Format: Paperback, 416 pages
Release Date: December 1, 2020
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
The Frozen Prince is the second
installment in author Maxym Martineau's The Beast Charmer trilogy. The
first thing you should know is that this series was originally released as an
adult fantasy romance. It has been reworked and re-released as a teen fantasy,
retaining the same title, plot, and characters, while also aging them down and
removing the explicit sexual content. This story revolves around a group of 5
individuals; Noc Feyreigner, Calem, Kost, Ozias, and of course, Leena Edenfrell
who survived a contract that was put out on her life by an unknown person for
reasons that haven't been fully explained yet.
Leena is what's known
as a charmer. A Charmer is a person who possesses the rare ability to summon
magical beasts which is why the series is being compared to the book Fantastic
Beasts. Charmers are only as strong as the beasts they keep, and Leena is
one of the strongest around. The story actually opens with the introduction of
Prince Aleksander aka The Frozen Prince who we know as Noc. Noc is the leader
of the assassins of Cruor which had something of a slimming down when a group
decided to follow someone else.
The Cruor are undead.
They have been raised by Cruor Masters who are able to restore the dead to
life. They are not easily defeated or swayed. When an assassin takes a
job, they are highly successful at completing their mission. Noc has found
himself in quite a quandary after accepting a contract that is magically
enforced to kill Leena. Although he's broken the curse that haunted him for 50
years, if he fails to kill Leena—the girl he can't live without—his own life
will be at stake. With the dark magic of Curor's Oath testing his control, Noc
has to fight with everything he is to keep his friends and family safe.
Leena would do
anything to help Noc overcome the oath including trusting people who end up
betraying her. Leena, who has been pardoned for her past crimes, gets a visit
from fellow beast Charmer Gaige who offers to help if he gains access to the
famous Cruor library. When she hears of a beast rumored to have the power
needed to save Noc's life, she embarks on a quest to the frozen north to
collect key parts of the equation. But what starts as a hunt for a magical
beast, quickly turns Leena, Noc, Kost & Ozias into prey. It seems as though
neither Leena nor Noc have escaped their destinies just yet.
Trouble in the form
of former assassins, traitorous beast charmers, and King Varek's Sentinels who
have a capture and kill order on Lenna and Noc. With time is running out
before Noc has to kill Leena, the group also has to figure out how to train
Calem who has a tendency to shift into beast mode whenever he gets angry after
he died and was brought back to life. On top of everything else, Noc seems to
be keeping secrets from Leena, ones that pertain to his past and tie into the
present. Secrets that all come out later in the story with a twisted
cliffhanger ending.
Some questions & answers for those who read The Beast Charmer have been posted by the author:
Is The Beast Charmer different from the young adult (trade paperback)
version?
Yes and no. The plot and characters are the same, though the cast has been aged
up to align with an adult audience. This edition focuses more on the romance
between Noc and Leena, and as such, there is some explicit content and it’s
geared toward an adult romance readership.
Does this mean we
won’t get the remainder of the Beast Charmer series in the adult version?
At this time, Leena and Noc’s story will be told in its entirety in the young
adult version. Stay tuned for potential additional materials geared toward the
adult, romance-reader audience.
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