There were some things I loved about this and then some things I didn't like quite as much.

I usually am not a fan of friends to lovers because I never really feel the tension, but it was done so well here. There was some really nice tension from both sides, and when they finally acted on their feelings it was fantastic.

The plot was definitely solid. However, since they're isolated just the two of them in a cabin, there's not a lot going on besides them. You don't get a whole lot about their friends, family, history, etc so it makes the characters feel a little more flat. Third act breakup? I don't like. Some of the drama was definitely unnecessary.

Even with the things I didn't like this was a really cute book. The spice was spicing, the angst was there, and even with them being isolated I was definitely not bored. This is one of those books where you know it's going to be a cute time and it gets the job done. Absolutely something I'd read again.


Thank you to Netgalley and Bloom Books for the gifted ARC.

This is one of those good pallet cleanser books it’s a Friends to lovers romance and I enjoyed it but I felt like it was missing something. I loved the friendship between the girls but especially loved how protective Kyler was of Syd. Kyler honestly kind of sucks at first but he grows on you and you learn to appreciate his character. I will say miscommunication is one of my least favorite tropes and this one has a whole bunch of it and is prevalent throughout unfortunately making this one a miss for me.

I just finished reading Frigid by JLA, and oh my gosh, I really thought it was a solid 4-star read! From the very start, I was hooked on the depth of each character. The friendship between the girls was so real and sweet, and I loved how protective Kyler was of Syd! The banter between the 4 friends was just funny! Kyler was not the best guy ,but he really grew on me as the story went on. If you read this book please remember this book is very much NEW ADULT! JLA added some drama in the middle that had me holding my breath and questioning everything! I really enjoy how she develops her characters. At the beginning, everyone has their walls up, but when they finally come down, things get super spicy!🌶️ 🌶️🌶️ I can definitely see myself picking this one up again. Now, I'm eagerly anticipating diving into book two!

Sydney has been best friends with Kyler forever, and in love with him for almost as long. A notorious play-boy, Kyler goes through a constant rotation of women - it bothers Sydney not just because she has to watch the man she loves with other women, but he's ditched her for other girls before. Kyler has Sydney on a pedestal, and doesn't believe he's worthy of her love.

Despite that, they *are* best friends and are headed on their yearly trip to the ski resort. An unexpected and heavy snow storm traps them at the cabin and their friends in a nearby town, so Sydney and Kyler are stuck together. Alone. Or so they think - dangerous things start happening and the forced proximity brings both of their feelings to the surface. But they have to survive the snow storm, their feelings for each other, and a stalker trying to do them harm before they can think about HEA.

Miscommunication is one of my least favorite tropes, and boy was there SO MUCH MISCOMMUNICATION. While I found Sydney boring and stereotypical (a book nerd who's sexually inexperienced and in love with a play boy? unheard of!), Kyler was a total dick to her and definitely didn't deserve her attention; he ditched you for other girls! Even if he was doing it to "distract himself" from how perfect Sydney is, the fact that he reneged on promises disqualifies him. The perpetrator of the mishaps at the cabin is also glaringly obvious, so if you're looking for a bit of thriller/suspence with your romance, you'll be disappointed.

I think I'm getting too old for this type of plot to be interesting to me any more... or maybe it's the fact that it was written in 2013 and clearly not re-written to make it more current. It's possible that die-hard fans of JLA books will read and like this, but it was a miss for me.

Frigid will send you spiraling back to your college days, where the future looked bright but uncertain and true lasting love seemed daunting. Syd and Kyler have been friends since they were children, and they have secretly been in love with one another almost just as long. But neither is willing to destroy their friendship to take a chance and tell the other how they feel, nor do they realize it is mutual. Syd hides this by not dating and being "frigid" as one ex-boyfriend stated, while Kyler hides behind a facade of manwhoring and partying. But when these two are forced to be alone together in a snowmageddon will they finally be forced to admit their feelings for eachother?

I really wish that I could have loved this book. The writing is very well-done and the characters behavior is very age-appropriate, which I appreciate. But both MCs were bland and didn't really have any personality besides being a "wallflower" and a "playboy". I could not find one reason that I wanted to root for them to be together. Kyler in particular is super cringey with how high-handed he is with Syd, and he treats all other girls like they are flimsy. I honestly do not know why Sydney even liked him, as he didn't seem to have any good attributes. This book was neither plot, nor character driven in my opinion.

