Fronzen (Heart of Dread #1) by Melissa De La Cruz
Publisher: Hachette Children Book, 2013
336 pages, kindle edition
Source: Netgalley
Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.
At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.
But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.
My Review:
Very fast paced and exciting. What's not to like about a post-apocalyptic world where magic is seeping back in?
The story is about hundreds of years in the future, there were terrible disasters that led to the world now being covered with ice and snow. The life expectancy rate is extremely low, making for children to be taking full adult roles as early as 11 years old. For some unknown reason, after these disasters some people have started being born with "mage's marks" and have magical powers. Our heroine, 16-year-old Nat, is one of these people. She hires 16-year-old Wes (think of an Earth-bound Han Solo type character) and his ragtag team of tween/teen former soldiers to smuggle her across the ocean to get to the fabled "Blue," a paradise where the air is clear and the land is warm.
Flew through this story. The constant action keeps the pacing going strong, but at times you just feel like everything that could possibly go wrong does and everything is a matter of life and death and can't they just freaking breathe for a second? Sometimes in these kinds of para-romance-new adult genre books the romances feel forced or overdone, but the love lines in this seemed very well done. At times the internal dialogue of "if this is just a harmless flirt, why do I have these strange FEELINGS?!" is a little heavy-handed, but in the end it seemed to work alright. Overall, the story was very interesting and I'm looking forward to the next installment.
My Rating:
At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.
But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.
My Review:
Very fast paced and exciting. What's not to like about a post-apocalyptic world where magic is seeping back in?
The story is about hundreds of years in the future, there were terrible disasters that led to the world now being covered with ice and snow. The life expectancy rate is extremely low, making for children to be taking full adult roles as early as 11 years old. For some unknown reason, after these disasters some people have started being born with "mage's marks" and have magical powers. Our heroine, 16-year-old Nat, is one of these people. She hires 16-year-old Wes (think of an Earth-bound Han Solo type character) and his ragtag team of tween/teen former soldiers to smuggle her across the ocean to get to the fabled "Blue," a paradise where the air is clear and the land is warm.
Flew through this story. The constant action keeps the pacing going strong, but at times you just feel like everything that could possibly go wrong does and everything is a matter of life and death and can't they just freaking breathe for a second? Sometimes in these kinds of para-romance-new adult genre books the romances feel forced or overdone, but the love lines in this seemed very well done. At times the internal dialogue of "if this is just a harmless flirt, why do I have these strange FEELINGS?!" is a little heavy-handed, but in the end it seemed to work alright. Overall, the story was very interesting and I'm looking forward to the next installment.
My Rating:
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