And yet for all of that impotence, Askia strives her way forward by being who she is. This is a novel that is all about discomfort, about being in a place unfamiliar, seemingly with enemies or at least neutrals all around, and a real lack of traction for her desires. While Askia IS half-Vishirian, and has spent time there in her youth, the consequences and history of which unwind and are revealed in the narrative, being thrown into a royal court where the rules and structure and setup and scaffolding of power are unknown helps reinforce the discomforting narrative. The real action and meat is when we get the fish out of water trip to the royal court of Vishir. It also shows the precariousness of her position and what she is willing to do to survive. It's a good opening for establishing her bonafides, her character, and her aforementioned magical secret. It’s a good opening, showing the desperation and plight of the antagonist, and those around her. While the novel starts us off with Askia on the run, on the edge of her former realm, the book hustles her to the site of the heart of the book in short order. It is a secret that Askia needs to keep, but the nature of her own magic makes it impossible for her to ignore it.Īll of this is the matter of Greta Kelly’s The Frozen Crown. And especially where she is going, there are many who look at fear to witches, fear that causes them to bloody action against them.

To say nothing of a dread personal secret that nearly got her killed once before-Askia, you see, is a witch. But her past there is going to catch up to her, and even in the second power of the world, she cannot necessarily escape the Roven Empire, even as she strives for a way to oppose them to find a way to free her home. Her only refuge is the only equal to the Roven Empire, the Empire of Vishir. The grasping, spreading Roven Empire has used soldiers and a grasping relative to take over her hands, her kingdom.

Askia, a fugitive princess far more capable with a sword than with a kind word, has a problem.

The Frozen Crown by Greta Kelly