The Frostbound Queen is a deliciously smutty fantasy romance. This would be a great for people new to the genre. I found the fantasy world to be a little light. I would have liked more worldbuilding and information about the magic system. I loved these characters and their romance. It was fun seeing the three of them come together. Where this book shined for me was the spice.

There was a lot to love and a lot to not about this book. Let's start with the positives. I loved the narrators (3 total) and their voice acting. They really drew you into the storyline and captivated the audience. It also really helped to keep the characters separate and helped define who they were. It was a great performance. I also loved the beginning of the book and world building. It was easy to fall right into the world they lived in and understand the dynamics and politics involved. There weren't an overwhelming amount of characters to make it confusing. The book was well written in that regard.

For me the spice and the romantic scenes were more raunchy and less about a true connection between people. A few things made it this way I believe: **Spoilers**
1. The first scene was between a young women and her guardian. The opening part of the book explained that since 11 yrs old she was the ward of Rowan, and then at 21 they were sleeping together. I am not a fan of this type of relationship and felt it made the female role less dominant and more submissive. I like books with a STRONG female lead and this book didn't provide that.
2. 3 days after her first romp in the sheets with her guardian she was sleeping with someone else. This also bothered me a lot because the book was trying to portray their close connection and then she just decided to sleep with a different character - I feel this took away from character development and caused me to detach from her greatly.
3. The language was very explicit - I would say 4.5 out of 5 stars for how descriptive it was. While I do like reading series such as ACOTAR and other fantasy romance genre, this one was over the top and at times I felt uncomfortable with some of the verbiage used. This had situations of F+M, M+M, and M+M+F in it.

I would recommend for my friends who love this type of romance but alas, it wasn't for me.

If you are looking for:
Fantasy
MMF
Spicy
Ward/Caregiver
Royalty
This book is perfect for you! It’s spicy without taking away from the overall plot of the book. The world building is fantastic and the kingdom comes alive in narration. All three narrators do a phenomenal job letting their character’s personality and emotions shine. Liria is the future queen who is faced with the coming deaths of her parents after the loss of a child. Her protector, Ronan, has been keeping the frost while her father was in mourning and seeks to wield the septor upon his death. Sigurn is the human that Liria meets on the edge of the covenant. She finds herself drawn to both men and through a series of surprising relationships, politics and magic Liria’s life changes forever.

“The Frostbound Queen” by Amy Pennza is a compelling read that intricately combines an engaging plot with a significant amount of romantic and explicit content (spice), which generally aligns well with the storyline. The development of romantic relationships is portrayed in a mostly believable manner, adding depth to the characters and their subsequent interactions.

The narrative features steady pacing and good world-building, making it an easy page-turner that preserves its momentum from beginning to end. The book wraps up conclusively, leaving me curious about the potential for future installments that may explore the same universe with new characters or continue the existing storyline.

One of the standout elements of this novel is the narration by Benjamin D. Walker, Ellis Evans, and Mollie Stark. Their performances are clear, precise, and emotive, significantly enhancing the story and bringing it to life.

However, I found Ronan’s role as Liria’s guardian to be somewhat unsettling. His long-standing relationship with her from a young age made the initiation of their romantic relationship feel a bit inappropriate to me. Additionally, I felt that Liria’s character development was less pronounced in comparison to that of Sigurn and Ronan. I would have appreciated seeing more growth and depth in her character throughout the narrative.

It is important to acknowledge that this book includes a significant amount of romantic and explicit content, featuring MF, MM, and MMF scenes. While this element neither detracted from nor enhanced the narrative, it should be noted for readers who may have preferences regarding explicit material.

Overall, “The Frostbound Queen” is an engrossing read featuring solid world-building, a captivating plot, and a story narration. Despite a few minor shortcomings, it is a book I would recommend to those who appreciate a well-crafted blend of romance and fantasy and a notable amount of spice.

I was provided with a free complimentary advanced listener's copy (ALC) of this book from Dreamscape Media and NetGalley in exchange for providing my honest review. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.

I absolutely devoured The Frostbound Queen! I completed this over the course of 24hours and loved every single minute! It is fast paced and filled to the brim with magic, lust, quick wit and humour, fiesty back and forth conversation and incredibly detailed and delightful spice! Both M/F AND a beautiful twist - M/M & M/M/F - Liria the FMC is everything you want in a female lead - how her character evolves, the strong will she posses and her quick come backs and powerful resilience to an ever changing life. Amy Pennza the author- did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life and the narrators for this audiobook were a fantastic choice! I felt like they added that extra layer of depth to the characters and breathed even more life into them - if that was even possible!

I'm so excited to continue with this world with the next book in the series The Shadowbound King! I will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for the release 🙌

❄️🏰🗡️The Frostbound Queen🗡️🏰❄️
If you like:
❄️Romantasy/Erotica
❄️Elves vs Humans
❄️Age Gap (21/221)
❄️Taboo (Guardian/Ward)
❄️All The Schemes
❄️Court Drama ☕️
❄️Complex Family Dynamics
❄️Power Struggles
❄️Multi POV
-Liria- Fierce, Resilient, Ice Queen
-Sigurn- Sweet, Flirty, Gentle Giant
-Ronan-Broody, Lean, Lethal Menace
❄️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
❄️MF, MM, MFM, MMF, ⚔️
❄️Voyeurism
❄️Fantastic Narration
❄️Fast Paced
Then you’ll enjoy The Frostbound Queen!

R: “How dare you put your filthy hands on her, he growled!”
S: “It was hard not to when she rubbed her right little a$$ all over my d!ck, I smirked. Did you teach her that?” 💀💀💀

****I’m all for taboo books, but the aspect of ward/guardian in this one just wasn’t for me. And that’s a me issue, and not an author/book issue. It was my fault for not looking more into trigger warnings before listening. I know it’s fantasy/fiction, but in my brain I can’t get over the fact he was her guardian since she was 11 and now sleeping with her at 21. That being said, people who are into the guardian/ward trope are gonna eat this book all the way up!

Narrators: Benjamin D. Walker,Ellis Evans, Mollie Stark
Format: 🎧Audio
Time: 11hr 27min 1.25x
Listened on: NetGalley🎧
Pub Date: Aug 13, 2024

Thank you so much Dreamscape/NetGalley for giving me a chance to listen to this ALC.

This is a fun, fast paced polyamorous romantasy that I can definitely recommend!

The only thing I think this audiobook needed however was a section for trigger warnings. I didn’t realize it was MMF nor did I expect the subtle grooming trope for one of the romances. It definitely didn’t bother me but I think it’s the kind of thing readers should be warned about before they decide to read a book. And I didn’t gather that from the brief synopsis.

Anyways!

Cover:
Amazing! The cover is so gorgeous and mysterious and romantic. It totally captures the feeling of the book.

Writing:
Amy Pennza’s writing is excellent. It moves between three different perspectives smoothly. I could visualize so much and that’s really important for fantasy books.

Storyline:
The storyline was just okay. A lot of the plot points felt a little forced for me - like existing just to justify tensions and romance. I liked the characters more than their story.

Main Characters:
I loved the characters! Liria is a great FMC, just trying to uphold her family’s legacy and protect her people. Sigurn and Ronan have some cute banter / arguments. They build a sweet and supportive relationship together.

Secondary Characters:
Not much time is spared for secondary characters imo. Which is fine. This is a romance book with three MCs and that takes a lot to develop well.

Romance:
I was so happy with the romance! I think polyamory is quite difficult to write well so I’m always a bit critical of it and was really happy that it didn’t feel forced for me.

Narration/Audio:
Wow these three audiobook narrators did a fantastic job! I always felt like their voices connected with their characters and it helped to imagine the characters themselves.

All in all this was a fun, steamy romance in a snowy, frozen fantasy world!

