Frost (The Frost Chronicles #1) by Kate Avery Ellison

Title: Frost
Author: Kate Avery Ellison
Publish Date: April 16, 2012
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 194
Other Books in the Series: Thorns
Buy the Book: Barnes & Noble 
Rating: ★★★★★

In the icy, monster-plagued world of the Frost, one wrong move and a person could end up dead—and Lia Weaver knows this better than anyone. After monsters kill her parents, she must keep the family farm running despite the freezing cold and threat of monster attacks or risk losing her siblings to reassignment by the village Elders. With dangers on all sides and failure just one wrong step away, she can’t afford to let her emotions lead her astray. So when her sister finds a fugitive bleeding to death in the forest—a young stranger named Gabe—Lia surprises herself and does the unthinkable.

She saves his life.

Giving shelter to the fugitive could get her in trouble. The Elders have always described the advanced society of people beyond the Frost, the “Farthers,” as ruthless and cruel. But Lia is startled to find that Gabe is empathetic and intelligent…and handsome. She might even be falling in love with him.

But time is running out. The monsters from the forest circle the farm at night. The village leader is starting to ask questions. Farther soldiers are searching for Gabe. Lia must locate a secret organization called the Thorns to help Gabe escape to safety, but every move she makes puts her in more danger.

Is compassion—and love—worth the risk?

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.