A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey Review

A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey
(The Lovegrove Legacy, #1)
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Walker Childrens; 496 pages

In 1814, three cousins-Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope-discover their unknown family lineage of witchcraft. Beyond the familiar manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, a dangerous, alluring new underworld visible only to those with power is now open to the cousins.

But unbeknownst to them, by claiming their power, the three cousins have inadvertently opened the gates to the Underworld.

Now the dead, ghouls, hellhounds-and the most terrifying of all: the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters-are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers.

And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders...because she keeps finding the bodies.

Can the cousins unravel the clues and mystery behind their heritage and power before their gifts are stripped away ...or even worse, another witch is killed?

There are some authors that you will read anything they publish because you like their writing that much. Alyxandra Harvey is one of those authors for me. The only book of hers that I haven't read is Briar Rose and that's mainly because I can't find it or it's on Amazon for $30 (that's a lot for one book). While Haunting Violet and the Drake Chronicles are my favorite I was really excited for this book not only because of witches but because of the time period (early 1800's). I really love that time period.

Though I really enjoyed this, I was a little disappointed by it. I'm not saying it's not good but I think my expectations were just too high for it to fulfill, which isn't fair of me. The characters were phenomenal as I loved all of them and the story was fantastic but there were just too many parts that were just dragging. The more I read, the pickier I become and I like books that are fast paced with great characters. The beginning was intriguing enough that I didn't know what was going on but I wanted to find out but then it dragged for a bit then got exciting again and the dragged for a bit before taking off for the long haul.

I like how it was told from different character points of views though mainly from Emma, who is our main character but I don't like it didn't tell you ahead of time whose chapter it was. A few times I was like, wait, what? Because I still thought it was hers but it turned out to be one of her cousins. This could've been a problem because of me reading the eARC so don't hold this against the book until I can see the final copy. I'm assuming, since it's a trilogy and the main characters are the Lovegrove cousins that the next book will most likely be told from Penelope or Gretchen with a few Emma chapters thrown in the mix. I can't tell you whose book I'd be more excited for since I like both of these girls. Hell, I love them all. I can also see where Penelope's love life is going (or at least, I'm hoping I know) but Gretchen's is a mystery.

That brings me to Emma's love interest, Cormac. Oh my goodness, he's a gentleman and he's amazing. He's the type of suiter I'd imagine this time period of having. The type of gentleman I'd want pursuing me if I were alive then. Though, he's not necessarily pursuing her. Their relationship is a bit tense but oh man, as it builds, you get as giddy as she does.

The back-story with Emma's mother (which is a very important part of Emma's story) is very, very interesting and mysterious. I think that actually might have been my favorite part of this book. While some of it was a little obvious, there were parts of it that I did not see coming until the last minute. It was very well thought out and executed perfectly.

Any fan of witches would really enjoy this book. Any fan of Alyxandra Harvey's will certainly enjoy this. It's a great first book to what will hopefully be a very well done trilogy with fantastic characters and intriguing stories.

I want to thank Bloomsbury for allowing me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.