Two royal fae and a royal fae-ish human walk into a castle…and end up in bed together.

Sounds like a bad joke. But that’s basically the premise of this book.

The spicy? Pretty darn solid. This was a MMF romance and I loved that element of the story. The author sure knows how to write smut.

The plot itself? It just wasn’t my very favorite. It overall was just kinda unbelievable.

I listened to the audiobook of this, and thought the narrators did a great job.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book✨

This one was a bit more on the erotica side than the romantasy side. The sex scenes were extremely detailed and over the top, such that they might distract the reader (if you like that kind of thing) from the lack of character development and plot. That being said, the narrators of the audio version did a good job, but this one was not for me.

***SPOILERS***


The target audience for this book is someone who likes heavy spice/erotica. Which unfortunately wasn’t me. It started off really well! I was engaged in the story line, curious to see what would happen. Only to be absolutely shocked at the turn of the entire book. The story dropped off and all that was left was “spice” which felt closer to erotica. The FMCs first love interest is also her guardian and father’s best friend, which feels a bit too weird for me since he raised her from the age of 12. She then acquires a second love interest. It quickly becomes an entanglement of all 3 of them. If the story was more than sex I would’ve continued but at this point in the book I felt like the storyline had gone out the window.

I felt like the narrators were great and really helped to make the story more enjoyable. I love when there are multiple narrators.

** spoiler alert ** I really wanted to like this book. When I first started listening to it I was really intrigued by the world building and introduction to characters… but then I had to quit a little more than half way through. It just felt like the story/plot was taking a Major backseat to the spice and I got bored. Also, I had no idea it was going to be a MMF book (my bad, should’ve read the reviews beforehand) but it just wasn’t my jam. In this case maybe they fleshed out the MM relationship later on in the book but it just felt super forced and like zero backstory between the two of them. I wanted more lore, I wanted more story plot points and I was left listening to more spicy scenes where I just wanted to fast forward honestly. Wouldn’t recommend it.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! I loved that fact that there were three voice actors. And the MMF spice was off the charts! The relationship between Liria, Ronan and Sigurn was pretty sweet as well. I liked the lore and the world building. The only thing I wasn’t sold on was the fact that Ronan was considered Liria’s guardian. He could have been literally anyone else but I didn’t really like that

Overall this wasn’t for me. It’s a MMF romantasy with an age gap. This usually sounds right up my alley. But one of the MMCs was the FMCs guardian since she was 11 years old. This just didn’t work for me. But if you know this going in and have no trouble with that, I think it’s a nicely done audiobook. You just have to find the right audience.
It’s also multi pov, which is always fun.

Thank you so much Dreamscape_Media and NetGalley for the ARC.

For fans of:
- Fourth Wing
- Does it Hurt

"The Frostbound Queen" follows a young ice queen, Liria, as it becomes time for her to take up her role as her kingdom's rightful heir. However, she finds time and time again that she does not possess enough magical talent or skill to uphold her kingdom's needs. Her queenship is slipping through her fingers and so is everything she thought she knew about the world.

This book includes:
- taboo guardian/ward relationship
- centuries-long war between humans and elves
- Love triangle ?
- frost kingdom with magical origins
- miscommunication tropes
- brooding/dangerous MMC and sweet/flirty MMC
- three POVs

This book is a quintessential romantasy; it has a complex love interest and a fantastical setting with high stakes. It has a sweetie pie leading man and a moody leading man, so readers can pick their poison. The story has a quick pace and it is a bingeable read. Personally, the book was not my cup of tea. I didn't feel like it was very well written and I found the characters' motivations to be flat and unconvincing. I realize it is a dark romance, but I found myself discomforted by the dynamics between Liria and her guardian, Ronan. The age gap was like 300 years and he raised her...and apparently, he had been in love with her since she was 11. The taboo aspect was constantly highlighted by the character's words and actions to the point of being irredeemable in my eyes. Liria's second love interest was the most aggressive instant love I have ever seen as well. I just wasn't convinced by the chemistry. The book as a whole was just not for me at all.\

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Amy Pennza for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media

I had high hopes for this novel, because I thought it sounded very good. Unfortunately it didn't click with me. While I liked our fmc and the story well enough I had a problem with the relationship. First of all the fmc was in love with the man who was her guardian from eleven years old, which also was her father's best friend. And he liked her as well. He also had the power to control her and made her follow his commands which didn't sit right with me. Then she met another guy and things evolved in the direction of a love triangle. The rest would be spoilers, but I wasn't entirely comfortable with how things developed. This might be a perfect story for others, but I don't think it was the right book for me.

I really enjoyed this - the story, the narrators, all of it! It was a fun listen, and it had me feeling everything I was supposed to. I devoured it in one day!

The Frostbound Queen is a great first book for a series that I'll definitely be continuing to read! It is a spicy throuple(MMF) romantacy, so be aware of those elements before reading. I found Pennza to be quite excellent at world and character building! I was engaged with the story throughout the book. It's rare to find book or series that balances the spicy parts with a well written plot, but this book fits the bill!

The story starts with Liria, an elven princess preparing to become the Queen of Winter with her guardian Ronan. Along the way, she meets the human prince Sigurn, who is also finds contention keeping his own throne in the adjoining kingdom. The three main characters alternate between being rivals and allies/lovers, which adds a lot of depth to the storyline. Several side characters were also introduced, whom I predict will have bigger roles in future books. I can't wait to read them!

The only thing I was not a fan of was the premise of the relationship between Liria and Ronan. He is her father's best friend and he essentially raised her from a young age, training her to become Queen, all while keeping important information from her(supposedly for her own good). While the book is upfront about this, making it something more along the lines of a star-crossed lovers scenario, which holds them back from pursuing a relationship earlier on. However, it really just comes off more as an older male grooming his friend's daughter than true love to me.

For the right reader, this could be a really fun fantasy erotica.
However there was one BIG problem: one of the love interests is the FMC's legal guardian.

I understand they are fae, she's an adult in this and they're physically the same age when the romance happens. However, it feels very icky to me. I am ok with an age gap but the fact this male was a father figure to her... I can't look past that, and it ruined the book for me. Reading the book blurb again, I can see how this is loosely implied, but it's not something I realized I was getting into. If that doesn't bother you, this is a really fun steamy romance in a loose fantasy setting.

Audiobook Notes: The narration was amazing! There are multiple POV's and I absolutely loved the two readers and their performances were excellent. Wonderful inflection and speed. I'd be interested in listening to books just because they read them.

I prefer my romantasy to have more substance so this was not it for me. It might be right for you though!

This steamy romantasy features:
- Magical Winter Fae
- Why Choose Romance
- Titillating Spice: 80% 🌶 / 20% 🐉
- LGBTQ+ Rep: Bi-Sexual & Polly Relationships
- Fast Paced Plots
- Insta-Love

Big thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for sending me an ALC for review.

Oh. My. Goodness. That is my first reaction after finishing this book. Never would I have thought that this book would be a 5 star read for me (because honestly I thought I had read it all when it came to Fae/Elven romances). I was wrong, so wrong.

This book has the mystery element on what is true and what isn't true. You have people doing things that can be taken as one thing but is entirely another. The romantic tension in this book is edge of your seat.

I immediately purchased the physical book and pre-ordered the second book in the series! I will be over hearing crossing my fingers that I will be able to obtain an audio ARC of book 2 because I absolutely loved the narrators!

I went into this think it was a romatasy similar to ACOTAR or Fourth Wing. Fantasy with a strong plot and romance to guide it. Unfortunately, the true plot went out the window in this one and its pure smut. Many I am sure will enjoy this but it wasnt for me.

I also couldnt get over the guardian raising the MC from childhood to then end up in a MMF relationship with her. It gave me the ick...

Thank you for this ARC!