The Frozen Crown by Greta Kelly

 The Frozen Crown by Greta Kelly was one of the big misses for me, of last year. Now with Warrior Witch Duology complete (Part Two - The Seventh Queen released in Nov, I felt it safe enough to plunge into the politically explosive world of Askia, teeming with magic, rife with villains and backstabbers vying for power. The pitch was straightforward - a young queen seeks help from one of her large neighboring empires to help save her kingdom from being invaded and taken over by a witch-king. But the question is, what is the cost of this for the young woman, recently thrust into a dangerous world, discovering her own magic and that power, relationships and love - all come at a cost. 

Askia, the young queen of the kingdom of Saravesh, is looking for aid in terms of an army that can help her against the impending invasion by this marauding empire of Rowen, led by witch-king Radawan. She has come to the empire of Vishir, in the South, leaving the frozen Northlands of her own kingdom, to enlist help from Emperor Armaan. soon realizes that the court of Vishir is a nest of vipers, with fewer allies and more enemies to contend with. What makes her mission all the more difficult, is the fact that Askia hasn't yet come to terms, with her own magic or even the loss of her own parents killed by religious zealots. And then there's the added complexity of her 'wavering' heart when not one, not two but three (yeah you read that right!) men compete for her heart. 

It's a rollicking ride, we are in for. With a not-so-complex magic system but extensive and enjoyable politicking in the courts of Vishir, where Askia our endearing lead, strives to put forth the case to save her kingdom from a power-hungry witch-king. The twisty aspects of the dense court politics as she dodges between allies and enemies to find a strong foothold in this slippery sludge-dom of Vishir is pretty well done ( despite feeling familiar with tropes etc) The prose and dialogs are spot-on and the romance, oh the romance! So for Askia, the question is what is the cost that she is willing to bear, to enlist the aid of the Emperor Armaan? The amorous attention of the Emperor himself? And what of the Prince Iskander, one of the heirs, who appears 'besotted' by her? And there is also her own Captain of the Guards, Ilya - the strong silent one, who will not cross the line of duty despite his burning desire for her that scorches off the pages. ( Not to mention, the ghost of her first captain who sacrifices himself for the sake of the safety of Saravesh, who also hankers after her. Sigh!) 

As far as characters go, Askia is a very endearing first-person-voice to be around. She's confused, as all new adults are ( She should be around twenty, is what I am guessing) at this age. Raging hormones, the need to conquer the world etc. But she's also been tempered by fire, having witnessed her parents' brutal death at the hands of a religious group of zealots when she was just a teenager. One minor grouch for me was, about how naïve Askia appeared to be. Despite already being a ruler for the past few years, she doesn't seem to be an adept hand at court poitics. And despite having trained with the steel with her own guards or even the Khazan Guard of Vishiri (we get extended scenes of her training sequences, all pretty exciting yes, but yawn. Seen this so many times!) she is never prepared enough to counter the dangers that she pretty much walks into. The other part of her personality (warrior/witch) the witch-in-training is where the magic kicks in. Despite different types of magical powers in this world, hers is a special capability : The ability to see and converse with the dead souls, who haven't quite passed over into the realm of dead. ( There's an in-between land called the Marsh lands!) Now how does Askia use this capability, is quite innovatively handled by Greta. The other side-characters like the Emperor, Azura the Principal Queen or the Prince Iskander and others at the court who are crucial players in this cat-and-mouse game that builds up to a shattering climax, are well written and flesh out this epic story well enough. 

Apart from this, there are quite a few nice touches with certain world-building elements that I enjoyed. There's the concept of a 'shadow-guild' that allows only magical users to cross into this realm, hidden from plain-view. And our antagonist himself, emperor Radawan - a witch-king hungry for claiming and owning the magic of others, mostly keeps to the sidelines. I am super amped to meet Radawan in person, in Book-2.   

To be frank, In this first book of the duology, The Frozen Crown, Greta's story of the princess-in-distress, who's quite a capable soldier/warrior herself, builds up pretty nicely from the get-go. Epic in scope, lots of court intrigue, politics, subtle romance, lots of exciting action sequences. For readers who love adventures, empires in conflict, headlined by a young queen eager to learn the tips and tricks of running a kingdom and saving it from power-crazy invaders. Also, It ends on a bloody cliff-hanger, that made me want to immediately pick up the next book in the series. That's a guarantee.