Book Review: 'A Breath of Frost' by Alyxandra Harvey

For Emma and her cousins, life in Regency London is a whirlwind of lavish balls and dashing suitors. But, unlike other girls, they are not longing for marriage. A spell has been broken, a debutante lies dead at Emma's feet, frost clinging to her lifeless body, and a bright light is being cast into the cousins shadowy past. Now the girls must embrace the true Lovegrove Legacy - even if that means risking their own lives. Although, Cormac Fairfax, a member of the Order of the Iron Nail wants to help Emma, and she can't explain why.

 

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'A Breath of Frost' was a gorgeously-gothic and gripping novel, set in Regency London, filled with witchery, warlocks, spells and secrets . Admittedly, I was hesitant when I initially picked up this book. Not only had it come in the post without me realising I was receiving Alyxandra Harvey's latest, but it is nearly five-hundred pages long, and has quite a small-font. Reading the blurb, it sounded intriguing, although I was expecting to find yet another fantasy novel that focuses mainly on the romance, rather than the mythical-creatures and magic. I was proved wrong, despite a slow-start in the first few chapters. I adored this read, that combined multiple genres: fantasy, historical and romance, and still managed to have humour and wit. As a fan of Sarah J. Maas' 'Throne of Glass', this was perfect to curl-up to with the wintry-weather outside, and people who love the style of Cassandra Clare need to pick this up!

Historical-fans, just like myself, are going to be championing this new trilogy. Regency London is intricately described: a world full of balls, seasons and finishing school. Add some magic to that, it's an extremely-detailed tale, where you soon realise things are not safe. Harvey's writing is so stylish, I was envious of her pen and prose, the way she had the ability to create a set of mythical creatures, familiars, and make all of her main-characters feel real. Emma Day, and her cousins Penelope and Gretchen have a heart-warming friendship, and it's refreshing to see such a bond between literary-characters. They have clear personalities and traits, this is not a book where you have to flick back a few pages to find out who's perspective you are reading from or who's talking, it's clear from their personalities. You will never have as much fun reading about these girls; whether that's when Gretchen is arguing with her mother, or Penelope is reciting Shakespeare.

Emma Day should be applauded for her determination as she's not one to phase easily. Even when she realises she has antlers on her head! She's got a feisty-personality that really helps to drive this plot, along with the fact she is extremely strong-willed. Penelope and Gretchen's friendship with Emma made possibly my favourite fictional-friendship - Gretchen's rebellious side makes her easily loveable, in a way where she is completely out-of-place at the balls that come with being a debutante. She hides in libraries - so, I must ask, can I character be anymore relatable? Penelope is sophisticated, smart and a person that connects with the reader. Cormac Fairfax, our love-interest, surprisingly has many-layers, a backstory you want to know, and reasons for his choices. Harvey doesn't just create the typical boy that all young girls will want to read about. Sometimes though, he does coincidentally turn-up, rather than Emma sorting through a problem.

 

From suspicions raised by the Order, to discovering what Emma's mother did, and finding Greymalkin warlocks, this is not a book you can read at night! What it is though is an enjoyable and exciting blend of genres. The familiars, the spells, the family-history - there are answers to most of your questions. There are gargoyles lurking everywhere, Madcaps on rooftops, spells being broken.

 

Of course, I'll say I didn't turn the first page and love it. It was quite slow to begin with, and hard to slip-into, and the writing was repetitive with some of the sentences and phrases. It is not too long but, more action in places would have improved the parts where I felt that my mind was drifting elsewhere.

Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing me with this review-copy. This in no way affected my opinion on the book.

Four Stars to the Cousins.

 

 

 

Book Review: That Burning Summer by Lydia Syson

England, 1940

 

With was raging in the skies above the Channel, Peggy is putting on a brave face, but she knows Germany could invade any day. Though the family farm and her brother, Ernert's, worries keep her busy, it's hard to ignore the rumble of guns, the rumours of spies and the malicious gossip in town. Peggy must grown up fast - and when a young Polish pilot, Henryk, crash-lands near her home, she  faces a terrible test of love and loyalty. When so much could go wrong.

In one extraordinary burning summer, her life will change forever.

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'That Burning Summer' was an eye-opening book. Bringing forward a hidden part of History in the form of Henryk, it had a sophisticated yet simple writing style that brought alive a captivating romance that I was willing on!  Set in England during 1940, Germany could invade any day but, no one knows when. In the middle of this is sixteen year old Peggy who, does something that may have severe consequences for two of our main protagonists.

 

I felt very connected to the characters from the beginning; their stories were realistic and from the switching point of views, you got a very clear image of their personalities. Not just that though, you got a sense of their fears - and I liked that their experiences had affected them - and a piece of their past in the form of flashbacks from Henryk about his time in the Polish Air Force.  Of course, with Henryk there were always a wavering doubt with him - but, the way Syson has written it allows you to see various sides of the same time in History. Peggy is the driving-force of this novel, no doubt. She is coming-of-age in a difficult time and falling in love when all she can rely on is trust. While reading this book, you won't be able to help imagining yourself in her shoes. Ernest was a character that represented the fact that children can't just be hidden from War - I did like that they all stood for something; that they were all telling the same story although very different ideas. But, siblings and their curiosity get in the way, don't they?

 

A leaflet is presented to you at the beginning at the book that you soon find out was sent out to all members of the public detailing how to act in a German invasion. The novel was set around 'If the Invader Comes' and each part was set around one of the rules listed.  Peggy's brother becomes fixated on these rules, and keeps a watchful eye out for the Germans. Ernest wants to be the man in the family yet, feels he has to prove it to himself. At this point, the excitement really picked up!  The listing idea gave the novel a clear-structure, something I really liked and even foreshadowed what may happen in the next chapter. This was one of the main parts of the book, it kept me reading. I couldn't help but guess, think about and start going 'I know what's going to happen!" Syson took on a challenging part of this period of History - I know the story behind what happened but, only the more well-known information.

 

There was a romance building up throughout this - and, I'm not over-exaggerating when I say this is one of the most well-written I have come across in a while. It was given time to build-up and kept me turning the pages - I was rooting for them, and the danger of things going wrong brought tension into the plot.

 

Although, I enjoyed this, I did find some parts of the plot confusing at times, which meant I had to flick back and try to find out which character it was, for example. Also, 'That Burning Summer' came to a really abrupt ending. At what I felt was in the middle of the action, and a good-chance to throw in a heart-racing scene, it stopped - and an Epilogue that was quite blunt filled it's place. The Epilogue wasn't needed for me, and left me with too many loose-ends. I know there's not any sequel in the works at the moment but, I wanted more from the execution of ending the book the way it began. The writing also lost a poetic-feel it had in the first few chapters - something I adored as it was so unique in a crowded-place. I do feel like I am being a bit harsh on this book - but, I am definitely going to find some time to read Syson's other novel.

 

Thank you Hot Key Books!

 

I had a free-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

I do completely recommended checking out Lydia's website which I linked above! I am the only one who just adores the layout? Also, If you want to check out my new rating system and what it means, you can find it on my sidebar!