FROSTFIRE (Book 1 of The Kanin Chronicles) by Amanda Hocking

Bookoutlet.com – Frostfire – (Book 1 of The Kanin Chronicles)

Bookoutlet.com – Ice Kissed – (Book 2 of The Kanin Chronicles)

Amazon.com – Crystal Kingodm – (Book 3 of The Kanin Chronicles)

Genre: YA/Adult/Fiction/Fantasy

Plot: Hidden deep in the heart of a snow-covered wilderness lies the secret kingdom of the Kanin―a magical realm as beautiful as it is treacherous…
Bryn Aven has never fit into Kanin society. Her blond hair and blue eyes set her apart as an outsider―a half-blood unable to hold a respectable rank. But she’s determined to prove herself as a loyal protector of the kingdom she loves. Her dream is to become a member of the King’s elite guard, and she’s not going to let anything stand in her way…not even her growing feelings for her boss, Ridley Dresden. A relationship between them is strictly forbidden, but Bryn can’t fight her attraction to him. And she’s beginning to think he feels it too.
Meanwhile, there’s an attack on the kingdom―one that will test Bryn’s strength like never before. Finally, she has the chance to confront Konstantin Black, the traitor who tried to kill her father years ago. It’s up to Bryn to put a stop to him before he strikes again. But is she willing to risk everything to protect a kingdom that doesn’t accept her for who she really is? And when her mission brings her closer to Ridley, will she be able to deny her heart?

Opinion: It feels like forever since I have done a review! Which is probably because it has been quite some time…I blame work and school for that one. But not only have I not done a review, I have BARELY been reading!

So thankfully, the first book I started reading yesterday that has gotten me back into the swing of things was this little gem. MY OH MY readers, have I found a great series! But do you know what the BEST part is?!?! I got books 1 and 2 from Bookoutlet.com, book 1 is going for $2.49 and book 2 is going for $3.99. You can’t beat those prices. Unfortunately book 3 isn’t on there right now, so I had to go order it from Amazon.com, but keep checking because they restock a lot! I have inserted the links above so you can go find all of them.

Bryn Aven has been working her entire life towards joining the elite Högdragen, which is the highest form of guard that has the task of protecting the Kanin kingdom. When the reader first meets Bryn, it is right before her father is attacked by the Queen’s personal guard, for reasons that continue to be a mystery for years later. Now Bryn serves as a tracker, one who goes to human areas to locate and bring home changelings from their kingdom. But when on a mission to retrieve a high school student named Linus, Bryn notices that someone else is also tracking him. Soon, the man that tried to harm her father those years ago is thrown back into the picture and causing harm to the people in her kingdom. After several other high-ranking changelings become in danger, the trackers are forced to go out and retrieve all of them at once. Now Bryn, her fellow trackers, and her boss Ridley have the overwhelming task of trying to stop a full-fledged war from breaking out. All they have to do, is figure out why the changelings are being taken and who exactly is behind it all.

Long description, but it sadly barely summarizes what happens in this book. Because A LOT happens. It is a very addicting and smooth read from start to finish, and I finished it in about 5 hours…which of course lead me to then starting book 2 right after. Trust me when I tell you that this story is seriously addicting. The character of Bryn is a nice twist on those female badass protagonists that I am so fond of. I like that the author has made her a bit of an outcast, which in turn makes her character work that much harder for what she wants. I have found so many times in books that the female lead has all these amazing powers and can do things that nobody else can, which turns out to be kind of “eye-roll esque”. I like that Bryn has no specialty powers, which in turn makes her character have to work so much harder to be as good or even better than her fellow trackers. Her outlook on love, duty, and pride is highly refreshing. She isn’t a boy-crazy adolescent, she has goals and a focus that makes her very likeable and easy to follow. Though there is a small something that starts to brew between Bryn and her boss Ridley, it is so dragged out that I can honestly say this story focuses on the fantasy and action rather than the romance.

The story development is fairly well-done, in regards to the history that the author puts forth about the kingdoms and types of trolls/changelings. I have read a few other reviews that insisted that this series was rather monotonous or unoriginal. I personally found it to be the complete opposite of monotonous. There is not an excessive amount of “down-time” in between events, and the down-time that DOES happen is written in a way that doesn’t bore the reader and make them feel uninterested. Though there are quite a few fantasy stories out in the “BookWorld” right now that are similar, I found this to be a nice twist. The characters are fresh, the story highly developed, and the reader is kept guessing.

I really recommend this book and this series to anyone who loves a great fantasy story that highlights a female protagonist. As I had said before, I read this book in about five hours, and that was with multiple breaks. If I read it that quickly, please take that as a hint that I couldn’t get enough of it. This has definitely become a new favorite series of mine, and I am currently in the middle of reading book 2. Hope to have a review up for it soon! GO GET THIS SERIES READERS!!