Touch of Frost by Janenifer Estep
Publisher: Kensington Publishing (July 26th, 2011)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Publisher
Series: Mythos Academy #1
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
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: Gwen Frost is new to Mythos Academy and she immediately feels like the odd one out. The other students are rich, beautiful, and powerful and Gwen feels that her ability doesn't live up to expectations. It's hard to compare with warrior powers when you can only read objects.
On top of being the new girl, Gwen is looked down on because she is a Gypsy. Several of the students give her a hard time and much of the story was set up like a typical new girl vs. mean girl scenario. It was nice to see that even in a book full of mythology and mystery, some common character aspects were still there. Gwen wasn't popular but she was strong and had to deal with the many conflicts as best she could. Then she meets Logan Quinn and he is a kick-butt warrior / girl-obsessed bad boy. Logan is an outstanding character. He seemed real and his relationship with Gwen was exciting to follow. Gwen was cautious of Logan, which was good! But they had some amazing chemistry that could not be ignored.
When a student is murdered in the library where Gwen works on campus, she throws herself into the mystery and tries to use her power to discover the truth. The plot of this story kept me guessing and it was nice to see the details of the past unraveled bit by bit as you read along. I felt this story was very unique and interesting. Gwen's personality is complex and I'm always a fan of a strong female character. I'm excited to see where Janenifer takes this story. I gotta see what happens to Gwen and Logan and what other things she discovers about her family's past.
By the middle of this book I was hooked and couldn't put it down! By the end I was searching to find out when book 2 would be released. Some parts were a little too repetitive, but other than that I really enjoyed the writing and descriptive plot. I was so thrilled to find out that Janenifer had developed a YA series and I can't wait to find out what happens next. Janenifer has really developed an enchanting world surrounding these characters.
Jennifer Estep has created a fabulous YA series that gives readers just enough mythology, action, and mystery to have them begging for more!
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