Dark Frost (Mythos Academy, #3) by Jennifer Estep

I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me—again.


Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects—and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me?


It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me—and I’m in for the fight of my life.


Review:


This series never seizes to surprise me. Honestly, I find myself chewing off my nails and on the edge of my seat each time I pick one of these lovely books up. I also find myself loving Gwen more and more. She's still the great heroine she surprised us all by being in Touch of Frost and Kiss of Frost, but she is also continuously growing up as a character. Her awkward moments and uncoordination still make me laugh and her strength leaves a lasting impression. One of my favorite parts of reading a series is that you get to see the characters grow up and change, and Gwen is a perfect example of this. 


Gwen's friends, Daphne and Carson, are also incredibly sweet, as well as Grandma Frost and Nikamedes (in his own way). Logan is, of course, still Logan, and the romantic tension between him and Gwen just doesn't get old. There's nothing better than tangible teenage chemistry, especially when it can find away to be strange and yet also charming and impassioned. 


Estep's writing, as always, has distinguishable personality and voice suiting to Gwen, and her developing skills put other authors to shame, both in character and plot development. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one!


Grade: A


Dark Frost was released today, so don't forget to make a quick trip to amazon.com or Barnes and Noble to get your copy! Also, check this out.  


SIMPLY NERDY BOOK REVIEWS

Blog Tour: Guest Post by Jennifer Estep (And Giveaway!)

As a stop in Jennifer Estep's Blog Tour, not only do we have a fabulous guest post from her today, but also a giveaway! To find out more, read on . . .

Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to say thanks to Leah for hosting me on the blog today. Thanks so much, Leah!

Kiss of Frost, the second book in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series, came out on Nov. 29. The books focus on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the gift of psy­chom­e­try, or the abil­ity to know an object’s history just by touch­ing it. After a seri­ous freak-out with her magic, Gwen is shipped off to Mythos Acad­emy, a school for the descen­dants of ancient war­riors like Spar­tans, Valkyries, Ama­zons, and more.

So today, Leah asked me to talk a little about my writing process. I have to admit that I’m a total panster when it comes to writing. I don’t do detailed character outlines, storyboards, or anything like that. I just think about my heroine, her magic, and how she can use it to defeat the bad guys. I also think about the overall plot, what the big turning points of the story are, and how those turning points will affect the characters. Then, I sit down and start writing.

I usually try to write at least 2,000 to 3,000 words a day when I’m doing a first draft until I have a draft that’s about 50,000 or 60,000 words or so. Then, I let the story sit for a few weeks before going back to it, reading through, and seeing if the plot, characters, and more hold together. Then, I start on my second draft, which is a slower process as I add in more description, dialogue, and really flesh out the story. Once that’s done, I let that draft sit for a few weeks before going back to it and seeing what else needs to be added. I repeat that same process a couple of times until I have a draft that’s about 90,000 words (for a young adult book), and the book is the best that I can make it. 

As far as writing individual scenes goes, I really like writing fight scenes and having my heroine go toe-to-toe with the bad guys. That’s one of the reasons I decided to make Gwen a warrior – because I knew I could write a lot of fight scenes for a warrior whiz kid like her and all the other students at Mythos Academy.

I also try to have my characters visit new places in each book. For example, in Kiss of Frost, Gwen and everyone else at the academy go to a ski resort for the annual Winter Carnival. Plus, I also like to introduce new characters as a series goes along, both friends and other folks who will become important to Gwen as well as the bad guys that she’ll face down. 

Somehow, it all comes together. It’s just the process that works for me. One of the things I like about writing is that there is no wrong or right way to do it – you just have to figure out what works for you and how to get the words down on the page. So far, I’m having a blast writing the Mythos Academy series, and I hope to be writing about Gwen and her friends for a long time to come.

What about you guys? What do you like about writing and reading? What are some of your favorite young adult books and characters right now?

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Estep writes the Mythos Acad­emy young adult urban fan­tasy series for Kens­ing­ton. Touch of Frost, the first book in the series, and First Frost, a prequel e-story, are available now. Dark Frost, the third book, will be out in June 2012, while Crimson Frost, the fourth book, is tentatively scheduled to be published in January 2013.

For more information, excerpts, and more, visit Jennifer’s website at http://www.jenniferestep.com/.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Jennifer! Now for the giveaway, I have ONE copy of Touch of Frost, the first novel in the series. To find out more information about it, click here. 

To enter to win, you must fill out the following form. Don't forget to like/follow this blog or comment on this post for extra entries. Only U.S. and Canada, please. Your mailing address and email will not be shared.

The winner will be contacted by me and announced on December 18th, along with my favorite answers to Jennifer's questions above: What about you guys? What do you like about writing and reading? What are some of your favorite young adult books and characters right now? Please don't leave any boxes empty in the form. Starred questions are required for form submission.