A KING SO COLDby ELLA FIELDS
Once upon a time, there lived a princess so cruel that even her husband tried to destroy her.
The results left her without a father, her husband without a memory, and herself as queen to a kingdom on the cusp of war.
Even so, after learning of her treasonous husband’s upcoming nuptials, she set out to find him and locked him in her dungeon. There, and only there, would she unveil a time when she once allowed herself to be vulnerable. A past detailing how her heart was coaxed to beat outside her chest, only to have it crushed by the cold hands of betrayal.
But true vengeance will need to wait. War is coming, and with it, decisions and danger masked in treacherous beauty.
All too soon, the young queen will learn that time could be the most dangerous foe of all.
For it is time that would reveal all the ways a dead heart can beat anew.
"You are a beautiful fool, my queen."
VERY Unpopular opinion and apparently, not a smart one to have. It pains me to even write this review, but for a story that I should have loved, I just didn't.
Let me preface this entire review with this disclaimer: Ella Fields is in my TOP 5 FAVORITE AUTHORS. I love her angst. Her world building. Her triangles. Her men. Her descriptions. Everything about the way she tells me a story and leads me on a path of discovery and a journey for an epic love is well within her wheelhouse. She works for me on all levels and I have never ever walked away from a book without a smile on my face and the excitement of screaming about the book and gifting out copies. Ella's writing is always so detailed and always inspires a mental image that I can grab ahold of and "see" the story as it plays out.
Well, that was until this one. I am heartbroken and completely upset at how this whole thing played out. I tried to DNF three times but I was promised it would get better. I was told I would stop being confused as I got farther in, that I would be able to settle in. That I would love the story. I heard it all. This had all the makings for an amazing read, but it just didn't turn out that way.
I feel like I was thrown into the middle of a movie without context, growth, commitment, or understanding. Literally, MID-SCENE into the story. Immediately upon opening the book, mind you - I was completely lost. There wasn't any background to hold onto so I felt like I was grasping for information from the get go to catch up with each scene that presented itself. No set up. No lead in. No info dump. Nothing but me being lost in the middle of nowhere without a map. It was so frustrating and didn't provide a good start or a good experience for me.
"Love is nothing but a drug that will trick your heart for access to your soul."
To set myself straight, I went to one of my best book friends who is always reading fantasy. My first question was to find out if perhaps I was mistaken. Maybe it was supposed to be a new world full of intrigue and mystique. Oh, it was? Great!! Because that is exactly what I assumed and I got that in spades. But then as I started to explain why I was so confused and couldn't get my feet under me, there was a better understanding of what was missing. There was a massive lack of any knowledge to hold onto. So much so that it didn't make sense for the first maybe 45% of the book. Again, I'm not claiming I'm the fantasy reading expert, because we all know I'm not - I have only read two, counting this one. But one thing I did know for certain was that there was supposed to be an introduction to this world. A background and a set up, an explanation and a bit of a word growth. I didn't get any of that. Now, that's not to say that I didn't catch on, because I did eventually catch on. But I shouldn't have had to "catch on" without context from the get-go, so I think the execution of this one didn't work for me.
On one hand, this was so long and so wordy, I kept tripping on the sentences. On the other, I needed to find out what was happening and how it was going to finish out. True testament to her abilities to suck me in to a story... but why did I struggle so much? That’s what has me baffled. I had to work to stay engaged, which is most definitely not the norm with her books for me. It was also not the quality I'm used to, and the style in which this was told was distracting in and of itself.
I had to stop and think and remind myself that this was her first fantasy book. I saw what she was trying to tell me. I got the story. I understood the story. It just lacked a foundation and a growth that I know for 100% fact that she can provide me with any story she gives me. Her detail is alway a point to scream out and share. She's one of the best with her descriptions and her character growth and word building, so when this story lacked all the necessary "Ella Fields" amazingness, I was for sure it was a me thing. I mean, there was no way this was a normal experience for me with her words. She's a favorite for a reason....so my heart hurt when I couldn't bring myself to get on board with all the kudos being passed around.
"Rumors are but false ribbons of truth braided into patterns to suit the weaver."
The title was one the biggest head shakes for me. I love figuring out what her titles mean and how they work their way into a story - again, she is brilliant with the use of her words. This wasn't HIS story, this was HER story and so I feel like the original title of A Queen So Cruel would have fit so much better. We didn't get to really see the "cold" side of Raiden, so the title made absolutely zero sense to me. Like, not one bit of sense. This was all her. All cold and bitter Queen Audra.
Needless to say, it might just be me. Ella's so good with her characterizations and she has this ability to masterfully create a world and existence and tell a story with such vivid words - but for some reason, I struggled to even stay engaged and connected with this one. Granted, this is only my second fantasy book I’ve ever read, so I don’t have a lot to work with, but I struggled immensely with this one. Even with it being a different genre, the basic building blocks of a book's foundation shouldn't be that different. I will say this much though, she had some amazing quotable lines in this story.
I can’t say I wasn’t thoroughly confused with the word dancing she did, but I can’t say that I understood everything either. I read and reread passages because they made no sense. I think I enjoyed approximately 20% of this book. It would pick up, falter.... get confusing, give me a smile, and then back to ‘WTF’ moments. She led into things without context - only leading to more confusion. Confusion eventually gave way to a story unfurling - no doubt she’s a prowess with her words, obviously. I can't deny her mastery of words. This time, her writing just.....wasn't for me. Her word placement left me wondering more than discovering, but in the end I found myself putting the puzzle pieces together. I just didn't like being confused for that long in a story. I'm not an idiot. I'm not a surface reader. I am not dumb. I read heavy. I read deep. I soak in every story I read so I know everything that is going on. I think this is why I am so mad about this one....
This was a highly anticipated book for me; one of my most anticipated - nothing like one of your favorite authors writing a genre you want to get into. I feel very let down and ultimately confused. I'm sure I missed so many clues and so many references in this book because I was too busy trying to figure out context and the value of one clue versus what she gave me in other paragraphs. It shouldn’t have been that hard to understand and enjoy. This just didn’t work for me at all and I am heartbroken and baffled as to what happened. In the end, it was utterly ridiculous. I didn't even understand WHY Zadicus was treated the way he was. I am upset at how it all transpired, and I am upset that his position ended where it did. No thank you. Not only did the title not make any sense for this story - because it had nothing to do with the King, but the next book is basically the next chapter of this story and one I am not sure I will attempt to read. I will patiently await her next angsty romance.... one I know she will blow me away with. She’s brilliant at what she does and I look forward to more.
Zadicus was the BEST part of the book....until the end.
"Of all the lies I've ever heard, yours are by far the sweetest."
~BEE
No giveaway since I purchased this book
~MEET ELLA FIELDS~
Ella Fields is a mother and wife who lives in the land Down Under. While her kids are in school, you might find her talking about her characters and books to her two cats. She's a notorious chocolate and notebook hoarder who enjoys creating hard-won happily ever afters.
~CONNECT WITH ELLA~
