Review--Frostfire by Amanda Hocking

Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

Amanda Hocking returns to the world of Trylle, but this time she ventures to another "kingdom", the Kanin. Frostfire is the first in the new trilogy that continues the world of trolls, shapeshifters, and the like but this story is different. For our heroine, Bryn is already a member of the Kanin, though an outcast, and is used to the world she grew up in.

Bryn is a tracker, but wants to be apart of the most elite guard, which was a name I couldn't spell from memory. She's a bit of an outcast based on her heritage. Her mother is a Skojare and her father is Kanin, and it's left her a halfbreed, and her abilities are not fully Kanin. But she gets by and has her friends, her own set of dreams and way of life.

Her mission in life though has been to find Kostantin and kill him. Four years ago, he attempted to murder her father and Bryn's intervention saved his life, but Kostantin got away. Until he showed up when she was tracking a changeling in order to bring him home. And so the story truly begins. Kostantin is back and is going after the changelings, but why? There's no clear cut reasoning. Besides that, Bryn has a few interactions with him, that makes you wonder...is Kostantin the villain or not?

Joining her in her quest is Ridley, her boss. There's no doubt about the attraction between these two. But Ridley always has some girl on his arm or in his bed. A relationship with him wouldn't be possible, that and the fact that he's her boss and a relationship wouldn't be acceptable. But the tension running between the two of them is thick. I can't say for certain if we're entering a love triangle yet with Kostantin. It'd be unlikely because he's the "enemy", but that niggling little feeling that says there is more going on then there appears to be, makes me wonder about Kostantin and his motives. I can't say I'm Team Kostantin though. There's not enough evidence yet for me to claim a "team" yet. Besides that, we had nothing going on between Ridley and Bryn besides a lot of tension and almost moments.

The story gets more intriguing with the disappearance of the Skojare Queen. Bryn is among the few to investigate and that presents more mysteries and puzzles as well. Just what exactly is going on here? There's too much to say. I'm still a bit confused as well. But I think we're supposed to be at this point. All we know for sure is that something hinky is going on.

I was also pleased to see some familiar Trylle faces. While none were our hero and heroine, there were other familiar faces. Ember, Finn's sister, is also around a lot since this is where she moved to. I initially thought this series would be about her, but it's a new heroine entirely. But I was glad to see Ember is friends with Bryn.

Frostfire was an exciting start to a new series in a familiar world. I wouldn't say you had to read the Trylle trilogy before reading this one, but it helps. There were times I found myself thinking poorly of the Kanins because of how they saw the Trylle. And it just felt wrong, because, obviously, they thought they were better or some such thing. It was little nuisances like that that had me ripped away from complete enjoyment. But otherwise, I did really enjoy this one and cannot wait to see where things go! Luckily, Ice Kissed is up next on my reading queue. I just hope that that ending won't kill me in my wait for the final book.


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars