I’ll admit, I have a hard time getting into sci fi books sometimes — so as a result, I’m pretty picky about the ones I read. I hate getting too bogged down in the “otherness” of the sci fi world, and sometimes it’s just too much for me to wrap my tired head around.
When I read the first book in The Xenith Trilogy, Amid Stars & Darkness, I found it so much easier to immerse myself into Chani Lynn Feener’s science fiction world because the story started off on earth, and was told from the perspective of a human girl. Sure, aliens are a part of her reality — but much of the alien culture is explored through Delaney’s eyes — so as a reader, you’re learning along with her.
In the sequel, Between Frost & Fury, more of this world is explored — along with further entanglements with characters first introduced in book one:
Delaney has been kidnapped by aliens. Again. After only a month back on Earth with her hot new alien boyfriend Ruckus, the deadly and devastatingly handsome prince Trystan has dragged her right back to his planet.
While some girls may dream of winning a prince’s heart, Delaney just wishes this one would leave her alone.
Instead, she finds herself at the center of both a tense political battle between two alien kingdoms and Trystan’s romantic attentions, both of which are absolutely ruining the life she’s built on Earth. Not to mention the fact that she’s about to be crowned queen of a planet she’s barely even visited. Just another day in life of an ordinary human girl.
For the most part, I really enjoyed this continuation of Delaney’s alien entanglement, and seeing the drama of a possible war between aliens and earth unfold.
The juxtaposition of Delaney’s normal human background, with the royal and political alien intrigue is a lot of what makes this series so enjoyable — and Between Frost & Fury provides plenty of new opportunities to see this interstellar culture clash.
That said, parts of this book really irritated me. As Delaney gets to know Trystan better, she starts making more exceptions for him — and in some cases, I just couldn’t get behind it. She excuses some really horrible behavior, and for me, his few good moments weren’t enough to justify everything else he did.
But we’ll see how things unfold in the final book — because despite some issues, I’m still invested in finding out what happens next. Look for Between Frost & Furyin stores July 24th.
Novel Novice 
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