Review: A Hint of Frost by Hailey Edwards

Book: A Hint of Frost (Araneae Nation #1)
Author: Hailey Edwards
Publisher: Samhain
Date Published: April 17th, 2012
ASIN: B0065TF8Q6
Author & Book Info:
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***Review Copy provided by Author***
4 1/2 out of 5 Stars

"Hope dangles by a silken thread. "
"Araneae Nation, Book 1"
   When the head of the Araneidae clan is found poisoned in her nest, her eldest daughter, Lourdes, becomes their clan's new maven. If her clan is to survive, she has but one choice: she must marry before her nest is seized. All she needs is a warrior fierce enough to protect her city and safeguard her clansmen. Such a male is Rhys the Cold.
  Born the youngest son of an impoverished maven, the only things Rhys has to his name are his sword and his mercenary reputation. His clan is starving, but their fondness for the flesh of fellow Araneaeans makes them unwelcome dinner guests. Torn between loyalty to his clan and fascination with his future bride, Rhys's first taste of Lourdes threatens to melt the cold encasing his heart.
  Amid the chaos of battle, Lourdes's sister disappears and is feared captured. Lourdes and Rhys pursue their enemies into the southlands, where they discover an odd plague ravaging southern clans as it travels north, to Erania. Determined to survive, Lourdes will discover whether she's worth her silk or if she's spun the thread by which her clan will hang.

Warning: This book contains one mercenary hero with a biting fetish, one determined heroine who gets nibbled, and an answer to the age-old question, "What does dragon taste like?" Matricide and sibling rivalry are available upon request. The house special is revenge, best served cold.

  Loved this book! If you've read any of my reviews then you know that I absolutely love it when an author finds a way to change up a genre, and there is a whole lot of different in this book. It's not the usual supernatural creatures that you're used to. This book drew me in from the beginning and I didn't want to stop reading it.
  Lourdes is confident, intelligent, and can even handle herself in a fight. Even so, she has to have a mate to keep her clan's enemies at bay, because although her father trained her to fight most of the others in her clan can't. Rhys is a warrior, well know for his fighting skill but comes from a poor mercenary clan that most people fear. He is self-assured but not too cocky and very loyal to Lourdes. Neither one of them know exactly what to expect from the other, so naturally they have some obstacles to work through. The love story was really good, and they are a couple that you really want to root for.
 The world building is done really well, the author drew on American Indian tradition and culture in the creation of her characters/clans and the results are awesome. Although there are several clans that are mentioned and it could've been confusing, the author didn't dump too much information on you that you couldn't handle it. It was different enough to make it interesting, and the romance aspect was very well done too. There is also a bigger story going on with the weird plague, so it will be cool to find out what's going to happen next.
  So if you love paranormal romance and are looking for something different then you should give this one a try. All in all, it was a really great read!