Frost
(Frost and Nectar #1)
C.N. Crawford
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: Oct. 3, 2022
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Rating:
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.
My thoughts…
When Ava is approached to take part in the Seelie king’s televised version of The Bachelor, she wants no part of it. However, when King Torin dangles millions of dollars in her face for participating, she changes her mind. You see, the king needs someone he can’t fall in love with, and bristly, strong-headed Ava fits the bill. As long as they both understand that they can’t catch feeling for the other, everything will be fine. I mean, these things always work out, right?
Apparently there’s a curse on Torin that he will kill anyone he loves. Which is why he sets out to make a deal with Ava. His kingdom needs a queen to sit on the throne and help faerie stabilize, and Ava needs the money. It’s a win win until things start happening. For instance, the various tasks the the potential brides must do to gain favor with the kind and viewers at home are sometimes deadly. Not because the action itself is deadly, but some of these other ladies will go to great lengths to be on top, including murder. So not only is the curse looming, but so is the danger of the other contestants.
With all this being said, I felt like the contest took a backseat to everything. I think the ladies only did three things. Complete a race, serve the king something special, and fence the other contestants. I honestly kind of wish there was more of the competition in the story instead of all the side meetings with Torin. As a result, I didn’t get that depth from the story and everything just felt superficial.
I had high hopes for this one but in the end it just didn’t work for me. I was expecting more of the contest, but in the end the story just felt all over the place. This will not be a series I will be continuing.
Sorry to hear it wasn’t what you had hoped it would be.