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.  


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Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy, #2) by Jennifer Estep

Logan Quinn was try­ing to kill me. My Spar­tan class­mate relent­lessly pur­sued me, swing­ing his sword at me over and over again, the shin­ing sil­ver blade inch­ing closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes prac­ti­cally glowed with the thrill of battle. . .

I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword. . .

Review:

Princess Leia, Frances "Baby" Houseman, Sandy, Trinity, Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennett, Josephine March, and Buffy. They are our idols, our favorite characters of all time. Why? They are confident. Smart. Independent. Funny. Strong-willed. In some cases, kick-ass. They are our heroines. For many of them, their time is over. Done. Not because they failed, or were defeated, or were killed. Something worse happened to them: they were forgotten. The personalities of our original favorite heroines are now embodied by new ones. Now we have Jess Mastriani, Evie, Susannah Simon, Rhine Ellery, and Mia Thermopolis.

Now we have Gwen Frost, and she is fierce in our hearts. She is smart. Independent. Funny. Strong-willed. And very much kick-ass. Not always confident, but she tries.

Basically, Jennifer Estep is a genius. I really don't know how else to better sum up my thoughts of both this novel and it's predecessor. The overall concept of the book just rocks--Spartans and Amazons and Valkyries and more, all at Mythos Academy. My new dream school. Warriors.

And to go along with any true heroine, there must be a love interest. Johnny Castle. Rob Wilkins. Mr. Rochester. Jesse de Silva. Angel. Gwen and Logan are complicated. Troubled. In love. That's just how it goes, how they work--or try to work. The suspense of their romance is just as troubling to the reader as it is to Gwen herself; we love them for it.

The writing is, not surprisingly, fantastic, because how can you possibly have such incredible ideas and such incredible stories and not be a stunning writer? You can't. It's perfectly paced, perfectly told, and drawn together without a flaw. Estep does not try and prove us wrong.

Thank God for that.


Expect to see Kiss of Frost in December from Kensington Publishing Corp. Don't worry. Only 67 days until Christmas, so it's not that far off.

Grade: A+


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Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy, #1) by Jennifer Estep

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Acad­emy — a school of myths, magic and war­rior whiz kids, where even the lowli­est geek knows how to chop off somebody’s head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spar­tan guy in school, also hap­pens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jas­mine Ash­ton was mur­dered in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties. Then, some­one stole the Bowl of Tears, a mag­i­cal arti­fact that can be used to bring about the sec­ond Chaos War. You know, death, destruc­tion and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I’m deter­mined to find out who killed Jas­mine and why – espe­cially since I should have been the one who died . . .

Review:

Touch of Frost is another one of those great books to look out for this summer! It's an intriguing cross between Hex Hall, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and every great YA paranormal fiction novel out there. It has literally everything: mystery, romance, mythology, boarding schools . . . What could be better?


Nothing!


I had absolutely no trouble getting sucked into this novel; the moment I picked it up, I couldn't set it down. It's very suspenseful, and there's enough action to keep even the most reluctant reader interested.

I especially loved the characters. Gwen herself was a really awesome character, and I took an immediate liking to her; the emotions she goes through about the loss of her mother, and the difficulty of feeling like you don't fit in are very relateable to many teens' lives everywhere today. Everyone goes through a period of time where they don't really know who they are, or where they belong.

The love interest--because, yes, there is ALWAYS a love interest--is definitely one to talk about, and is--just in case you were having doubts--an important part of the novel. Gwen and Logan have a complicated relationship, but it just adds to the suspsense of the novel.

Touch of Frost is an outstanding start to a very promising series. Look for it in July, (possibly on the 26th) from Kensington Publishing Corp!

Grade: A+

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