Hint of Frost (Araneae Nation, #1)

by Hailey Edwards

I adore this series. I originally picked up the first book, A Hint of Frost back in 2013 when it was free on Amazon. At the time the books were being published by Samhain which had put out a number of winners and had started to become my go to for must buy books. It had a cool cover, the blurb sounded interesting and it was free - it was an all round winner.

And then I read it. And I was very impressed. It was brilliant. The world building in incredible, the romance is adorable and the action is intense. There's an overarching mystery throughout the entire series which is riveting and comes to a fantastic conclusion. Each book focuses on a different couple but builds upon the mystery with characters and places slotting altogether.

My favourite book of the series would have to be A Feast of Souls - because I LOVE Vaughn! - but all the books are amazing. Hailey Edwards is a very talented writer who knows how to deliver great fantasy.


A Hint of Frost

A Hint of Frost is the first book of the series and introduces the Araneae nation. The nation is made up of multiple clans who seem to be spiders of different sorts? Well that was kind of how I stopped myself from imagining it. See I'll be honest - spiders freak me out. I hate them so much. If this series wasn't as amazing as it is I would've banished it from my mind. But it is amazing so I just skim over this and imagine humans with spinning abilities and sharp teeth. Anyway so there's different clans and the first clan we get introduced to are the Araneidae clan which are known for their spinning. They're artisans. They can spin amazing thread which can be woven into indestructible armour and clothes and arts or whatever they want. As a result they are very very rich. But they suck at fighting and have to ally with other clans for protection. Usually this is down through marriage of heirs. The heir, Lourdes becomes the new maven of the Araneidae clan when her parents are poisoned and as such is in a rush to find a new Paladin to protect her clan.

The first novella; A Heart of Ice introduces Lourdes parents and how they got together. (Note: Read after this book, it makes little sense otherwise.) The interesting thing is we find out that Reine (Lourdes' mum) was best friends with a young more innocent and naive Isolde! So of course, who else could Lourdes turn to at such time if not her mother's best friend in the world? Isolde is maven of the Mimetidae clan - a poor vicious clan who often hire themselves out as mercenaries. Oh and they eat people. Yeah, it's a whole thing. So Isolde and Lourdes meet and negotiate. Isolde drives a hard bargain - protection for gold and an alliance through marriage with her youngest son, Rhys.

Lourdes and Rhys are great characters with interesting backstories and great chemistry. I loved Lourdes. She was brave and strong even though she was put through hell. Her relationship with Rhys was sweet. Even though I wanted to hit Rhys over the head a few times - because seriously can you not talk? I know he was trying to protect the alliance but at some point enough is enough. Reveal your secrets. And go Isolde. (as always mind you) Such a cutthroat bitch. Love it. The story of Rhys and Vaughn is tragic. I love Vaughn so much. The politics is interesting and the world building is fascinating. In this book we see the start of the greater arc about the Araneae nation and the danger they're facing. I love this plot and how it develops over the series. It was just fantastic.

So go read it. You won't regret it.