Heart of Dread is a series of fantasy books by Melissa De La Cruz and Michael Johnston. It's a trilogy of three books—Frozen, Stolen, and Golden. In a frozen-over world, Natasha Kestal is a blackjack dealer with a mysterious past who's searching for a mythical paradise called the Blue.
Heart of Dread contains examples of:
- After the End: After some wars and climatic catastrophe know as the Big Freeze, the whole world was covered in ice and only a few countries are left standing.
- Dragon Rider: It turns out at the end of Frozen that Natasha is a drakonrydder, and summons a dragon from the ocean.
- Endless Winter: The entire planet is covered in ice and snow.
- Glacial Apocalypse: It takes place in a world that's almost entirely frozen over, except for a paradise called the Blue.
- Icy Blue Eyes: There are Marked with bright blue eyes. They are said to be able to manipulate minds and create illusions.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All three books have names that are a two-syllable, six-letter adjective or past participle word.
- One-Word Title: All three books have single-word titles, and they also rhyme (or come close to it).
