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The Wraith #3
The Frost and the Flame: The Wraith, #3
Lord Willowvale's icy heart has begun to thaw, but it will take a fiery Fair maiden to melt him.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single fairy in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Lord Ash Willowvale is wealthy and eligible, albeit famously disagreeable, but he is hardly looking for a wife, and the Fair maiden who catches his eye certainly wasn’t hoping to. She is merely doing her job as bodyguard for the Fair ambassador, who has been imprisoned in Aricht.
When Lord Willowvale is tasked with extricating the Fair delegation, his difficulties are only beginning. His task seems his past is deeply offensive to the Fair maiden he quickly grows to respect, and his own guilt threatens to crush him.
Friendship broke down his prejudice. Will love break his legendary pride? Will he ever be able to tell the lovely maiden who captured his heart how ardently he admires and loves her?
A clean, noblebright fantasy Pride and Prejudice reimagining in the world of The Wraith. Come for the Jane Austen+magic feel, stay for the redemption arc!"
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single fairy in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Lord Ash Willowvale is wealthy and eligible, albeit famously disagreeable, but he is hardly looking for a wife, and the Fair maiden who catches his eye certainly wasn’t hoping to. She is merely doing her job as bodyguard for the Fair ambassador, who has been imprisoned in Aricht.
When Lord Willowvale is tasked with extricating the Fair delegation, his difficulties are only beginning. His task seems his past is deeply offensive to the Fair maiden he quickly grows to respect, and his own guilt threatens to crush him.
Friendship broke down his prejudice. Will love break his legendary pride? Will he ever be able to tell the lovely maiden who captured his heart how ardently he admires and loves her?
A clean, noblebright fantasy Pride and Prejudice reimagining in the world of The Wraith. Come for the Jane Austen+magic feel, stay for the redemption arc!"
Audible Audio
Published March 13, 2023
3 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Brightley
28 books249 followersC. J. Brightley lives outside Washington, D.C., with her husband and their two young children. When she's not busy writing, she teaches karate, bakes too many desserts, and makes jewelry. She loves to connect with readers!
Follow C. J. Brightley at https://www.facebook.com/CJBrightley and https://www.instagram.com/cjbrightley/
Follow C. J. Brightley at https://www.facebook.com/CJBrightley and https://www.instagram.com/cjbrightley/
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 14, 2023
I adored all three books in this series so much!
This one doesn't have the stakes or the action of the previous two books in the series. The most nail-biting portion of the whole book occurs in the middle, rather than the climax.
But what it lacks in action, it makes up for in a really, really well done villain-to-hero redemption arc, which had its beginnings in the first two books in the series but comes into its full beauty in this book. While this whole series has cozy fantasy romance vibes, this book especially is COZY. It is so adorable and sweet and swoony (nothing beyond chaste kisses), which is appropriate, given that it is a very loose Pride & Prejudice retelling with fae.
If you are looking for a cozy fantasy romance series with classic literature vibes, you'll love this series!
This one doesn't have the stakes or the action of the previous two books in the series. The most nail-biting portion of the whole book occurs in the middle, rather than the climax.
But what it lacks in action, it makes up for in a really, really well done villain-to-hero redemption arc, which had its beginnings in the first two books in the series but comes into its full beauty in this book. While this whole series has cozy fantasy romance vibes, this book especially is COZY. It is so adorable and sweet and swoony (nothing beyond chaste kisses), which is appropriate, given that it is a very loose Pride & Prejudice retelling with fae.
If you are looking for a cozy fantasy romance series with classic literature vibes, you'll love this series!
January 1, 2025
Such a good redemption arc for a former villain! I just ADORE this whole series, and this book has Pride & Prejudice vibes!
May 20, 2023
I may have liked this book even more than the first two! Instead of continuing with The Scarlett Pimpernel, The Frost and the Flame enters Jane Austen territory, giving us a beautiful reimagining of Pride and Prejudice. But rather than a proud but good Mr. Darcy, we get to see the redemption and reformation of Lord Willowvale.
CJ brilliantly ties in lines from Pride and Prejudice lines, positioning them perfectly within a new setting. It is also a testament to how not just love but faith and friendship can transform a person. The fae lord has been on the wrong side of things since book 1, but Theo's patience and kindness and forgiveness and friendship has helped him to see the truth and have a change of heart. The beautiful fae maiden who has always stood on the side of humans doesn't hurt either, of course.
I don't want this to be the end and dearly hope to CJ continues her crossovers between beloved classic stories and her dangerous world of the fae.
CJ brilliantly ties in lines from Pride and Prejudice lines, positioning them perfectly within a new setting. It is also a testament to how not just love but faith and friendship can transform a person. The fae lord has been on the wrong side of things since book 1, but Theo's patience and kindness and forgiveness and friendship has helped him to see the truth and have a change of heart. The beautiful fae maiden who has always stood on the side of humans doesn't hurt either, of course.
I don't want this to be the end and dearly hope to CJ continues her crossovers between beloved classic stories and her dangerous world of the fae.
December 26, 2023
What a lovely way to explore the themes of Pride and Prejudice. The Frost and the Flame is book three of The Wraith by CJ Brightley. You could read it as a stand alone. However, knowing the history of the Fair lands and seeing the main character Lord Willowvale's growth was one of my favorite things about this series. The way CJ Brightley writes this heart transformation through friendship is beautiful. I can see myself rereading this one often. This has been my favorite of the three books.
Description
Lord Willowvale’s icy heart has begun to thaw, but it will take a fiery Fair maiden to melt him.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single fairy in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Lord Ash Willowvale is wealthy and eligible, albeit famously disagreeable, but he is hardly looking for a wife, and the Fair maiden who catches his eye certainly wasn’t hoping to. She is merely doing her job as bodyguard for the Fair ambassador, who has been imprisoned in Aricht.
When Lord Willowvale is tasked with extricating the Fair delegation, his difficulties are only beginning. His task seems impossible, his past is deeply offensive to the Fair maiden he quickly grows to respect, and his own guilt threatens to crush him.
Friendship broke down his prejudice; will love break his legendary pride? Will he ever be able to tell the lovely maiden who captured his heart how ardently he admires and loves her?
A clean, noblebright fantasy Pride and Prejudice reimagining in the world of The Wraith. Come for the Jane Austen+magic feel, stay for the redemption arc!
Description
Lord Willowvale’s icy heart has begun to thaw, but it will take a fiery Fair maiden to melt him.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single fairy in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Lord Ash Willowvale is wealthy and eligible, albeit famously disagreeable, but he is hardly looking for a wife, and the Fair maiden who catches his eye certainly wasn’t hoping to. She is merely doing her job as bodyguard for the Fair ambassador, who has been imprisoned in Aricht.
When Lord Willowvale is tasked with extricating the Fair delegation, his difficulties are only beginning. His task seems impossible, his past is deeply offensive to the Fair maiden he quickly grows to respect, and his own guilt threatens to crush him.
Friendship broke down his prejudice; will love break his legendary pride? Will he ever be able to tell the lovely maiden who captured his heart how ardently he admires and loves her?
A clean, noblebright fantasy Pride and Prejudice reimagining in the world of The Wraith. Come for the Jane Austen+magic feel, stay for the redemption arc!
March 24, 2023
The Frost and the Flame is a villain redemption story set in the same world as The Wraith and the Rose. While that story was inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, this one takes its cues from Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice.
In the aftermath of the human fairy war, Lord Ash Willowvale is sent to Aricht, the human land, to learn what’s happened to the Fair Lands Ambassador who hasn’t been heard from in months and to extricate him and his staff if possible. While there, he meets the Ambassador's head of security, Astrantia Berrydell. The famously disagreeable Lord must try to negotiate a lasting peace while coming to terms with his own guilt for the role he played in the war.
This was an enjoyable continuation of the series. It was fun to visit the world of the Wraith again, to see some old friends get married, and to watch Willowvale change.
I didn’t care for Willowvale and Astrantia as the main characters as much as Theo and Lily or Lord Selby in the previous books. Willowvale spent a good deal of the book in self-recrimination and guilt and Astrantia was angry and standoffish. I didn’t really warm up to them until the last third of the book. As a romance, it didn’t quite work for me. Willowvale and Astrantia had few scenes together and their relationship felt rushed.
However, I still enjoyed the story overall. Theo had a pretty big role in the story which was fun and there were a number of interesting scenes full of rich cultural details which I also enjoyed.
I received the book from a Kickstarter campaign, but it will be widely available on May 18.
In the aftermath of the human fairy war, Lord Ash Willowvale is sent to Aricht, the human land, to learn what’s happened to the Fair Lands Ambassador who hasn’t been heard from in months and to extricate him and his staff if possible. While there, he meets the Ambassador's head of security, Astrantia Berrydell. The famously disagreeable Lord must try to negotiate a lasting peace while coming to terms with his own guilt for the role he played in the war.
This was an enjoyable continuation of the series. It was fun to visit the world of the Wraith again, to see some old friends get married, and to watch Willowvale change.
I didn’t care for Willowvale and Astrantia as the main characters as much as Theo and Lily or Lord Selby in the previous books. Willowvale spent a good deal of the book in self-recrimination and guilt and Astrantia was angry and standoffish. I didn’t really warm up to them until the last third of the book. As a romance, it didn’t quite work for me. Willowvale and Astrantia had few scenes together and their relationship felt rushed.
However, I still enjoyed the story overall. Theo had a pretty big role in the story which was fun and there were a number of interesting scenes full of rich cultural details which I also enjoyed.
I received the book from a Kickstarter campaign, but it will be widely available on May 18.
July 9, 2024
“What a grand thing it is to be loved!” she said. “But what a far grander thing it is to love!”
Let me tell you dear readers…I am devastated…simply devastated that this is the third and final book in The Wraith Series (however I heard from a little birdie there may…someday…be a book 4… *crosses fingers and whispers “please let it be about Lord Bayberry. Please let be about Lord Bayberry!”*)! How did I go so long without this absolutely lovely! Wonderful! Sweet! Swoony! Yet completely epic series in my life? And now that it’s over how do I experience the magic of reading it for the first time again? *sighs* Alas…
Anywho…Lord Willowvale may be a tad bit (ok…more than a tad) pompous and self righteous. I mean as right hand and top advisor to the Fair King he knows his place and his duties…well…that is…until Theo Overton comes along and turns his life, his world, and all of his conceptions upside down. Now he has found himself in a situation he could never have anticipated, being forcibly befriended by the most humble and jubilant human to ever exist and unexpectedly feeling himself start to thaw to the humans and situation around him. So when the Fair King asks him to check in on the Fair Ambassador to the Arichtan Kingdom after three months of silence Willowvale accepts. He doesn’t realize that by doing so his life and views will once again be challenged, flipped and flopped, and perhaps forever changed.
Not gonna lie, Brightley writes the most enchanting and wonderful Fair folk! Throughout the series we are shown dangerous and deceptive Fae that will do almost anything to save their world…but the deeper we delve and the more immersed in the world we become the more we realize that most of them are just scared and uncertain, and that is what drives them to use almost any means possible to save their world. And although they did horrible things they were still worth redemption, forgiveness, friendship, and love.
I absolutely loved Lord Ash Willowvale! His redemption arc throughout this series was written just perfectly! He went from vile villain to self sacrificing hero and so so so many things in between! I do love me a perfectly executed redemption arc and Brightley wrote just that!
So yep…You NEED to read The Wraith Series! It’s Faetastic! Heroic Humans! Sweet and swoony clean romance! Magic and Monsters! A magical veil that can kill you as easily as it can save you! Stolen Children! And you absolutely MUST have it on your TBR and in your life!
Let me tell you dear readers…I am devastated…simply devastated that this is the third and final book in The Wraith Series (however I heard from a little birdie there may…someday…be a book 4… *crosses fingers and whispers “please let it be about Lord Bayberry. Please let be about Lord Bayberry!”*)! How did I go so long without this absolutely lovely! Wonderful! Sweet! Swoony! Yet completely epic series in my life? And now that it’s over how do I experience the magic of reading it for the first time again? *sighs* Alas…
Anywho…Lord Willowvale may be a tad bit (ok…more than a tad) pompous and self righteous. I mean as right hand and top advisor to the Fair King he knows his place and his duties…well…that is…until Theo Overton comes along and turns his life, his world, and all of his conceptions upside down. Now he has found himself in a situation he could never have anticipated, being forcibly befriended by the most humble and jubilant human to ever exist and unexpectedly feeling himself start to thaw to the humans and situation around him. So when the Fair King asks him to check in on the Fair Ambassador to the Arichtan Kingdom after three months of silence Willowvale accepts. He doesn’t realize that by doing so his life and views will once again be challenged, flipped and flopped, and perhaps forever changed.
Not gonna lie, Brightley writes the most enchanting and wonderful Fair folk! Throughout the series we are shown dangerous and deceptive Fae that will do almost anything to save their world…but the deeper we delve and the more immersed in the world we become the more we realize that most of them are just scared and uncertain, and that is what drives them to use almost any means possible to save their world. And although they did horrible things they were still worth redemption, forgiveness, friendship, and love.
I absolutely loved Lord Ash Willowvale! His redemption arc throughout this series was written just perfectly! He went from vile villain to self sacrificing hero and so so so many things in between! I do love me a perfectly executed redemption arc and Brightley wrote just that!
So yep…You NEED to read The Wraith Series! It’s Faetastic! Heroic Humans! Sweet and swoony clean romance! Magic and Monsters! A magical veil that can kill you as easily as it can save you! Stolen Children! And you absolutely MUST have it on your TBR and in your life!
May 25, 2023
The Frost and the Flame brings fun twists to the grumpy fae trope by weaving the regency romance of Pride and Prejudice throughout.
The only downside (for me) was that I hadn't read the first two books in the series, and while it's said to be a standalone, I think I would have followed both the storyline and the character's growth far more easily if I had taken the time to read the first two books. So learn from my mistake, and start with The Wraith and the Rose, which is a Scarlet Pimpernel retelling.
The only downside (for me) was that I hadn't read the first two books in the series, and while it's said to be a standalone, I think I would have followed both the storyline and the character's growth far more easily if I had taken the time to read the first two books. So learn from my mistake, and start with The Wraith and the Rose, which is a Scarlet Pimpernel retelling.
March 20, 2023
This has become one of my absolute favorite series! Hours after finishing this last book, I'm still pondering it. Although the story itself is entertaining and the characters are delightful, it's the truths underlying everything that stand out. The love and grace that Theo shows and the impact he has on those around him make this series worth reading over and over again. Absolutely fabulous!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews