Suzi Davis

Amber Frost, a novel by Suzi Davis, is a very exciting teen love story with a unique paranormal twist. The novel centers on Grace Lynn Stevenson – an eighteen year old who on the surface seems to be living the dream. She comes from a very wealthy family with high social standards; she is beautiful, smart, popular and, of course, has the handsome, popular boyfriend on her arm. However, Grace is not happy – far from it. She feels trapped in a world where everything is fake – even herself – that is, until she meets the very bizarre Sebastian Caldwell.
The story that unfolds between Grace and Sebastian is one of friendship, adventure, self discovery, and love. As Grace struggles to break free from the confines of her upper class life, Sebastian struggles to remember who he is……what they find out is what neither of them had expected….
This is a wonderfully written book with truly unforgettable characters; a young adult novel that will keep much older audiences captivated as well. Once the book is opened, you will find it difficult to put down. This is a fantastic read and highly recommended! The ending even leaves the door wide open for a continuation that I will anxiously await!! I received this book as a review copy for Book Divas, but Suzi Davis now has a permanent spot on my “authors to read” list!!
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Grace is trapped in a world of rules although she lives a privileged life with wealth and good connections, such as the popular boyfriend and leading the ‘in-crowd’ at her school. However despite these advantages she finds herself drifting and burdened with expectations especially by her parents and her boyfriend. But when she she meets a mysterious boy, Sebastian, who awakens her inner desires and Grace soon finds her true self but is torn between expectations by her family and friends and what Sebastian can offer which is definitely otherworldly.

I think the past year or so I may be burned out on YA that feature Twilightesque plots/characters, and I am not a huge fan of these tropes, especially with so many books having similar premises. I think my main gripe (and problem) with this book was the fact that Grace was not a proactive character and was pretty passive for most of the book.

I also really did not like the that fact it took Sebastian, to show her out of rut and the passivity of the life she was in, and the way this happened never really worked for me. The message behind this also made me wary, I have no issues with the Sleeping Beauty trope/styled story but I wished there was development in the story. I especially found Grace’s privileged background and beauty made her too much of a Mary Sue character and there was not much conflict or interest for me on why she would feel like this or be so passive. It made her character almost feel like a cardboard cutout and she only came alive when Sebastian came along and I found it very hard to believe she would not have rebelled in some way or actually become selfish, snobbish and be as self centred as her friends and family with the expectations she was brought up with. Although, Grace’s parents were restrictive and self centred there was a suggestion later in the book about why this was the case but this was way too late into the story.

I also had real issues with the romance. I didn't see any real chemistry with the hero, there was a lot of telling instead of showing with their relationship. The pacing really, really dragged, especially for the first three quarters into the book. I love romance but there was no real tension between the characters and I found Sebastian’s character even less developed as Grace. During their courtship there were lots of mentions of Sebastian telling Grace stories and jokes but there was no scenes of real interaction and no sense of how they fell in love. It was only towards the end, that we got to see some interesting aspects of Sebastian but again too little, too late for me.

At this point of the story I was getting so bored with the book that I seriously considered DNF - but I managed to plow my way through the rest of the story which improved slightly although I think at that point it was too little too late. The twist at the end was the only thing that saved the book but even with that plot ending, it wasn’t as much of a surprise since I suspected this throughout the book. I really wished this aspect of the plot was brought forward earlier because this was the most interesting part of the book. In fact this was when the story started to get interesting for me and I wished this was brought up much earlier in the book. The romance was not strong enough to carry the story although the characters felt lackluster as well but the twist would have added some plot and tension and it did made them become more interesting for me.

I think there will be people who will enjoy this book, especially if they are fans of similar stories and premises but the romance, and characters didn’t live up to the promise. The twist and development at the end of the book only started to engage me into the story and then it ended. I really wanted to like it but it didn’t work for me especially with the heroine’s passivity.… (plus d'informations)

Thank you, Ms. Davis, for a story that kept me guessing and wanting more. My suppositions about Sebastian were so off the mark - thank you for not making it predictable. I enjoyed Gracelynn's transformation and can't wait to see what happens to her charming mother. I immediately thought of my favorite Disney villianess, Maleficent, when she appeared. The characters were developed and well-thought, though I had to laugh at Clarke - I knew so many of those in high school; nothing changes, does it? The prose was real and engaging, I was seeing everything in my mind's eye as vividly as if I was in Gracelynn's mansion bedroom or the shed near the park. The dialogue was great, though Sebastian sometimes creeped me out. If I was an 18 year old girl would I believe someone my age speaking like that? Ah, dear readers! You'll have to read this incredible book to find out all the secrets! I am eagerly awaiting Silver Dew.… (plus d'informations)

So, first let me say, if you haven't read this series, you should give it a try. I love it and really liked Grace's character and the love story is great. With that said--there will probably be spoilers for the first two in the series.
Going into Sapphire Sun, I had forgotten a few things, but I remembered the love and devotion that Grace and Sebastian had for each other. And, as it turns out, the blurb tells you most of what you need to know, and Grace and Sebastian's memories are blank as to what happened in Greece. But I was sucked right back into her world and terror since it opens with a nightmare... But at first you aren't sure that is what it is, and I am not sure if it is memories trying to haunt her and how much the paranoia when she wakes is warranted.
The plot is fast and there is so much coming at Grace. Hard, life changing things, and I appreciated how she handled it all. For the most part. I had to remind myself that she was young, and love is all consuming, and as the distance between her and Sebastian starts to grow once her magic reawakens and his apparently doesn't, he withdraws. She can see that he is dealing with a lot, but he doesn't want to burden her so he doesn't talk to her about it. Which only upsets her more, because she felt like she was all on her own. And I can totally sympathize with that, because for the most part, women just want to nurture, and men want to handle it themselves, and these two mindsets don't mesh. But she puts off some of the responsibilities that she agreed to with the spirits, and that creates a whole world of trouble that she couldn't predict. This is where I wished that she could have found some kind of balance before everything went so far downhill.
But then they wouldn't have learned and grown as characters so much I guess. And it was quite a journey, watching their hearts be broken, deal with things that no young adult should have to. It made me feel right along with Grace, and watching her learn to be a leader and what that means, as well as embracing what she was called to do, and learn balance with the magic that she has been trusted with.
There are both old and new characters in this one. There was one in particular that I didn't know what to make of the seeming changes, and I didn't know if I wanted to trust him, but I wanted to. There is also wedding planning that made me giddy, and some very hot scenes that made me squee and blush a bit.
The ending was very satisfying, and had a few twists that I didn't see coming, but it was very sweet and I think that it wrapped up the book very nicely.

Bottom Line: Heart stopping continuation of the love story between Grace and Sebastian, with some surprising and emotional twists.… (plus d'informations)