Many thanks to the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review!

When I chose to read this book I was really drawn by the description and cover. The magic sounded fascinating, and while I knew it had some romance I had hopes it would be well done and not over focused.

I’ve read this book fully and while the romance was veryyy dramatic and too choppy for my taste it did have some cute moments. Unfortunately I would say the book seemed 70% relationship focus 30% magic and plot to me, and I came to it more for the magic/plot. The concept of the pyras and other magic we discover later was exciting but it took a backseat to the relationship and the second magic didn’t feel fully explored even at the end. Maybe there will be a book two? I felt there’s a lot to unpack more and the closure felt rushed like a hastily wrapped Christmas present. But it was wrapped. And the papering wasn’t too bad :) I’d consider reading a second book if it came along but it wouldn’t be my top of list.
However I do think YA fantasy lovers looking for a romance first plot would like this book.

I received a digital ARC of Firefrost from Netgalley in exchange for honest feedback.

I went into this knowing that it was ground zero of this series. I haven’t read book one, and to be honest, I probably won’t pick it up. Not the best way to open up a review, but let me tell you why YOU should pick it up and give it a chance!

Sol is a huntress working to feed her family after the death of her father. Desperate for money and food, she takes a job to escort a princess across a mountain in the dead of winter so that she can marry a foreign prince and collect support for her kingdom in the war against the Flameskins.

Kelan is a Flameskin lieutenant fighting to keep the creature that lives inside him from taking over and burning everything in its path. His orders take him deep into the mountains to keep the princess from making it to the other side, giving the Flameskins a chance to win the war and stop the slaughter of their kind.

When Sol’s party discovers the camp of flameskin soldiers, things heat up (pun intended) and only Sol and Kelan are left alive. They must rely on each other in order to make it out of the mountains, but along the way they stop being enemies and start to be something more. It’s a shame that the war keeps them from being together… or does it?

This story was well written and fast paced. It dealt with social issues we are dealing with today, such as sexism, racism, classism, and all sorts of other isms. As a whole, I would give this story a three out of five stars. The only reason I didn’t care for it was because I couldn’t immerse myself in the story and didn’t connect with it on a personal level. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good book and shouldn’t be picked up by someone else! I would recommend this novel for anyone who is a fan of Wicked Kingdom.

An interesting enemies to lovers story that has you gripped until tangential page.

This book is excellent, well written, with a good plot and a wonderfully crafted magic system.

I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it.

An enemies to lovers book - and let's be honest who doesn't love that! Not to mention the added stakes of battle and you have yourself a winning novel!! Absolutely loved this book - found the pacing, characters and relationships gripping.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

4 stars for the first 2/3 & 3 stars for the wandering bits = 3.5 stars

I'm kind of on the fence about how to rate this book. For the first 60-70%, I loved it and would have given it a solid 4 stars. But then it kind of started wandering and didn't feel quite like the same book I started reading. I didn't dislike it or anything--it just felt different, characters and everything. So I don't know. Hopefully I'll figure it out by the end of this review.

Random stuff to get out of the way:
1) I can't figure out why this book is titled Firefrost. I get the fire aspect of it, but frost?
2) This is book 0--why is it not book 1? All I see listed on Goodreads so far is 0, .5, and 1; it appears that this book 0 is the only one that follows Kelan and Sol, which is unfortunate because I like them and would like to see more of where their story goes.

Okay, onto the book.

The concept of magic is interesting. You've got Flameskins, which are people who are born with what is essentially a fire demon in their blood (their pyra). It gives them the ability to create and manipulate fire; however, the more they draw on the pyra, the more control it has over them until it eventually takes complete control of their body. Pyri feed on emotion (though fear stifles them), and they desire death and destruction. An emberstone will block out a pyra when in contact with the Flameskin, essentially neutralizing him or her and cancelling out their fire-related abilities. There are also mages, who can use an emberstone to create and control fire; however, prolonged use of an emberstone will eventually cause a mage to be extinguished (all emotion will be gone).

The story takes place during a war between Flameskins and the Tokken people who are not Flameskins or mages. Each side has done atrocious things to the other, and the fighting just rages on. I can't figure out which side is closer to being in the right, likely because neither of them is. There's too much prejudice and hatred.

