“Burn brightly. Love fiercely. For all else is dust.”

Beasts of the Frozen Sun is one of those books I wish I’d read when I was a teenager. 15-year-old me would have lapped this book up, and then some.

When a stranger from the Land of the Frozen Sun washes up injured on the shores of Glasnith, Lira of Clan Stone makes a decision that will tear her from her own clan; rather than turn the stranger in, Lira heals him of his wounds in secret, realising he is not like the other invaders and beasts of the Frozen Sun as she knows them. Lira is gifted with the ability to see into the souls of others, and when she touches Reyker’s soul, she sees a soul that needs to be healed and protected. Her decision starts a chain reaction that quickly pulls the pair into danger at every turn, her home plunges to war.

 I first heard about the release of Beasts of the Frozen Sun through one of my favourite authors Juliet Marillier posting about it, here. After reading Beasts of the Frozen Sun, I can say that I can see the similarity between Marillier’s writing and Criswell’s – it seems fitting that that connection exists, as well as the fact that Marillier is an author from my teenage years whose books I adored then, and still love today.

This book really is something that a younger version of me would have devoured at speed.

The first thing that got me about Beasts of the Frozen Sun was how in-depth the world-building is. Being a fantasy-lover through and through, I always appreciate the work that author goes to in order to create a fantasy world that feels like it could exist outside of the book. I felt that way about the island Glasnith and the mythology surrounding Aillira and Gwylor. I loved how it was essentially a story within a story, on the one hand we have the story of Lira and Reyker and on the other we have Aillira and Veronis – each distinct but at the same time intertwined. This was the main draw point of the book for me and will get me to return to the series if there’s a sequel.

This book really is something that a younger version of me would have devoured at speed and probably would’ve been a favourite read for me – but being slightly older now and less prone to swooning at cute fantasy/romances, I felt more inclined to simply enjoy the book for what it was, and let myself be swept up in the world building and mythology of Glasnith and the Land of the Frozen Sun.

I give this read 3.5 stars and definitely recommend it to older teenage readers who enjoy fantasy/romance genres.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.