Frozen by Melissa Dela Cruz & Michael Johnston – a Review

Links to order Frozen: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
Release Date: September 17,2013

Description:

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature—freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she’s heard of a mythical land simply called “the Blue.” They say it’s a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies? Fiery hearts collide in this fantastic tale of the evil men do and the awesome power within us all.

Review:

Frozen by Melissa Dela Cruz & Michael Johnston is the first book in their Heart of Dread series.  This is another YA Dystopian story, but very different then what we have been reading lately, as it has some paranormal & fantasy element in it.  Frozen takes place in a world that was destroyed, with some cities around the world livable, but barely.  Our story takes place in New Vegas (old Las Vegas), which is totally covered in ice; food is hard to come by; and yet it is still the place for those to flock to for fun or gambling.

At the start we meet our heroine Natasha Kestal, who is locked up in a special place for those considered ‘marked’.  The marked have special powers, each having different abilities, with those found kept locked up by the government running the prison to use their powers to their advantage.  There are also slavers who hunt the marked, to sell them to the highest bidders.  Nat wears contact lenses to hide her odd colored eyes, which is a giveaway to what she is. Living in fear, she manages to escape, with the help of the voices she constantly hears. 

We pick up a short time later, with Nat now working as a blackjack dealer in New Vegas, hiding that she is one of the marked, and biding her time to find a better life.  She has heard about the fabled ‘Blue’, a land that is beautiful and is not covered in ice…a new beginning.  Nat manages to ‘win’ some money, and hires Ryan (Wes) Weston, a mercenary, to help her find ‘Blue’.

Wes is our hero in this book, and he is an awesome one at that.  He has a makeshift crew, consisting of all young rough tough teenagers, who love adventure.  The original plan is to take Nat to find the fabled paradise, but since they do not believe it exists, take her money and leave her.  

What follows is an exciting adventure of danger, non-stop action, excitement, betrayal and a romance that was slowly built.  Nat and Wes were an awesome couple, whom at first did not trust one another. With so many things against this relationship, you had no idea if they would even survive.  What I loved about this romance was that it was not a major part of the story, yet it such a nice and important part of it. 

I thought that Dela Cruz & Johnston duo did a fabulous job creating these wonderful characters.  Aside from Nat and Wes, the secondary characters were all excellent, including the bad ones. 

This is an intense adventure that has you on the edge of your seat throughout.  So many surprises and twists that had you worried about those you came to care for.  Discovering other ‘marked’ was fun, especially to see their powers, as well as to see what Nat can do.  With a blend of dystopian, paranormal, fantasy, as well as an action packed roller coaster of an adventure, you need to read this book.  The topper is when Nat discovers who she really is, and this is totally awesome.   Frozen is a must read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher