The Flame in the Frost by Olivia Boothe

Title: The Flame in the Frost: A Northern Kindoms Novel

Author:  Olivia Boothe
Publisher: Three Brothers Press
Publication date: June 30, 2026
Pages: 
Source/format: e-ARC from Book Sirens
Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

When a cursed Winter Prince and a royal guard with a forgotten bloodline are bound by an ancient prophecy, they become the only ones who can stop a rising enemy—if their forbidden love doesn’t destroy them first.

They tried to silence their bond, but the gods had already sung their fate into the heavens.

In the frostbitten kingdom of Skadgard, Sylvanna Isenwulf has finally claimed her mantle as Captain of the Guard, but her loyalty to the crown is tested when Prince Jökullson “Jack” Drakmyr—her best friend and heir to the Frostbound throne—is forced into an arranged betrothal with a princess he’s never met and an alliance that could ignite war across the northern realms.

Ordered to accompany Jack on a dangerous envoy through the cursed Wildlands, Sylvanna is thrust into a perilous journey filled with ancient magic and deadly creatures. But it is another kind of danger that threatens to unravel their friendship...

Bound by an invisible tether that has pulled at their hearts since childhood, Sylvanna and Jack must not only confront their deepest secrets and darkest desires but choose between the love consuming them at their core or the duty binding them to their kingdom.

And when a ruthless enemy rises, threatening to tear Sylvanna and Jack apart, The Frost Prince must decide to either honor the crown that has caged him his whole life or unleash the deadly monster dormant in his veins—a winter storm fiercer than anything Skadgard has ever faced.

Enough to topple kingdoms. Enough to shatter fate.

The Flame in the Frost is a Norse-inspired Friends to Lovers Jack Frost reimagining romantasy intended for readers 18+. Reader discretion is advised.

M Y  T H O U G H T S

The Flame in the Frost by Olivia Boothe is the first book in the Northern Kingdom series. This novel is a Jack Frost inspired and is written in dual POVs between the royal fae, Jack, Prince Jökullson Drakmyr, and common fae, Sylvanna Isenwulf, also known as Sylvi. In The Flame in the Frost, only royal fae are bestowed with magic. Jack is a fae prince imbued with ice magic and unseelie magic. 21-year-old Sylvi, is Frostbound Court's captain of the royal guard. She is best friends with Jack. Both are fated mates but their love is considered forbidden in their realm.

Sylvi met Jack when she was 7-years-old. Her father was captain of the guard back in the day and brought young Sylvi to the palace to witness the magic of the queen during a celebration for the first snow of the season. When she was lost in the Grove of Whispers, a labyrinth like maze, a shimmering whisp beckoned young Sylvi into the labyrinth and she found Jack in the middle. The light guided her to him. Every since that day, they have been inseparable. 

The Flame in the Frost is a lush and atmospheric high fantasy novel that is woven with lyrical prose. Boothe breathes life into inanimate objects and the writing amplifies the worldbuilding. Sylvi's and Jack's friendship grows over many years and develops into something more in this slow burning romance. Readers can definitely feel the yearning throughout the entire novel. However, Jack's mother, the Queen of Frost, forbids this relationship and arranges a marriage between Jack and Princess Isolde Kaldvalien in order to unite realms of Skadgard and Verrindor to forge an alliance in order to fight Yulereth.

I highly suggest this novel for readers who are looking for a Jack Frost reimagining story that intertwines the best friends to lovers trope in this spicy Romantasy. Jack and Sylvi's forbidden love is fire to the ice. I appreciate Boothe adding a glossary in the back for the novel so readers can further understand the realms and Nordic phrases. 

The Flame in the Frost touches on some of Nordveld (Seven Magical Northern Kingdoms) but I would love to see more characters from the other realms or to see Jack and Sylvi venture out to the other realms in future novels in the series. I want to immerse myself in the worldbuilding that Boothe has created since it's fantastic! This book definitely deserves more hype and for good reasons! I felt very emotionally invested in Jack and Sylvi as characters individually but also together as friends and lovers.

We know that Royal fae is bestowed with magic but what if common fae can wield magic as well? Jack and Sylvi are torn between their duties and their love for one another. How to they manage both? Do they chose one over another? Or does someone chose for them? Check out the Flame in the Frost to find out more!

BookCon 2026

I haven't' blogged in such a long time. I know the book community has shifted the over the years but I am excited to say that I will be attending BookCon this month in NYC! I can't wait for this awesome event despite BookExpo not being around anymore. I am going more for the vibes compared having a set schedule to meet a bunch of authors or to obtain a bunch of books or galleys. 

BookCon is a book lover's dream! BookCon is two-day convention where storytelling and pop culture collide. There are panels, author signings, an indie alley, and a show room with publishing companies and vendors selling bookish things. There are book swaps, a place to meet new people and also space to reunite with old friends, book related demonstrations, etc. and more! The con is a space for folks to celebrate their love for books and reading. BookCon will take place a the Javits Center in Hudson Yards in NYC.

It's going to be a shift from late May to having the con in April but I am excited to visit NYC again. I haven't been there since 2017ish and I can't wait to go back. BookCon sold out fast both rounds when it was on sale and no surprise. After the pandemic, it seems like a lot of bookish cons have popped up and have become extremely popular. I am fortunate that my friend Ellie was able to snag us tickets for BookCon in December for both Saturday and Sunday. 

The whole reservations situation to select author signings and panels that required reservations was pretty chaotic. Folks were given a random number in the queue and were allowed to select up to 4 signings and 2 panels per day for general admission. But we all found out that you can only book things if you have a good queue number. Many people were not able to book reservations because by the time they got into website for their turn, nothing was left over. Some people were fortunate to grab at least 1-2 things if they were not in front of the line. 

I get that people mention that there are always standby lines for things for no reservations but you definitely need to queue up at least an hour beforehand for a panel or signing to hopefully get in. There will be standby lines for panels and signings that have reservations but definitely line up for those super early. I believe for panels and signings with reservations, you need to hop into the panel line at least 15 minutes before the start of the panel or you will forfeit your spot even though you have a reservation. And for the author signing, you need to be in line for the reserved signing at least 30 minutes before the start of the signing. BookCon will pull people from the standby line if there are spots available.

BookCon Plans

Personally I am going to wing most of the con since I don't want my experience to be mainly line con. I want to do things unless I know I definitely can get into something I really want to attend. Only time will tell. I plan to spend a good chunk of the time on the show floor checking out vendors, indie authors, publishers, etc. I want to learn about a lot of upcoming titles for the rest of the year and maybe discover some artists and authors and that I don't know about. I am excited about some vendors that I have been following for years. Oddment and Tweak, Sunset Road Co., and Laserbrain Patch Co. will all be at BookCon and I am so excited to visit their booths.

I can say that there are some authors I hope to see during the con but we'll see if I can even make their signing line in time before the lines are closed. Some of the authors I hope I get to see include Dustin Thao and Adalyn Grace.

I was not successful in obtaining a reservation for Saturday's Adalyn Grace ARC signing of The Wretched Divine but hopefully I can make it to one of her other signings during the con. I know she has a pre-panel signing on Sunday that has a standby line and she has another one at the Steamy Lit booth on the show floor.

For indie authors, I am definitely swinging by Olivia Boothe's and K.Sinko's tables. I was able to read The Frost in the Flame before publication date and BookCon exclusives of the book will be available at Olivia's table. I pre-ordered that edition for pickup and also pre-ordered several of K.Sinko's titles.

For panels, I hope I get lucky to get into Classic Retellings with a Modern Twist on Saturday morning. The show floor opens at 10:00 am and this panel starts at 11:00 am so not sure how early I can queue up to get into the line for the panel if I want to hit the show floor first thing in the morning. The Classic Retellings panel feature Kalynn Bayron, Ryan Douglass, Jesmeen Kaur Deo, Elizabeth Lim, and Danielle Paige. The panel will be moderated by Aurora Dominguez. There will be a post-panel signing as well. The panel I really want to attend is Then/Now: The Evolution of Your Career Since That 1st Book with Meg Cabot, Melissa de La Cruz, Kami Garcia, Ann M. Martin, and moderator Libba Bray. I am not sure if I will be able to get into the panel since this one of the Main Stage panels with no reservations and I feel like this panel is going to be hard to get into unless I queue up over an hour early for.

On Sunday, I plan to check out the show floor in the morning and relax a bit until the afternoon. So many good things are happening in a short period of time and Sunday is the shorter day for the con. One of Adalyn's signings is at noon so we'll see how long the line is for that signing since there are no reservations. I got lucky to snag a reservation to meet Julie Murphy, who will be signing ARCs of The Undergrads: Student Union at the Macmillan booth. So I am definitely going to that signing in the afternoon.

Both days have a fore-edge painting demonstration by Gillisi Art (@gillisiart) and if I have time, I might check one of the demonstrations out. There is a Page to Screen panel at the end of the day that I was able to secure a reservation that sounds very intriguing. Authors Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven), Robinne Lee (The Idea of You), May Cobb (The Hunting Wives), Andy Weir (Project Hail Mary) will discuss their books and the movie and TV adaptations.

If for some chance I cannot get into the Page to Screen panel, I plan to check out Into the World of Romantasy: Exploring the Marriage Between Genres. Stacia Stark, Elise Kova, and Adalyn Grace will discsus why the pairing of romance and fantasy works so well and how they balance the elements integral to each genre. The panel will be moderated by John Jacobson.

Are you planning to attend BookCon? Who will I see in a couple of weeks?