that feeling. Maybe it's because they were both tormented by their own issues so were deliberately being distant toward each other, maybe it's a function of the story being told from the first person perspective. The second is that Lia and Gabe's relationship felt a little rushed to me. However, I will readily admit that may be due to my sadness that the story was over so quickly--I didn't want it to end!

I am VERY happy I read this book. I really loved it and can't wait to read the next in the series and see where things go. I've only read two books by Kate Ellison and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

First things first, I got a free copy of this book from the author via Goodreads group Shut up and Read, for a fair and honest review. I do not know the author personally.
I give this book five golden stars.
Ok folks honestly I am going to sound like a crazed fan but this book is amazing.
I do not give five stars very often, I have high standards and this book met those standards.
I got hooked into the storyline, pulled into the characters plights, absorbed into the world of the novel.
The author does a great job with creating characters that you can bond too, and cheer on (or boo for the villains).
The descriptions used in this book are perfect. I could easily visualize the village of Iceliss, isolated and locked away in a frozen landscape.
The twist in the book, was sufficiently foreshadowed without being over done. I loved the feel of a good Zing in a book.
If I were to find one fault in the book, it would be that it was too short. (195 pages)
I recommend this book without any hesitation to readers of the dystopian, science fiction, young adult, and adventure genres.