· Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
★★★★☆
★★★★☆
Synopsis:
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.
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:
This book got off to a choppy start for me, it was a little bit redundant. The heroine, Gwen, is the narrator of this story and she tended to repeat a lot of things. She was an outcast, had no friends, everyone else was rich, popular and cool. Except her. Yeah, yeah, got that the third, fourth, and fifth time you mentioned it. However, once I was able to look past that minor complaint (or major since I seem to be whining a lot about it), I really fell into the story. Gwen is alone, but she is a strong character. While she dwells on her lonely state, she doesn't mope or get lost in it. She fights back and kicks butt. And, she might not be lonely forever as a diverse group of characters are introduced throughout the book.
This book got off to a choppy start for me, it was a little bit redundant. The heroine, Gwen, is the narrator of this story and she tended to repeat a lot of things. She was an outcast, had no friends, everyone else was rich, popular and cool. Except her. Yeah, yeah, got that the third, fourth, and fifth time you mentioned it. However, once I was able to look past that minor complaint (or major since I seem to be whining a lot about it), I really fell into the story. Gwen is alone, but she is a strong character. While she dwells on her lonely state, she doesn't mope or get lost in it. She fights back and kicks butt. And, she might not be lonely forever as a diverse group of characters are introduced throughout the book.
I loved the mythology in this story. It's a mix of Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, and the list goes on. But it was never confusing, all the lore seemed to mesh well together.
Sometimes you get lost in Gwen's inner dialogue, before you're brought back to the matter at hand, but it's not too bad. She's a funny and insightful character. I loved her sarcasm and opinion on the world around. She's able to be detached, without seeming all angsty.
This is a great start to a promising series. As soon as I finished, I immediately went on to get the second book. Alas, it was not meant to be. The second book doesn't come out until November 29, 2011. I know, I groaned in frustration, too. But seriously, if you like strong female leads, mythology, romance, and fighting for a cause, this is a book you should definitely read.
--monica
