I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard
by
Kristen Painter
magical realism, mystery, amateur sleuth in a Kindle edition that was published by Sugar Skull Books on January 17, 2018 and has 338 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon, Audibles.
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Blood Rights, Flesh and Blood, Bad Blood, Out for Blood, Last Blood, House of the Rising Sun, City of Eternal Night, Garden of Dreams and Desires, Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, All Fired Up, "Prologue to The Vampire's Mail Order Bride", The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, The Werewolf Meets His Match, The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, The Professor Woos the Witch, The Vampire's Fake Fiancée, The Shifter Romances the Writer, "The Witch's Halloween Hero", The Dragon Finds Forever, The Vampire's Accidental Wife, The Reaper Rescues the Genie, The Detective Wins The Witch, The Vampire's Priceless Treasure, The Werewolf Dates the Deputy, "When Birdie Babysat Spider", Miss Frost Ices the Imp, Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, "The Werewolf's Christmas Wish", The Vampire's Cursed Kiss, Her First Taste of Fire, The Trouble With Witches, Moody and the Beast, The Vampire's Sunny Sweetheart, Miss Frost Chills the Cheater, Lost in Las Vegas, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Mystified in Music City, Sucks To Be Me, A Sky Full of Stars, Suck It Up Buttercup, The Forgettable Miss French, Sucker Punch, The Suck Stops Here, Nixed in New Orleans, Miss Frost Says I Do and Spider Too, The Witch's Christmas Catastrophe
Fifth in the Jayne Frost magical realism mystery series with an amateur sleuth (and a spin-off from the Nocturne Falls Universe, 8.3) revolving around a winter elf who happens to be the heir to the Winter Throne. The story is set in January in Nocturne Falls, Georgia.
My Take
It’s a cute re-intro to Jayne and the characters along with a mystery that we experience through first person protagonist point-of-view from Jayne’s perspective. So we only know what Jayne experiences, thinks, or feels.
Oh, no. We find out the price Sinclair pays when he resurrects a soul. Nasty. Then there’s the reasoning for the yetis kidnapping a friend of Jayne’s . . . a total disaster between that gift from Jayne and a curious deputy.
I do adore Spider. His conversation is so dang cute!
Eek! The North Pole sounds fantastic . . . until Jayne starts listing all the nasties that also live there. I gotta say, that banishment order that punishes everyone is unfair! Oh, we find out how Rudolph got his nose so bright!
Painter does manage to slip a lot in here. From Myra’s secrets, those past histories, the yetis and their architectural wonder and customs — yuck!, the plans they come up with to rescue their friends, the coziness of the overall story, and so much more.
It’s a town-wide disaster with everyone jumping in to help, so grab a cup of hot chocolate and some donuts.
The Story
A fae with an NP snow globe? Oh, no. She can’t be a fae . . . And what’s with this blizzard of the century!?
It takes some work to piece it together . . . and then the monsters kidnap a friend!
The Characters
Jayne Frost is the manager for Santa’s Workshop in Nocturne Falls. She’s also a royal princess as the daughter of the Winter King, Jack Frost; Santa’s niece, and a winter elf. Spider is her talking cat (Miss Frost Ices the Imp, 2). Aunt Martha is Kris’ wife. Jayne’s employees include Holly, Rowley (a retired NP tinker) and Dorothea (a retired NP baker) Gladstone, Kip, Juniper, and the goth Buttercup Evergreen who offers herself up. Pete, the fae pharmacist, is Juniper’s boyfriend.
Sinclair Crowe, a necromancer, plays to his gift with his business, Zombie Donuts, who’s dating Jayne. Sugar is his sweet white cat. Archie Tingle is a baker from the North Pole kitchens sent to help Sin after he was injured in Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, 4. Johnny is one of his employees.
Cooper Sullivan, a summer elf with whom Jayne reunited is still at his parents and a big help to his dad. Greyson Garrett is an Irish vampire whom Jayne is also dating, although he hates Sin.
Nocturne Falls, Georgia, is . . .
. . .a small town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year — and provides safe haven for supernaturals — is mostly owned by a family of vampires. Elenora Ellingham is the matriarch with three grandsons: Sebastian, Hugh, and Julian.
The unofficial mayor of Nocturne Falls is the gossipy Birdie Caruthers, a werewolf, who is the dispatcher for the sheriff’s department where her nephew, Hank Merrow, is the sheriff. Hank is married to Ivy, another werewolf (Miss Frost Ices the Imp, 2). His deputies include Dave Jansen, Remy Lafitte (a vampire who relocated from New Orleans), and Jenna Blythe (a valkyrie). Druzy, a vampire, works in the morgue.
Titus Merrow is another nephew and the fire chief. Nick Hardwin is a gargoyle dating Willa Iscove, a lapidus fae with a jewelry store, Illusions (The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, 3). Ivan “Van” Tsvetkov is a dragon shifter and retired MME fighter (The Dragon Finds Forever, 7).
Jack Van Zant, Cole’s father and a raven familiar, is dating Birdie. Prof Cole Van Zant is engaged to Pandora Williams, a witch and the best realtor in Nocturne Falls (The Professor Woos the Witch, 4). Kaley is Cole’s daughter and another witch. Kizmet is the kitty Kaley got in “When Birdie Babysat Spider“, 4.5. Marigold is Pandora’s sister, a green witch; the sisters and their mother, Corette, will do some spellwork. Ada is a ghost helper.
Arty is an amazing server — and an oracle — at Mummy’s diner, the premier breakfast spot. Timmy buses the tables there. The Poisoned Apple is a nice pub. I Scream is a great place for ice cream. Insomnia is a supernaturals-only nightclub owned by Lucien Dupree, a retired reaper, where Chet is a bouncer. Bridget Merrow, Hank and Titus’ sister, is also a werewolf, and she owns Howler’s, a popular bar and grill.
Myra Grimshaw, a part fae, passed and a shrine to Jayne was found. Nate had been her great-nephew and had gone to school with Titus. Charlene Paris Monroe was the girl Nate and Titus fought over. Brett Gonzales had a license and keys to daddy’s car. Simon Hart and Francis Saint are possibilities.
The North Pole (NP)
Eustace “Stacey” Brightly is a winter elf and tinker who went a bit overboard with some snow globes. Sarabelle had been Eustace’s sister. Tempus Sanders, a.k.a. the Sandman, had been a special guest in Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, 3. Rudolph Pringle was an inventive tinker. Prancer and Cupid are some of the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh on this emergency jaunt. Owen Coldwell was a tinker who was banished. Yeti are actually tiny, the size of a four-year-old, very fast, and hard to reason with.
Lark has been Jayne’s enemy for the past decade, even more so after events in Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, 4.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a bright blue sky with a mix of pale blue and white snowflakes creating a border around the central image. True to form, the center is the magic snow globe with a furry blue yeti standing in the snow. The stand for the globe has a brass label indicating the series information. The green-eyed Spider wears a fuchsia muffler and sits to the left of the globe. Jayne is on the right wearing a black coat trimmed with white fur on the shawl collar and cuffs with a matching fur pillbox hat and ear flaps of royal blue with turquoise trim. The title is at the top in white with a dark black shadow. The author’s name is in line with Jayne’s hips at the bottom in white with a softer black shadow. Below that is an info blurb in white with a fuzzy black background.
The title isn’t just Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard, but everyone in town!