Sol (18) and Kelan (18) are two very different characters, and I like the way they pushed and pulled each other. A good enemies-to-lovers story is always fun, and it was nice that they didn't just go from "I hate you" to "I love you" very quickly. Kelan was swayed more quickly, but it fit with his character--he had a more playful and forgiving nature already, which I really think was good for Sol and helped both of them. Sol was a bit gruffer and more ingrained with the deep hatred of Flameskins because of what she had been taught growing up. Although it's a little thing, I very much enjoyed the age difference between them: Sol is about 6 months older than Kelan. Having the female love interest a little older than the male is not something I've frequently run into in YA books, so it was nice for that difference. (Plus, I'm a couple months older than my husband, so I'm sure that had something to do with my appreciation.)

Let me revert to my first paragraph for a moment. When I say that I felt like it started wandering at about the 2/3 mark, it's because characters (particularly Sol) started feeling somewhat different. I'm not complaining about character growth--that's really important to me, as I tend to prefer character-driven novels over plot-driven ones (though I really like it when both aspects work in tandem). It's more that Sol was suddenly . . . I don't know, softer? And I didn't really see how she got there. Plus there were some new things introduced late in the book that I don't feel were closed up at all. Ordinarily, that's not a big deal because, you know, sequels. But again, the sequels follow entirely different characters, so now it is a big deal to me.

I am really interested in reading the rest of the series, if and when I am ever able to find it. But I have no idea where it's going from here or if I'll ever find out what happens with Sol and Kelan. I hope I do.

Note: I can't remember if there was any swearing, but I don't think there was. Implied sex--totally of the page.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
4/5 stars.
First I have to say that this story has awesome characters! It’s a really character-driven storyline, so to have Kelan and Sol be such strong and likeable characters makes it that much easier to read.
The story starts off quickly and then it both slows down but also never seems to stop. Kelan is a Flameskin and a soldier in their army. Sol is a huntress leading the Tokken army through the mountains. When their paths cross, the two are forced into a situation they’d rather not be in. This of course leads to some enemies-to-lovers tension (which I love!) and ultimately a full romance.
This story is a fantasy, but it’s primarily a romance story. The intrigue of the war and the Flameskins was a backdrop to the love story of Kelan and Sol. Two people who are fighting against all the odds to be together in the end, they are constantly facing new challenges. I really wanted to see them work it out, and that kept me hooked while I read this book.
I did find that it dragged a little bit towards the end, but it was also starting to feel a bit repetitive as well. We’re constantly reminded of how many things can go wrong, and how Kelan and Sol will never be able to be together.
Overall though, if you like a sort of doomed-lovers feeling trope that starts with some enemies-to-lovers, I’d recommend checking this one out!

Took me a long while to get to this book but I really liked it. The characters were enjoyable, the world building was good

Sol is a Huntress. A part of the beautiful and unforgiving mountains where she was born. Kelan is a Flameskin. Hunted since childhood by those who believe Flameskins are demons and left orphaned by those who who burned his mother on a pyre long ago. Survival pushes Sol and Kelan, enemies on each side of the Burning War, together as they’re forced to trek across the brutal mountains in the winter. As they come to depend on one another more and more for survival they begin to see each other as more than enemies.

“Was this what it was like to have a home, where laughter and smiles and love were served in buckets instead of teaspoons?”

The strength of this book lies in its characters. Though the pacing felt a little uneven, I ended up loving both characters for different reasons. Sol is strong, independent, and capable. A strong female protagonist who develops beyond the prejudices she has grown up with. Kelan is complex and emotional. I particularly liked seeing a male protagonist that emotes so well, I feel as though that is not common place enough. That being said, I feel more writing space could have been given to develop the relationship between both of the characters a little more. The shift from enemies to lovers is very subtle and a little abrupt as it happens quite quickly. The ending is sweet and hopeful, though it could have been drawn out more. Although that might just be my unwillingness to leave these characters.

The weakness is in the world building. While the reader gleans the hardships and the brutality of the mountains where most of the book takes place, there is very little else. The setting moves from the mountains to small towns to villages which all seem more or less alike, as little detail is given to differentiate between them. Furthermore, the revelation that comes during their trek out of the Ulves is not explored further and I wish it had been.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I’m excited to read more from Longley. Though it looks like the following books focus on different characters, I hope to see Sol, Kelan, Azalea, and the others in the rest of this series.

Note: I was granted an eARC for an honest review of this book.

A huntress and a demon on opposite sides of a war must learn to get along in order to survive. This YA fantasy romance brings together elements of ice and fire in a story of survival, magic and romance.

