Frost Line Mass Market Paperback – August 30, 2016

I loved being absorbed into this book from the first page. My heart ached for Elijah. Loved how Lenna Frost was sent to his world to help him. Caine is a Hunter sent to retrieve her and the magical deck of cards. Loved how hard they fall for each other, but they are from different worlds too. They both end up caring for Elijah (a human child). Loved the creativity of the story and that they all get a happy ever after. Loved the epilogue and seeing how Elijah ends up. I highly recommend this book.

When seven-year-old Elijah Tilley accidentally asks the tarot entity Strength for help, Lenna Frost is pulled from her world onto Earth. She’s completely out of her depth, but she vows to keep Elijah safe, receiving aid from Caine, a Hunter sent to fetch Lenna back to her world.I had to ruminate on this book for a little while after I read it. At first all I could think about was how sweet and touching the characters’ arcs were, how interesting the premise was, how exciting the climax had been. But with distance and perspective, I could see the problems that have others rating this book three stars or worse. The issues make me wonder how short a deadline the Lindas had for this manuscript, because surely the story could have been ten times better if they’d just brainstormed a little more. As it is, I admire them for attempting to make this work.Their first mistake was starting the story with Elijah. Many great suspense stories start with the crime before introducing the primary characters, because it’s an exciting, grabbing way to start a story and can provide insight into motivation and set the author’s desired tone…but it doesn’t fit for this one. And actually, I’m not sure Elijah was necessary at all. It should have begun with a scene involving Lenna and some other Arcana discussing the Alexandria Deck, foreshadowing. Or at the very least, it should have started with a scene introducing Lenna or Caine, since they and their romance are supposed to be the main focus. Unfortunately, they take a back seat to Elijah’s crisis.The story just has too much going on. We didn’t need to see anything from the senator’s or Derek’s perspectives. Derek was unnecessary altogether and is a loose end that only gets half-*ssed tied up. But unfortunately, without Elijah and the senator, Lenna and Caine wouldn’t have had anything to do, necessitating an entirely different plot. But with Lenna helping Elijah, Caine helping Lenna and the Emperor, the other Hunters helping the Tower, the senator covering up his crime, and Derek helping the senator, not to mention the enigma of the Alexandria Deck, the book was way too cluttered and should have gotten a liberal red-pen lipo. If they’d simplified the plot and done more world-building and character-developing, thrown in some comprehensive backstory, the Lindas would have had a better piece of work on their hands.Whether the characters were necessary or not, I loved them. Well, not the bad guys, but I loved Elijah, Lenna, and Caine. Elijah was adorable. Lenna had a beautiful, subtle arc in which she went from a disinterested and distanced immortal being to a loving, caring woman, craving to experience life. Caine had his own quiet arc, much like Lenna’s—distant, unemotional mercenary to caring, vulnerable man in love. But as much as I loved Elijah, I don’t think he should have been there at all. We should have been given glimpses of Lenna’s and Caine’s current lives, then the Alexandria Deck would have stirred up trouble, and Lenna and Caine could have found themselves an unlikely, unfriendly pair thrown together by circumstances to deal with the Deck’s trouble, gradually falling in love as they sought a solution. Has it been done? Yes, but the fantasy/paranormal flavor would have been a fresh spin on the common setup.The writing was good, but there was a little too much thought process, and it was irritating when I had to endure that of the inconsequential characters like Derek and the senator, and even the other Hunters. It was a waste of time. Not only was the plot crowded and unfocused, but it was rather dragged out, any progression delayed with ridiculous excuses. There are also many questions unanswered, or rather, stories untold. Why did Zack’s dad bring home all those magical artifacts? Was he aware of their power, or did he think they were just cool junk? What are those artifacts’ stories? How did the Alexandria Deck come to be in his seemingly random possession? Is he somehow related to the wizard/sorcorer/magician (the book was never really clear on its brand of terminology) who created the Deck? How did the Deck survive the fire at the Alexandria library? What has it been doing for the last several thousand years? How come none of the Arcana, who were supposed to be able to sense the Deck, could do just that? What do the Arcana do all day? What are the other worlds?!Now that I think about it, we don’t know jack squat about the bigger picture here. So much untapped potential!!For all that, though, the story wasn’t unlikable. As I said, the main characters were endearing and I cared about them. There were humorous lines of dialogue and well-described settings. My favorite part by far, however, was the climax. I won’t give it away, but I was absolutely riveted when I read it. It was so exciting and emotional and frustrating. If there was anything wrong with it, it had a little too easy a fix. The drama and stakes could have been played out a bit more. But I loved it, and I know I’ll be revisiting it for the high I get off it.I have absolutely no idea why frost, ice, snow, and cold was relevant to Lenna’s being and powers—which drives me crazy; why?!—but I have to say, she made one h*ll of a bad*ss Elsa. Like, seriously. She had Elsa’s powers. She was adult cosmic entity PG-13 version of Disney’s Elsa, and while she was unleashing her temper and her powers, I imagined X-Men-esque special effects. In my head, it was pretty awesome.With all the criticisms I could lay down, I should give this book three stars, but I’ll give it four just because it’s so d*mn promising, if only the Lindas could figure out exactly which story they want to tell.Also, I have no idea why it’s called Frost Line. “Frost” I get, sort of, but “Line”? There might have been a bit that tried to make the connection, but I didn’t retain it.noapologybookreviews.com