Overall, I know there are a lot of JLA lovers out there that really enjoy her style of writing and characters. This is a well-written book and I would imagine that if you absolutely adore the author's other works you would enjoy this. Sadly, it was not for me, but not every book hits readers the same. If you find yourself drawn to books about college romances with a friendship to lovers plot and a close proximity trope than you should pick up this story.

✨Frigid by Jennifer Armentrout✨

Genre: Romance
Pages: 252
Pub date: Nov 5th

📚For twenty-one-year-old Sydney Bell, being in love with Kyler isn’t anything new. They’ve been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The problem? He’s never stayed with a girl for longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year of college, Sydney won’t risk their friendship by declaring her feelings.

Meanwhile, Kyler has always put Sydney on a pedestal too high to reach. To him, she’s everything. But he’s hidden away his feelings, drowning them in other girls instead. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the best thing he can never have.

But when they’re stranded together at a posh ski resort after a massive snowstorm, there’s nothing stopping their red-hot feelings from finally coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

📝 Two best friends who are secretly in love with each other find themselves stuck in a blizzard, sounds like fun😉

If you’re looking for a fun and spicy romance, this might be for you. The tropes are forced proximity & friends to lovers.

I wasn’t a fan of the miscommunication as a plot device though💁🏻‍♀️

💫Thank you @read_bloom for my #gifted copy💫

This romance has the makings of a page turning good time but missed the mark in some ways. I enjoyed the forced proximity, friends to lovers, and satisfying ending- I didn't love the naive YA feel of the story. It created some disconnect for me and made it difficult to root for the main characters. Miscommunication isn't my favorite plot device, unless it's believable and executed very well. Which wasn't the case for Frigid.

Frigid is the first book in what is bound to be an outstanding duology. It is a dual POV book that follows Sydney and Kyler, who are best friends. From the beginning, readers know that Sydney is in love with Kyler. But Kyler is a bit of a "player" and is not known to have relationships. Out of fear of ruining their friendship, Sydney decides to love quietly. Meanwhile, Kyler has Sydney on a pedestal where no one, including himself, is good enough for her. When they are trapped together at a ski resort and forced to wait out a snowstorm, sparks fly. Sydney and Kyler have to not only try to survive the storm and what lurks outside, but try to keep their friendship intact as sparks start to fly.

I am obsessed with this book. I normally do not like the friends-to-lovers trope because there is a lot of history that occurs before the book even starts. That is the case here, but despite it all, readers can see that they are clearly in love with each other. Yes, you are told at the beginning that Sydney loves Kyler, but it is believable, and in some ways, it feels like the most torturous slow burn. I also appreciated how the storyline was not just about their love story, but some things are going on as well. Readers are left in suspense waiting to see what is going to happen next and how the two will respond to it. One of these subplots is Sydney's anxiety, and how she responds to situations. I appreciated how Armentrout approached her anxiety and how it was never seen as there being anything wrong with it, and it was something that Kyler accepted without question. It's refreshing to see a character who has anxiety and can live with it, and people do not question it, but rather accept Sydney and her coping mechanisms, like showing up hours earlier than seemingly necessary. Overall, if you are a romance lover, a lover of friends to lovers, or obsessed with forced proximity, this book is for you. I promise you will not regret it.

Thank you to Bloom, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of Frigid in exchange for my honest review.

❄️⛷️🏠🩷🎸

Thank you Source Books, Bloom Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first ever JLA book and I thought it was cute. What drew me into this book was the concept of being snowed in for days with your best friend who you secretly harbour a HUGE crush for. However, the miscommunication in this book drove me insane!!!!! Like what do you mean every single person around Kyler and Sydney knew they were madly in love with one another except for them?!? Are they that naive??? That stupid?? You're telling me that every single time Sydney tried to talk to a guy, Kyler would drag her away or get strangely possessive over her and she never once talked to him about it or questioned why?!?!? And you're telling me that every single time Kyler was a playboy and Sydney would give him looks and comments, he didn't question her?!? Talk to her about it!!?!? Kyler and Sydney call themselves best friends but they literally do not communicate and talk to one another?!? Which led to the whole third act break up which could have been completely avoided if they just talked?!? I know that I have been quite negative so far, but the miscommunication trope with your "best friend" makes me so angry!!! How can you be best friends if you don't communicate with one another!!

Moving onto the things that I did enjoy in this book!! I did think this book was cute. The concept of childhood friends to lovers, "it's always been you" vibes always hits the spot for me. Being snowbound, Kyler and Sydney are forced to be together, keep each other safe/warm and come face to face with their attraction to one another. Let's just say there's a lot of tension and angst!
There's also a fun twist in it, it makes you not want to put the book down because you just want to figure out what happens next!!

Overall this book was ok. I would definitely explore JLA's books in a different genre because I do like her writing style. However, I do not think I will continue and read the next book in this series.

Frigid: ★★★☆☆ (3)

Pub date: November 5, 2024 - with a beautiful new cover!!

Tropes:
- childhood best friend
- close proximity / snowbound
- playboy
- slowburn
- "it's always been you"

3.5 stars.

I liked the premise of this story a lot. The friends to lovers vibes, the forced proximity and the little thriller aspect were all great in my opinion. What I didn’t love, and it was a huge part of this story, was all the miscommunication/over thinking. I don’t mind a little miscommunication when it helps add depth to a story but this was just a lot for me and I kept getting so mad at the characters for it lol. I still liked the story and loved the ending but I just struggled to really connect to it which is why I’m rating 3.5.

𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 📚
4⭐️

It’s been years since I’ve read a @jennifer_l_armentrout book. I was so excited when I saw this one on @netgalley and got approved. This is a best friend romance. Super hot slut of a man and his quiet cutie bestie who just so happens to be a girl. This was the type of curl up on the coach weekend book that the doctor ordered. Sydney has been in love with Kyler for years. Problem is everyone sees it but Kyler. Fate happens and they are stuck in a ski resort alone due to a snow storm. The story is told from dual POV. It was frustrating that neither of them could get out of their own way and just be together. When they finally figured it out, the their love story was such a great read. The plot was romantic and suspense also. Ya they had a psycho trying to hurt them. I really enjoyed this one and it was a quick read.
This is book one of a series and I’m hoping to read tanner and Andreas story soon.

🏷️#booklover #bookstagram #bookcommunity #booksofinstagram #readingtime #ilovebooks #bookblogger #bookblog #booknerdigans #bookobsessed #bookishfeatures #bookphotography #yalit #yabooks #currentlyreading #igreads #instaread #bookworm #booknerd #bookaddict #bookdragon #love #drbooksreads #snow #skiresort #romance

If I had read this book without knowing the title or author. I would never in a million years have guessed that it was written by JLA.
This book felt very YA (but with some smut) - it was best friend to lovers which I tend to like - but the MMC was very playboy-ish and even though you get more insight into that persona and the why - I just didn't like it that much. I thought the FMC needed more confidence and though, to some extent, I get why she was written that way.. she didn't resonate strongly with me.

The two characters get stuck in a snowstorm (hello forced proximity) and there's some mystery when strange things happen like their generator cord gets cut and a window shatters...

All in all, it was fun to read an early writing from JLA. It was a quick read and didn't require her typical world building (non-fantasy). I felt like I was a bit too old of an audience for this one.
3/5

Frigid by Jennifer L armentrout
3.5 stars
This book felt like a hallmark movie, the plot was predictable, it was Christmas time and the best friends have both been secretly in love since childhood. Cue Mr. “I’m not good enough for the girl” Kyler (which is not a good name by the way) who’s solution is to numb his feelings by sleeping with any girl who offers. When has that ever been a good idea?
Then we have Sydney, who instead of speaking on her feelings decided it would be best to pine after her best friend and watch him sleep around BUT also allow him to push away guys who get close to her.

I know they were college kids but the characters felt really immature to me. It really felt like one conversation could have solved all of their problems. The bad guy of the story was obvious from the beginning but I didn’t have a problem with that.

