THE FROZEN PRINCE

After the events of Kingdom of Exiles (2019), enemies, conspiracies, and secrets dog beast Charmer Leena and her lover, assassin guild master Noc.

Although Leena’s name was cleared by Wynn’s defeat, the Cruor and Charmers Council alike are no closer to finding Wynn’s co-conspirator, the woman who placed the hit on Leena—a magically binding oath that’s challenging Noc’s sanity as he fights it. Through early flashback chapters, Noc’s secretive backstory is revealed to readers before Leena learns it (to her frustration), and it soon becomes relevant as a complication to their plans with each new person who uncovers it. Roughly a third of the way into the story, they make a plan—Charmers Council Crown Yazmin tells Leena of a beast that could help Noc, but first they must travel to get the ingredients for the lure—and set off on a beast-charming quest. The plot’s twists are telegraphed loud and clear and rely on a certain degree of naiveté and inaction on the heroes’ parts. While the primary storyline is about Leena and Noc’s trying to make their love safe (which includes a couple of love scenes that are sexy without being explicitly graphic), other characters occasionally narrate—with virtually identical narrative voices. While background characters are occasionally given skin color descriptors, the primary cast defaults to White. Immersive backmatter includes a bestiary and a Charmer color personality quiz.

A middling middle book.