The Frost that Burns by Carliann Jean
18+ Contains Adult Content
The Frost that Burns is a dark fantasy romance that follows Keres, a lethal ruby vampire who is chained in a contract to the ruthless Queen of the Underworld. Keres doesn’t know freedom, but her best friend gets the week off all duties to attend the Starlit Festival, where they can enjoy feasting on sweets and dancing under the stars. The whole point of the festival is to find your soulmate, but Keres doesn’t believe she will and is content to have fun with her best friend. But then she finds her demons… that’s right, not one soulmate but two, and both of whom the Queen wants dead.
A love worth sacrificing for is only an extension of our highest self.
•Why Choose •MMF •Vampire with fire power •Demons with ice power •Disability & mental health rep •Fated mates •Claiming/marking •Friends to loves x hate to love you •Gothic underworld vibes •Dom/sub dynamic x cane & shadow play
•Dark themes •Mental health disorders •Impact of trauma •Explicit language •Suggestive language •Violence •Gore •Manipulation •Sexual Assault •Mentions of emotional and physical abuse •Torture •Forced contracts and slavery •Murder & Death •Forced torture of a pet •Scenes of a sexual nature •BDSM •Choking •Restraints •Spanking •Other heavy themes
“You know what they say about the size of a demon’s horns?” I ask. “That the larger they are, the better the art piece on my wall,” Keres hisses back, her blade cutting deeper into my groin. She snaps her fangs at me.
It’s not often I read vampire or demon romances, but when I do, I freaking love it. I need more of these books on my TBR (like it isn’t long enough as is lol). This was a fairly short book, 203 pages to be exact, and things did happen rather quickly; it didn’t feel rushed.
The book is definitely character-driven, focusing on Keres finding her soulmates, and like fuck I want to be a vampire in the underworld finding my soulmates. Don’t get me wrong, I love and adore my husband, but like he’s not a demon with powers lol. Keres is a vampire, a ruby vampire to be exact, and they are rare. She is very powerful, which is why the Queen has her under contract, essentially tying Keres to the Queen. One way out of that contract is finding her soulmate. Keres knows the Queen will have to let her go because they signed in blood, but she won’t be happy losing her rare, strong vampire. I liked Keres; she is feisty and strong, yet still has this vulnerability beneath her hard exterior. She is sassy and funny and takes no shit, which I also like.
“I didn’t want to do it,” I pant. Fuck, am I in pain or is this turning me on? “Someone in her inner circle tried to kill me. My lord decided we should return the favor. It wasn’t personal.”
Ares is the General to Lord Nastrond’s army. He is one of the strongest demons and weilds shadows and ice powers. He is smitten with Keres when he first sees her. He likes how feisty she is, especially when she holds a dagger to his throat and his nuts. It’s fairly obvious that Ares is going to be her soulmate; it doesn’t make it less cute when they meet again at the festival, and the bond snaps into place. I like Ares, he’s goofy and funny yet strong and protective. He has wings too…*drool*
There’s no winning with chronic pain, whether you’re a demon, a human, or some other creature.
Triston is Lord Nastrond’s advisor and Ares best friend, due to an attack Triston is left disabled and prefers to spend his time locked away with a book (me to pal, I get ya) Ares drags Triston to the festival, due to his diability he struggles walking and is waiting for Ares on a bench, when Ares comes back with Keres and a huge goofy grin on his face. Triston is happy for his friend. They are all left shocked when a bond snaps into place with Keres and Triston. It’s not unheard of to have 2 soulmates, but it is rare. I liked Triston and the way he represented chronic pain and disability. I felt I could relate to him, and seeing Keres love him all the same was healing in a way.
“Remember that you’re worth more than the demands of others. Every soul, no matter how wicked, can find their way back to love.”
The book is set in the Underworld, and I really wanted to go visit and maybe ask if I could become a vampire, heck, I’ll take being a demon, just give me powers, haha. This is the first book I have read by Carliann Jean, and I would definitely be open to reading more from her. I enjoyed her writing style; it was easy to read and flowed well.
Overall thoughts
I really enjoyed reading this; it was a quick, easy read that flowed nicely. I liked the characters and what they represented. I now have an urge to become a supernatural being, and since I know that is unlikely, I will have to fill my shelves with demon and vampire romances.
Thank you, Carliann, for sending me an ARC of this book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
