Nimue

Frost is set in a fantastic world where the winter is especially hard and dominated by cold, ice and evil murderous creatures that are called Watchers. The writing of Kate Avery Ellison drew me in the moment I started reading. Her description of this hostile and at the same time beautiful place made this world come to life for me.

I found the setting of Frost very intriguing. There is the village and around farms. Everybody has a function/profession and according to these weekly quotas have to be fulfilled. This world is without any modern technology though the southern and warm countries seem to have developed modern things. Lia, the main characters, is a weaver and lives with her crippled brother and younger sister on the most isolated farm. They are very poor and struggle to achieve their weekly target. As this is pretty bad in their world, Lia is in perpetual fear that they get relocated and separated.

Lia is a likeable character. She is caring and thoughtful. For most of the book she is awfully stressed and can never relax and simply enjoy life. She clearly loves her family, though she is kind of resentful towards her sister who doesn't keep up with her chores and later brings her family in danger by rescuing a Southern fugitive. This is the moment Lia shows her humanity by helping the stranger, Gabe, and nursing him back to life.

I enjoyed the plot, which resolved about how to rescue Gabe and the invasion of the Southern people, called Farthers, in the winter area. Unfortunately very little is revealed abouth this invaders and what's exactly so bad about them, and why they act as they do. So they come across as the stereotypical villains without any background. In general most of the time it's unclear who is on whose side, which results in a bit of confusion. There is also a magical/paranormal element to the story, but it is very wage and unclear. I guess it will be explored further in the next book.

To the end the pace is getting faster and the tale becomes more action-rich and dramatic and the budding attraction between Lia and Gabe could bring harm to everybody as the Farthers are on their tail. Overall I was amused by this fantasy story that scores with intriguing characters and a fascinating setting.