Book Review: Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine

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“The meteor was the most exciting thing to happen in Demise, maybe ever, and even though she had discovered it, no one cared. She was nothing more than a smalltown trailer park hick, and no wish would change that.”

📚

Set in Demise, North Dakota — a small town named after death and overrun with prairie dogs — Frost Bite opens in bitterly cold December 1997, when 19-year-old Realene Gustafson witnesses a meteor crash into the earth near her trailer park. Derailed from her Arizona State pre-med college scholarship plans and forced to care for her ailing mother, Realene feels depressed, frustrated, resentful, and fed up with her dead-end gas station job, Demise, its people, and the downward trajectory of her life. All she has left is her mother, who’s suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s, and her best friend, Nathan ("Nate") Haugan, who’s dealing with his own troubled past and frustrated future hopes.

Eager for some excitement and distraction, Realene is the first to arrive at the crash site. What she witnesses is beyond strange, and things only get stranger and deadlier from there, as the meteorite plays host to an alien worm that immediately infects Demise’s animals — beginning with its prairie dog colonies — with a memory-loss-inducing, aggression-inciting, mind-controlling bite. The infection quickly spreads to people, and with the unhelpful police, military, media, and local doomsday cult complicating matters, things quickly escalate into apocalyptic mayhem, and it’s up to Realene and Nate to figure out how to save the town (and possibly the world) before everyone becomes infected.

I loved Frost Bite SO much. It’s a high-stakes, high-octane, nostalgia-fueled, chaos-filled, mega-violent, bone-chilling, gore-soaked ride that’s equal parts thrilling survival story and comforting ’90s hug. It hooked me immediately and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I felt a variety of emotions throughout that ranged from anxiety and terror to anger, sadness, disgust, horror, shock, sympathy, fear, and everything in between, and I teared up and laughed out loud more than once. I also loved the thematic parallels between Frost Bite and classics like Night of the Living Dead, where the reader/viewer begins to question who/what is more dangerous, the monsters, or humanity itself?

Set in a cozy town filled with adorable shops and eateries, this book is also chock-full of innumerable, perfectly placed cinematic, musical, and historical throwback and pop culture references that made me yearn for the days of Blockbuster, Waldenbooks, McDonald’s PlayPlaces, mood rings, roller skating parties, phonebooks, MTV News, and sweet treats like Nerds, Caramellos, and Pixie Sticks. And on top of that, it includes a fantastic cast of characters (including amazing pets!), all of whom are given depth and humanity. The cover art is to die for, and this would make an absolute blockbuster of a graphic novel and movie, both of which I would get in line for right now. This was a total treat from start to finish, and what an absolutely perfect finish it was, so much so that it was absolutely and completely satisfying to have been along for the ride. I also kept thinking what a killer playlist this would make as I was reading, and then I turned to the end and there it was (movie soundtrack, check)!

Filled with wonderfully creepy scenes, ultra-satisfying karma, awesome gross-out horror, pristinely evil villains, the best BFFs, heart-wrenching tragedies, edge-of-your-seat chases, some seriously laugh-out-loud lines and moments, and one hugely satisfying character arc, this book is an absolute chef’s kiss of a reading experience. If I could eat it right up, I would! But since I can’t, I’ve already ordered a physical copy to add to my library. Can’t wait for the official October release!

A sincere thank you to Angela Sylvaine and Dark Matter INK for allowing me to read and review a digital ARC of this fantastic forthcoming release.

❤Amanda

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