Synopsis

Sol is a huntress and the only one who can navigate the treacherous mountain pass of the mystical Ulve Mountains so late in the season. Kelan is a Lieutenant in the Flameskin army, charged with the task of killing a high-born lady rumoured to be travelling through the dangerous mountain pass.
A turn of events destroys both parties’ plans. Sol and Kelan are forced to team up and survive in impossible circumstances. Sol is blinded by a long ingrained hatred of Flameskins. Kelen is constantly battling his inner demon/ pyra who is fighting to take possession of his body.
Ice and fire. These unlikely companions slowly learn to get along. Sol learns that there is more to Kelan than the demon that gives him power, and at the same time she begins to accept who she truly is. Something that has been hidden from her her whole life.
From two sides of a fiery war, Sol and Kelen must find a way to work together and perhaps change the world.

My review

I was hooked on this book right from the start. The opening images of the blue uniformed Tokken army in the snowy mountains being led by Sol the huntress had me interested. Then in contrast, Kelan being introduced as part of the red Flameskin army, all the while his pyra/demon hissed at him to kill and set fire to the world. This is very much a character driven book and was hooked by both characters right from the start, eagerly awaiting their meeting.

Plot
The plot was a little disjointed. I loved the first two thirds of the book and read all of this in one day. The journey through the mountains with Sol and Kelen was great. So many arguments, all the hate against each other and the tension building up was wonderful. I really enjoyed this first half of the book.
But the second half almost felt like a separate book. The first half was fast paced and addictive, where leading up to the last third I started getting distracted and lost a lot of what was going on. There were a lot of characters to keep up with and several opposing forces. I wasn’t sure what side some of the characters were on towards the end.
But it was enjoyable all the way though, even though I feel the pacing was a bit off at times. It is very much a character driven book, and the romance arc drives the plot more than the events.

Setting
I really enjoyed the setting of the mountains. I got a clear feeling of the deathly cold and underlying magic of the surroundings. Mostly through the characters reactions to the cold which felt very real, and horribly cold (I hate the cold, it felt real to me). Since the magic is centred around fire, it was a perfect setting to introduce the limitations and abilities of magic that Flameskins have in regards to pushing powers to the limits in extreme conditions.
There wasn’t much description on setting but you always had a general feel for where they were. It was not so much focused on pretty writing or elaborate descriptions, rather we got a detailed experience with the characters.

World building
I thought the magic system was quite creative. It was simple and easy to follow, but interesting and unique. The Flameskins could harness the powers of the demons within them, pyra. But with the very high price of walking a fine line between having control of their bodies, or being possessed completely and loosing themselves to fire and destruction. The Mages had similar powers, but from a different source and with different consequences, still a high price.
There were several armies and cultures, and I admit I did get lost on all these and skimmed over the detail. But since this is a prequel book I feel like it is going to be a good set up for the series, which I am looking forward to reading and finding out more detail about this world.

Characters
Kelen was my favourite character. This was purely because of thought of him as Prince Zuko (from the final episodes of the Last Airbender). Right from the start, he showed fire-bending skills and a similar redemption arc as Prince Zuko. I was hooked. Kelen is battling with literal and figurative demons, he knows there is another way to live outside the Flameskin army, he just needs to find a way.
Sol is set in her ways and hellbent on supporting the end of all Flameskins. She is cold hearted and in denial about herself and what she might be capable of. She is independent, resourceful and a fierce hunter. She also fights an internal battle, going against everything she has been taught to help a Flameskin solider.
Sol and Kelen are forced to survive together and slowly see the world through each other’s eyes. The first half of the book is them fighting and getting to know each other. But it all happens quite quickly and seems like a bit of instalove. But worth reading for the moments of tension and the eventual hate to love moments.