Enjoyed it tremendously! I read books of many types, and this has become one of my favorites. Held my interest all the way through. Recommend it highly.

**Spoilers**A good fantasy from the 2 Lindas. Not as good as Linda Howard's romantic thrillers, but I did enjoy it.Seven year old Elijah's mother did something stupid and it got her murdered, and Elijah saw it happen. He's bright enough to run, hid out and try to call 9-1-1. But, in this day and age, he can't find a landline. He hides out in his best friend's home, as the family is away for the holiday. Both sad and scared Elijah hides in a closet and dislodges a box the hold the Alexandria Tarot Deck. The deck disappeared thousands of years ago, presumed destroyed and gave the citizens of Aeonia the ability to travel between the worlds they influence. The citizens of Aeonia, are represented by the cards in the deck and the card dislodged by Elijah, is Strength, Lenna Frost. By, asking for help, Elijah call her to Earth (Seven). Lenna promises to protect and help Elijah stop the man who killed his mom and is after him.Lenna absence is immediately felt in Aeonia. The Emperor hires a Hunter, Caine to return Lenna and the Deck to Aeonia. The Tower (Chaos), Veton, also wants the Deck, and if getting it requires Lenna's death, he's ok with that. And so, he hires three Hunters to get it for him.Lenna knows that she has only five days to accomplish her mission, she knows a Hunter will probably sent to return her, and she knows if the Deck needs to be complete to return her, so she splits it up.Once, Caine arrives on the scene, and can't take Lenna back, he reluctantly joins forces with her and Elijah. Not only do they have to find Elijah's mom's killer, they need to avoid the other Hunters.

Great book for a beach read. Loved the hero and heroine. Had a hard time putting it down. I have always loved these authors

Nach langem wieder einmal ein Fantasy-Buch, das auch tiefere Seelenschichten berührt.Die Heldin des Buches ist Strength, die mystische Personifikation der Stärke, Tarotkarten werden zu Artefakten der Macht mit denen man in andere Wirklichkeiten reisen kann und sie beschreiben eine Realität, die wir nur erahnen können ... als Strength durch ein verzweifelt um Hilfe rufendes Kind aus ihrer Welt in unsere Welt gerufen wird, erwacht ihr Herz zu wahrem Leben - sie entdeckt die Liebe zu dem Kind, der Welt mit ihrer Schönheit und sogar die Liebe zu einem Mann, der ebenso aus den mystischen Realitäten stammt wie sie selbst.Leider ist die Umsetzung der wirklich großartigen Ideen teilweise sehr, sehr oberflächlich gestaltet und dadurch auch unglaubwürdig, was schade ist, doch das Buch ist trotzdem lesenswert.

Readable

Ok but not brilliant. Didn't really hold my attention. What bugged me was lenna and hunters enforced physical closeness. It limited what could happen.

Loved the way Linda Howard built the tempo of the story. Really enjoyed it and looking forward to more of her ralented writing.

Interesting Book, but not of the same quality as former books like Duncan's Bride, Midnight Rainbow etc.So, three stars for the book plus one star for having provided many hours of good entertainment over the years.