Autumn Fairy Tales: Frey and the Icy Orchard – Scarlett Luna Strange

So far all the books in this series of fairytale retellings with an autumn vibe were lovely. I was therefore really looking forward to the third book based on the story of the Snow Queen. Especially because the tale of the Snow Queen is a very tricky one to do right (it took Disney a long time too). Luckily I got an arc from the author and could already get started!

This author really did an amazing job adapting the Snow Queen tale. I have to admit that the explanation of what is going on and how they can break the curse goes quite fast but I really did enjoy the heroine’s struggles. The author really made sure that the Snow Queen was still the “villain” we know, while she was also the girl we’ve come to love while reading this story.

I also, very surprisingly, enjoyed the romance. The heroine and her guy have relatively few scenes together and yet it’s so easy to feel how real and pure and honest and strong their love is. The letters our hero wrote while away from the heroine are heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time and I love how he is also the key to breaking the curse eventually.

The autumn theme is a little less prominent in this book and yet this book is still an autumn book. And that’s mostly because of the theme of the story. Hidden under the curse and the romance is a story about change, about dying and finding a way back to life, about second chances, about falling down and getting up again.

I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series.