This is the debut book for Author Camille Longley, and I would highly recommend reading it. There is a good mix of romance and fantasy with great main characters. I feel there are more great things to come and I will be keeping an eye out for the rest of the Flameskin Chronicle series.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Two born enemies find themselves trying to survive the winter pass together with very limited supplies. The story has new and interesting people with fire powers and others that do not and hate them for it. I feel that I am so much in the minority on my opinion of this book. There are so many people that loved this book but I’m 35% in and Sol is driving me crazy. There has been some good adventure but really the interaction between Sol and Kelan is hard to read as she is so hot and cold. I understand Sol is having to overcome a lot of prejudice with Kelan but it only shows how patience and understanding Kelan is for being treated so poorly by Sol then all of a sudden, wham, she really likes him. ugh. The premise of this book sounded great and different and the cover is gorgeous but it’s just not living up to the hype so I’m going to have to back out and let all of you others out there enjoy it.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really liked this book. Story and these characters are why I liked this so much. Sol is huntress and Kelan is Flameskin so they are enemies. But they had to work together if they wanted to survive. Sol was a bit annoying sometimes but not too much. I did like her and also I liked Kelan. Life wasn't that easy for him. I liked that he wanted to be better person after he met and got to know Sol.

The book centers around two individuals, Sol and Kenan, who are forced to rely on one another after an avalanche leaves them the only survivors. While this may not seem so bad—I mean, it is better to be in the wild with company than no one at all—Kenan is a flameskin and Sol has been taught to fear and hate people like him. Flameskins are humans who share their bodies with a pyra, a spirit or a demon if you will, that hungers for violence and death. It gives the human immense power but it also can take over their lives. Through much of the book, Kenan struggles to maintain his humanity while Sol only sees him as a demon. The more time they spend in each other’s presence, the more Sol starts to question her views of flameskins. As they get closer to their destination, the decision to go their separate ways becomes increasingly more difficult.

I ended up liking the book more than I thought I would. This likely has to do with some revelations I didn't catch onto until just before they happened as well as an explosive ending. Additionally, I am a fan of character-driven novels and Firefrost can be categorized as such. I was immediately intrigued by Sol when she was introduced. She is a complex character when compared to Kenan, and she also undergoes the most growth--Kenan doesn't change very much from beginning to end. The worldbuilding isn't the most complex and is a bit lacking in some aspects, which I hope will be further fleshed out in subsequent books. Unexpectedly, romance dominated the book and drove important decisions, making the power of love one of the dominant themes in the novel. I can try to point out additional good and less good things about the book but what it comes down to is that after I finished reading it, it just left me with an overall feeling of contentment. I'm not sure how else to describe it.

Fantastic, I loved every minute of this, I love the enemies to lovers trope so this was always going to be a win for me, it’s fast paced, fun and addictive reading from the start to end, I was sad when it ended as I needed more. Looking forward to more by the author and can’t wait for the next

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I tried really hard to get into this book but I just couldn’t. I had to DNF it at 15% because I just could not see where the story was going and I was just not very interested.

Thanks to Net Galley for giving me an advanced readers copy of this book.

2 stars.

Firefrost is set in a world where flameskins—men and women who are born with fire elementals inside them which take them over as they grow up—are reviled and hated. When flameskins give themselves over to their pyra—their fire elemental spirit—they hunger for blood and destruction. This book focuses on the conflict between the flameskins and Tokken, a kingdom in-world. Sol, a huntress is leading some Tokken soldiers to fulfill a treaty. On their journey, they encounter a camp of flameskins. Things happen and a few days later two people-namely Sol and Kelan-survive.
One of the problems I had with this book was the romance. I prefer slow-burn romances and I do tolerate insta-love, but Sol and Kelan's relationship was just too fast for me and felt a bit forced. The plot focuses mainly around Kelan and Sol and their desperate attempts to find common ground to build their relationship. They run from flameskins to only be caught by them again. This happens again and again. The constant back and forth was exhausting and took the fun out of the book for me. The lack of world building weakened the book. No kingdoms, customs, cultures or any in-world event was described. This made some sense as this is a prequel and those events could be more relevant to the actual trilogy. But it was vexing nonetheless.

All in all, the main idea for the world in Firefrost was very intriguing; men and women who have to surrender to their inner pyra and live for destruction or spend life as a fugitive hiding from the population. But, the execution wasn't to my taste. This book didn't reach my expectations.

I'll start by saying I did not know this was a prequel novel when I downloaded it from netgalley. The synopsis seems interesting and that cover looks great.

This is a dual pov kind of story. We have Sol and Kelan as our main characters. So the setting is in a fictional kingdom which is currently in a war. Kelan is a flameskin soldier and Sol is a normal huntress just trying to provide food for her family. So they are technically from different worlds.

Due to some accident, they were forced to travel together while hating each other. At the earlier part of the book, it was really a struggle for me because I dislike Sol. Something about her rubs me the wrong way. I almost dnf this book but halfway through I started to get attached to the characters and got invested on the story.

