Heir to Frost and Storm

Court of Broken Bonds, Book 2

By: Ben Alderson

Narrated by: Ewan Goddard

Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

I needed this. I needed him. My mind was a storm, and I wanted him to take it all away.

At the prestigious and competitive Saylam Academy, Max trains to master his magic, surrounded by enemies who will stop at nothing to see him fail.

As he fights to survive, Max’s romance with proud, passionate healer Simion grows ever more intense. But magic still ties him to Camron Calzmir, the prince who seduced and betrayed him. While the enchantment lingers, even the slightest touch from Simion could tear Max apart.

To prove himself, Max enters a legendary contest that could win him the loyalty of a powerful, ice-breathing dragon. High in the mountains, he will face elemental monsters and vicious rivals. But these dangers are only the beginning.

When Max returns to find Saylam consumed by rebellion, it’s clear that even old friends hold dangerous secrets.

An ancient plan is falling into place. And if it succeeds, whole kingdoms will burn. To survive the war that is coming, Max must be willing to sacrifice everything....

Heir to Frost and Storm continues an addictive M/M fantasy romance series perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Elise Kova, and C.S. Pacat. Building on the slow-burn tension of book one, it’s packed with heart-racing steam, deadly intrigue, found family, and jaw-dropping twists.

©2023 Ben Alderson (P)2024 Second Sky, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Addictive

This is one one of those books that sucks you in and you can’t stop until you are finished, And when you are finished, you end with a sensation of both pleasure and pain awaiting the next book in this series.

Even better than the first!

Everything I liked about the first book—the characters, their stories, the worldbuilding and mythology—was expanded upon in this second book.

Funny, out of all of the characters in book one, I disliked Max (the protagonist) the most. I even liked the evil narcissist king more than Max. He was FAR too whiny and petulant, throwing hissy fits about, well, everything.

But in this second book, Max starts to take ownership of that; of himself. Ben Alderson rides a razor’s edge between adolescence and adulthood. I felt for him and what he went through before book two, but I also felt that his emotional reaction to those things was almost always distasteful, off-putting.

He’s my favorite character, now (well, top five—and that’s better than bottom three). I genuinely feel compassion for him, but also pride that he barrels through challenge after challenge to protect his family and friends.

Ben writes in such a way that I experience Max’s grief, happiness, satisfaction, anger, everything. I wasn’t expecting to dislike Max more, but I REALLY wasn’t expecting to like him more (which I do!). He’s growing up. He wants to do right by his people. He throws a tantrum every now and then, but not so much in the childish way we saw in book one.

The story is so well done. I don’t have notes, other than to say that the MM physical romance is mostly limited just one (I think?) scene, but it’s a doozy:

I’m a guy. I was halfway through walking my dog around the block when the MM romance picked up. It became obvious that there was an embarrassing… state of arousal… around my hip region. I had to switch over to neutral sounding orchestral music just so I could manage to walk home without a conspicuous object bulging near the front of my grey sweats.

Read these books! If you think the beginning of part one is slow, I don’t necessarily disagree with you. It kinda is. Yet having fully read the first two books, the book one pace makes sense. It needed to gain the momentum, and Ben has definitely achieved that during book two.

I’m soooo happy to have found this author. None of my favorite MM romance authors have published any new material for a long time. This guy has his own unique voice. He’s entertaining. Thrilling. Dismal. Dazzling. Can’t wait for book three.

Addictive storytelling!

Great story, couldn’t stop listening to it! Only thing that bothered me was how long it took the main character to grow a backbone! Lol! Wanted to smack him a few times and tell him to grow a pair and do what’s right! Looking forward to the next book, now that a pair has been grown! Lol!

Excellent Installment!

Quite a good sequel. I'm enjoying the series so far, and Max continues to learn and grow. Some of his lessons come at a high cost, but that seems to be the nature of high fantasy. I love the narrator's performance, and I can't wait for Book 3!