Title: Frost Line
Authors: Linda Howard and Linda Jones
Series: n/a
Fascinating, heartwarming story but unfocused; also, Elsa much?
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 line that tried to make the connection, but I didn’t retain it.