The book has lots of exciting scenes and surprising twists. Also, the characters are likable. I love how things wrapped up on the end.👍❤

***Thanks for netgalley, the publisher and author for making this available for review.***

2.5 stars

I was super excited to start this, since I'm a massive fan of enemies to lovers, especially in fantasy. The story gets going from the very first page, and there’s plenty of action and adventure throughout. However, I didn’t end up loving it as much as I thought I would, which was disappointing.

What I liked:
- As I said previously, the action gets going from the very first page, and I was instantly pulled into the story. I feel like the first couple of chapters were the strongest in the book.
- I liked Sol as a character and was rooting for her to do well throughout.
- There are lots of solid action scenes, and the overall pace of the story is really good. I did get through the book pretty quickly, and it doesn’t drag in the middle.
-I liked how the characters were a bit older (18/19), I'm find it harder to relate to characters that are only 16, so I enjoyed protagonists who are a bit older and more mature.

What I didn’t like as much:
-I found the plot pretty repetitive after a while. Sol and Kelan would be doing okay, something would happen and they’d be separated, then there would be a big fight scene so they could be reunited. Repeat.
-There was very little world-building, and no explanation of the magic system. I know there was a war, but I'm still not really sure why. I'm not really sure why certain people have power over fire either.
-I wasn’t a huge fan of the romance between Sol and Kelan, they just both seemed to randomly decide that they were in love with each other one day, and that was that.
-It was written in a strangely passive way. Stuff just seemed to… happen. Information was revealed in the plot, and I was thinking that it was all going to be super important to the story, but then it was never mentioned again.

Overall it was an easy read, but nothing particularly memorable. There were definitely some aspects that were unique, but the lack of world-building was a real issue for me. However, I think perhaps younger readers would enjoy it (plus there’s no swearing or sex scenes so I think it would be appropriate for younger teens).

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me, because I did like the premise and the story but it was still flawed. Decided to bump it up to a 4 because I did stay up all night to read it.

The good - I really liked the idea of pyras. Basically demon-possessed firebenders. I liked how the Flameskin and mages complimented each other with the give and take of fire. I liked Sol and Kelan, although their characterizations were a bit shakey at the start. Kelan as some kind of playboy? Yeah that doesn't sound right. He's way too devoted too quickly to be that much of a flirt, haha.

The not so good - the writing lacked transitions and was often repetitive. You'd be in the middle of a scene and it would shift so quickly to the next that it felt jarring. And it often felt like the same arguments or same conflicts happening over and over again - I wanted to cut a lot of repetitive dialogue and replace it with escalating transitions.

I also want to know more about Sol's origins, although since this is the start of a series, I'm assuming that'll be covered later. I'll probably keep reading the series, because I am curious what happens next (that ending was bit ??? ok I guess this is happening now) and I want to see what happens to Sol.

This one drew me in from the start, with the characters and the complex world they live in.

Sol and Kelan are enemies purely based on Sol being raised a huntress, and Kelan being born with fire inside him that will eventually take over his mind. Hunters typically kill these 'demons' on sight.

Sol and Kelan come together and though there's a building attraction between them, a romance between the two would be unheard of.

They travel across treacherous landscape, helping each other when hurt, and ultimately can't deny their feelings for one another. The people in their lives won't ever understand associating with someone outside their own kind, leaving Sol and Kelan alone in the world.

I really enjoyed this story, and the characters. It was just one of those captivating stories, and I'd really love to read more from this author.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Firefrost is a great example of a true execution of enemies-to-lovers that works. It’s not animosity based on a petty misunderstanding, but wider world conditions that have made it so that a romance between them is unlikely, and they initially both buy into it. However, it also walks that line where the situation demands they depend on each other, leading to them naturally transitioning into a romance in a believable way.

Longley beautifully conveys both the balance of diminishing hatred and growing vulnerability in Sol and Kelan’s dynamic, and the tension crackled throughout. Her prose was also fast-paced and engaging.

My one complaint is that I felt the fantasy world was a bit underdeveloped…I mean, it’s typical for YA fantasy to be less grand in scope, but I did wish it had something to distinguish it, given I’ve read some lately that did. However, I did like that this book included some illustrations, adding to my image of the characters.

As this is a debut, I’m curious to see where Longley goes from here. And if you like YA fantasy, I think you’ll be interested in trying this book.