Gifted to the Frost King

A Monstrous Holiday #1

by Charlotte Swan

Dove Kline has been preparing for this day since the moment she turned the day she and the other unmarried people her age are left out in the freezing snow to await him.

The Frost King.

The last time he took a human tribute from their small provincial town has been lost to time. Yet this barbaric tradition remains in the hopes that the harsh winters that plague their land will finally be lifted.

Dove expects this offering to be like all the others, and she’ll return to her loving mother and sister before the sun sets. Those hopes are quickly dashed when he appears. The Frost King is a legend—a monster that lurks in the deepest, darkest parts of her nightmares. Yet, the figure before her, atop a magnificent white horse, is alluring.

Numb from the cold and the shock of seeing such a creature, Dove is powerless to resist as The Frost King breaks from tradition and claims her. Together, they ride away from all she’s ever known and cross over the cursed Frost Mountains.

There, Dove learns there may be more to The Frost King than meets the eye. One minute, he is hot, burning with such unbridled intensity for her—only to turn cold the next—as if two different males exist within him. Locked inside his castle, Dove must uncover the secrets he holds dear if she ever wishes to leave this place.

An ancient curse. A burning cold. A temptation he shouldn’t give into.

This human is different from all the others he’s seen over the centuries. She tempts the parts of him that remember the male he once was—not the beast he’s been transformed into. With time quickly running out, she may be his last possible chance at salvation.

Will she succumb to their burning passion and help thaw his frozen heart? Or will the deadly curse turn their fledgling bond into ice?


This spicy, holiday-themed monster romance blends the tale of Jack Frost with elements of Beauty and the Beast. It contains explicit scenes and some mentions of violence. For a full list of content warnings please check the author’s website.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Monster Romance, Fantasy Romance, Monsters, Christmas, Paranormal Romance

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 24, 2024

Reviews

[Zoë · Rating 1 out of 5]

i have some notes

[Yara flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Súper rápida e interesante
La verdad es que es bonita la historia

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this way more than I thought I would!

[randi · Rating 3 out of 5]

i mean... yeah

[Daej · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was fun, it was really quick and pretty straight to the point. I love a slow burn and while everything in this moved pretty fast, I appreciated that the author let the relationship build in the best way it could. Was it a literary masterpiece? No, but it served its purpose.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

that was definitely something. idk why male and female were such common terms cause they annoyed the shit out of me

[Shaquilla Lunsford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet, short read. I loved the play on the Frost King's name, and the elements of the Beauty and the Beast.

[Gianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book surprised me. if you love beauty and the beast, then this book is up your alley. it’s so different from what i normally read, and i love this book so much bc of that! 😭

[Stephanie Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's literally just beauty and the beast...why isn't Disney suing?

[Meri Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Beauty and the Beast retellings, this is a nice, quick read that will probably scratch that itch well.

The world-building was interesting and made me want to have more stories set in this world. The romance was slow burn - as much as you can have slow burn in a novella-length book, which was nice to see the actual growth between the two characters. The little mystery of unraveling the curse our Frost King was under was well done and kept us sliding along the path with Dove.

And the final twists at the end as everything came together, I thought, was nicely laid out and unveiled to a nice conclusion.

[Katie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark fantasy / romance retelling of Beauty and the Beast but with Jack Frost as the king / beast. Dove is set out as an offering to stop the eternal winter set upon their land. Shen finds out that the Frost King, Frosty, is cursed. He is conflicted with two personalities, a warm & kind king and a beast. Only Dove can free him from the curse by riddles and secret passageways that will only reveal itself to her.
4 stars because the use of ”male” irritated me. I get it’s because he’s an elf but it still grated on me

[Edit · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

It was not bad, I just did not enjoy it as much as the other books from the Author. Calling him "Frosty" during spicy scenes was actually a turn off for me... Plot felt off balance at times, but still an enjoyable read.
If you mention Jack Frost I will ALWAYS imagine him from the Rise of the Guardians and I am kinda obsessed with aleikats' FairyxFrost ship, so ... idk.

* Hero(s) - 2/5
* Heroine(s) - 3/5
* Secondary Characters - 3/5

* Plot/Storyline - 3/5
* Romance/Steam - 3/5
* Drama/Conflict/Angst - 3/5
* Worldbuilding/Atmosphere - 3/5

* Writing Style - 3/5

This review is based on my personal preferences and the rating reflects how much I enjoyed reading this book.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for providing me with e-ARC of the book. I am choosing to leave a review, and all my thoughts are my own honest ones.

My review is closer to about 3.5 because I personally didn't like the name Frosty. Good thing we get his real name at the end.

I can always count on Charlotte for a short, sweet, and spicy time. I once again had fun. I like how the FMC wasn't submissive and quiet, she definitely called the Frost King out on his b.s. I also enjoyed the plot about breaking the curse.

This is a good novella for someone looking for a short spicy time that doesn't really require that much thinking. Something to fill the void between more complex or heavier reads.

[Dalegendaryreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love Beauty and the Beast, this book is for you.

Dove was offered to the Frost King, and she was chosen by him. However, it seems that everything she knew was a lie and now she needed to save the Frost King and their world from the curse.

Right off the bat, it really gave off a lot of fairy tale vibes. The world-building doesn't take a lot of brain power which is great because I just wanted a quick read which I did.

It was great, but not the best book by Charlotte but I will continue to read anything she releases!

[Kaitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This author is an automatic read for me, I literally just bought signed copies of some of her other books recently, but this one just didn’t do it for me…and that’s ok! I think I read too many incredible long books recently and I wasn’t in the headspace for a novella. I think a novella has to be really fast paced or really spicy and this was neither so I ended up skimming a lot of it, we didn’t have enough time to really get attached to the characters and they spent too much time apart for how short the book was but I loved the idea!

[Relthelittlemerm · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up; short Beauty and the Beast inspired spicy story. It’s honestly too short for any real character development and connections to be made, but I still enjoyed reading it. I think it could have benefited from a few more chapters of the characters getting to know each other, and definitely some more editing as I found a few spelling mistakes. Regardless, still liked reading it and would recommend.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of her better books creative wise. It has a similar feel to her fantasy series that are standalones but novel length.

I typically don't like her novellas because they move too fast to where the love feels forced by a mating bond. The love was alright but made up with the creativity of the plot. With it being under 200 pages it is considered a novella and in my opinion it is her better one.

[Anisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book but the last 30 pages were really hard to read only because of how cheesy some of it was and also the over use of the word MALE. I don’t know why it irked me so much but something about seeing male vs man makes it feel a little off. I felt like the authors writing wasn’t always flowing and felt choppy at some areas but overall I enjoyed Dove & the Frost King’s story! It’s giving beauty and the beast but with elves.

[Ashlyn Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Beauty and the Beast meets Jack Frost retelling was an interesting take on the tale. The setting was so vivid and the overall plot was quite enjoyable. The tension between The Frost King and Dove was enjoyable. This took me in such an emotional roller coaster. If there is one thing I know for a fact is any Charlotte Swan novella is going to be spicy, and this one did not miss. The scenes were hot, steamy and intimate. Cannot wait to read the next book in this series.
Spice level: 3🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Aisling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this. It was cute, and definitely beauty and the beast (maybe a little too much). I sometimes like predictable books but this was a little too predictable. I like to know what tropes are in the book and what is roughly going to happen but this one I could predict every scene. It was still very cute and had some great spicy scenes but it just felt a bit empty.

[Stitched Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3
Tropes: Love breaks the curse, Offering, Forced Proximity(Slight)
Spice: 2
Ending: HEA
Epilogue: 20 years later

Format: KU
Annotated: No

Cute Beauty and the beast retelling, just with elves and fairies throwing the curse. Simple quick read, not much to it. Wouldn't mind a longer version if there was more to it.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the story was interesting, and overall, I enjoyed it. However, there were several grammatical errors. It could have used a couple of more edits before being published. That was one reason I took away a star. The other was that the King was nicknamed Frosty (spoiler: it was because he couldn't remember his name), but it just sounded so unserious. Especially during the spicy scenes.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a pretty good book and a fast read

My main issue with this book is there are spelling errors, not too many about 4 or 5 but it took me out of the illusion. The story line is rushed (for good reason) but if it were longer I think the story would be more completed and well rounded. It’s definitely practically beauty and the beast but it was worth reading!

[Hannah Q. S. Kiene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sweet, and to the point.

Cute in the beginning, but as soon as the dreaded M word was introduced (mate) it got tossed around every other sentence to the point of grating.

Also I didn't like him being called Frosty until his name was revealed at the very end of the story, it felt goofy and jarring.

[Grace Sage · Rating 2 out of 5]

i saw this book as an ad on tiktok and that should have been my first warning. i read this book in one night and i thought that while it was an easy read, it was juvenile in how it was written. the author stated that this was like beauty and the beast, but ending up being a book that had poorly written smut and a “beast” that was about as intimidating as a shih tzu

[Chloe Voris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay the concept of this was cool ngl

You know how some people got feyres riddle super easy & others had no idea, well history repeated itself bc looking back his name could’ve been guess pretty easy all things considered but of course my dumbass didn’t catch it 💀

[Bitterblue's books · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not my favorite book from Charlotte. This time, it felt too focused on the curse and the story rather than the love between Frosty and Dove, which wasn't particularly developed.

Nonetheless, her world-building and characters are always top-notch, and reading her books is always a pleasure!

[Sierra Archbold · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute palette cleanser

A cute palette cleanser between my dark romance. The editing needs polishing, but that hardly ever makes me dislike a book. I thought it was a wonderfully sweet quick read.

[Jassica Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF page 88. The writing is ok but the premise sounds boring so I didn’t feel like continuing with it.

[Zara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frosty, she moaned frosty.

Frosty got him going.