Overall I didn’t hate this book but I also didn’t love it. I’ve been a big JLA fan since I read From Blood and Ash and I’ve like everything fantasy from her but maybe her contemporary romance isn’t for me. If you’re into cute Christmas hallmark movies where the guy always gets the girl you’ll probably like this one.

Thank you netgalley and SourcebooksBloombooks for the review copy!

3.75 stars rounded up

I do love the idea of Bloom bringing these oldies back and giving them special treatment but wow it was eye opening to see how much Jennifer L. Armentrout has grown as an author.

Frigid is the story of two best friends who are secretly in love with each other. They get snowed in together so of course THINGS happen plus there's a bit of a suspense thrown in. I could not really connect with the FMC, Sydney. She really REALLY cared a lot about what Kyler, her BFF, thought of her and constantly doubted herself. Even after they get together she is still berating herself and thinking the absolute worst of him. Not very best friendly of her...sure call him out on his bullshit but dang she was pretty brutal. And Kyler is not much better...he's very much a slut apparently and uses that to cover up his REAL feelings for Syd?? I thought he was really immature. I did like the overall plot of the story, it was entertaining and I liked the side characters Andrea and Tanner.

JLA has definitely grown leaps and bounds since writing this, not to say it's terrible but it's just not what I'm used to from her. She's spoiled us with quality as of late! I still would recommend this if you're in the mood for a wintery vibe romance that you can finish up in a day. Thank you so much to Bloom Books for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.
--
This was a second read through for me. I enjoyed this snowbound best friends to lovers romance. The thriller twist makes for interesting reading but I am not sure this added plot twist is necessary for the narrative as a whole.

“𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.”

- 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝘁𝗼-𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀
- 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝘆
- 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘁
- 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻

A lifetime of love kept secret, until a snow storm puts Sydney and Kyler alone to face the truth.
An angst-filled book that burns slow!

ARC read for the re release!

This is my first time r we ding JLA that wasn’t fantasy and honestly the writing was quite good! I think the romance is one of JLAs strengths for sure.


Things I liked:
Friends to lovers
Forced proximity (snowed in)
Little twisty subplot

Things I didn’t love:
Miscommunication trope
Third act breakup

Pretty standard little romance, quick easy read. Good development between the characters! The romance (😏) is well written. The subplot was a surprise and kept it interesting. The characters seem a bit immature. If you don’t mind a miscommunication trope, definitely read this!

This book follows best friends Sydney and Kyler as they go on their annual Christmas ski trip, only to be stranded alone in the cabin due to a storm. Sydney has been quietly pining for Kyler for years, while Kyler parades endless one night stands in front of her. Kyler apparently also has secret feelings for Sydney? And his solution is to constantly ditch her to go hookup with the previously mentioned parade of one night stands. But trapped together, years of feelings come to the surface. But someone mysterious is on the mountain with them, and they seen to want them gone.

I think this is unfortunately one of those times when I’m not the right reader for this book. I love Jennifer L Armentrout, so I was shocked when I didn’t enjoy this story. I think the tropes were just not for me. I enjoy Friends to Lovers, but these characters frustrated me, so it was hard to connect with them. I felt like the strongest plot point was the mystery, which was pretty unnecessary to the overall story. I had a hard time feeling anything kind towards Kyler, as he came off as a gross womanizer. Womanizers are just fine, but when he isn’t upfront with the women and leads them on it doesn’t sit right with me. And being flirty/touchy feely with his best friend, preventing other men from dating her, and then still walking a line of women in front of her was not my favorite. Sydney was a lovely character, but she had absolutely zero self respect. She was in near constant pain because of this man and still let him walk all over her. There were multiple instances of other women from his past that showed up to proposition him, which Sydney just accepted. I was ultimately rooting against their relationship towards the end of this book.

Overall I think a lot of people would still enjoy this story! I could very well be in the minority here. I just found myself frustrated and unsatisfied with this particular story. I’ll go back to reading anything else by this author.

The beginning of 'Frigid' definitely grabbed my attention, This sweet story ticked all my favs boxes and I hand on heart enjoyed this book!!!

Yesssss give me locked room spice and I am sold.

This was a really great will they, won't they, friends to lovers story with the perfect amount of spice for the storyline. Is this going to win a Pulitzer? No. Is it more fun than that? 100%.