Frostbitten

By: Heather Beck

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

 Great beauty hides dark secrets…

Seventeen-year-old Anastasia Lockhart has never led an easy life, but when she starts getting into serious trouble, she’s sent to live with her grandparents in Cedar Falls. The small, picturesque town hasn’t changed since she visited four years ago, with one exception – the presence of a handsome, mysterious boy named Frost. Despite warnings from her grandparents and friends to stay away from Frost, Anastasia can’t deny their attraction, and the more time they spend together, the deeper in love they fall. Unfortunately, Frost has a secret that is beyond Anastasia’s wildest imagination, and she soon finds herself in the midst of a supernatural legend that has haunted Cedar Falls for years.

Can Anastasia and Frost’s love really overcome anything, or are their fates much darker?

****4 1/2 Wonderful Stars****

I must admit that while I do definitely enjoy reading young adult books, I am sometimes hesitant to read paranormal books within the genre. It’s not that I haven’t read these types of books, or that I haven’t immensely enjoyed these books, it’s just that I naturally don’t lean towards them.

After reading Frostbitten by Heather Beck, I’m thinking I should change that inclination.

Frostbitten is a paranormal young adult novel that focuses in on Anastasia Lockhart as she goes to live with her grandparents in the quaint little town of Cedar Falls. But soon Anastasia finds that not everything is as quaint as it appears in this sleepy little town. There are some dark mysteries running rampant through this town, and Anastasia soon finds herself immersed in them.

Wonderfully balanced with the mystery surrounding the town of Cedar Falls is the development of Anastasia’s relationship with a mysterious boy named Frost. These two have an instant bond and connection, and their bonds only grow throughout this story. Frostbitten follows Anastasia as she begins to fall into all of her feelings for Frost, while trying to discover the answers to the many questions surrounding the supernatural events taking place in Cedar Falls.

What I absolutely adored about this book:

• The writing. Heather Beck does a phenomenal job of crafting a story that just flows from the page. Her writing is beautiful, and the level of description you read in this book will have you picturing every single glorious detail in your head.
• The mythology. The mythology that comes into this story in such a remarkable way that is very easy to understand, and it blends wonderfully with every other aspect of the book. It also adds a seriously engaging and exciting factor to this book that sets the story itself apart from other YA books.
• Frost. Frost is kind of an enigma that you continue to try to figure out throughout. While reading you slowly chip away at his hard exterior find out who he truly is. His character was just magnificent to read, and with each new piece of the puzzle that I discovered about him, I fell more in love with his character. He’s also terribly sweet, which just melted my heart.
• Anastasia’s strength. Anastasia is a very strong female character, which I immediately grasped and adored. She is thrown a lot of wrenches in a lot of ways, but through it all she keeps standing up and pushing through. Even when you expect her to give in, she doesn’t. She’s extremely resilient, and that was something that was truly fresh to read.
• The excitement. This book is paced very well, and the events make it a true page turner. The events add flames to the fire that is this book, and will keep you engaged from beginning to end. That excitement also just makes it fun to read.
• The love story. The love story of Frost and Anastasia is fantastic, and it has a serious build over the book. It feels very natural from beginning to end, and flows very well over the page. It also balanced extremely well with the other events taking place in the book. You could focus in on it, but also enjoy all the other aspects of the book that in turn affected their love story. It just worked.
• The young adultness. I loved that this was a YA book. I love YA books. The young characters created in this book are all extremely authentic in the emotions and feelings they have. Even the actions they take are wholly real. Heather Beck does a wonderful job of capturing these characters and making them come alive on the page.
• The level of suspense. The level of suspense just builds and builds in this book. I was constantly wondering where in the world the story would go, and what would happen next, which made this book all the more engaging. That suspense builds in so many ways that you will have to know how this all works out. (It also does a fabulous job of setting up future stories….)
• The different relationships. I loved getting to read the different and complicated relationships in this book. You have Frost and Anastasia, Anastasia and her grandparents, and even Anastasia and her classmates. These dynamic relationships add more to this story, and add an easily relatable factor to what you’re reading.

Frostbitten was a truly fantastic book to read. It had so many aspects that I truly enjoy and thrive on when I read. It was engaging as hell. It had well and thoughtfully developed characters with some spunk. It had a storyline that was fresh to read, and that just continued to get better as I read. It also had that something extra that just made it a truly enjoyable book.

While I may not be the most well versed in books with paranormal and supernatural elements, I have to say that I think this one hit it out the park in that respect.

So I hope you’ll all take a minute to check out the book and its author. Give it chance, just like I did. I think you’ll be extremely happy you did. I know I am.

Take that leap of faith in reading. You’d do well to remember that.

Heather Beck is a Canadian Author and Screenwriter who began writing professionally at the age of sixteen. Since then she has written eleven well-reviewed books, including the bestselling series, The Horror Diaries, which has sold in six continents.

Heather received an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree from university where she specialized in English and studied an array of disciplines. Currently, she is working on the Frostbitten series and has two anthologies slated for publication. As a screenwriter, Heather has multiple television shows and movies in development. Her short films include: Young Eyes, The Rarity, Too Sensible For Love, Circular, and the forthcoming Witch’s Brew.

Besides writing, Heather’s greatest passion is the outdoors. She is an award-winning fisherwoman and a regular hiker. Her hobbies include swimming, playing badminton and volunteering with non-profit organizations.

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 Frostbitten truly was a wonderful book, and I am so glad I had the chance to read it. The writing is beautiful and the story is great, so be sure to check out this book and Heather Beck today!