Friday, July 29, 2011

Review -- Touch of Frost

Touch of Frost
Mythos Academy, Book 1
By Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Kensington
Release Date: July 26, 2011







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 …


Jennifer Estep writes my favorite urban fantasy series--Elemental Assassin--featuring kick-ass heroine Gin Blanco. The first four books have kept me riveted and I know the next will be no exception. Now Ms. Estep is delving into the YA scene with her new Mythos Academy series. While I don't always read YA, I have found that there are some great books to be enjoyed even if you're not part of the teen scene, and Touch of Frost is one.

Gwen Frost is sent to Mythos Academy soon after the death of her mother. She feels completely out of place among the other students. They are all descendants of great warriors: Valkyries, Spartans, Amazons and the like. To them, Gwen is just the "Gypsy girl"---definitely not like them. Gwen does have the gift of psychometry---when she touches an object she can see/feel the object's history. Most of the time, it's harmless; finding someone's lost cell phone, etc. But other times, she sees painful and disturbing scenes that are hard to forget. Being the outsider at school goes from bad to worse when Gwen discovers one of her fellow students---Jasmine Ashton, mean girl and Valkyrie---murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Not only that, but the Bowl of Tears---an ancient artifact that is being sought by an evil faction to start the second Chaos War. Now Gwen finds herself in deep....and the next one targeted for death.

Touch of Frost takes the angst of high school life and blends it with the supernatural---think Percy Jackson. You thought the ups and downs of your teen years were bad; Gwen Frost has all that drama times one hundred. But she's a spunky young woman who won't give up. Plus, she has a bit of a crush on Logan Quinn, the rough, tough and very sexy Spartan. Ah, those teenage hormones. I read this book pretty quickly and would have given it an even higher rating, except for the fact that there were some repetitive phrases that were a little annoying at times. Besides that, Touch of Frost was a fun read. While it is classified as a young adult book, I wouldn't recommend it for younger teens due to the language and sexual content. But if you or any older teen you know enjoy a little magic, this book's for you. The next book in the series, Kiss of Frost, will be released November 29th.

~ Gannon


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16 comments:

  1. H Gannon, I love well written YA. Since I find your reviews so on target, I'll be adding this one to my list.

    I enjoyed "The Hunger Games Trilogy" and the "Twilight" series, as well as many more lesser known books. One I'd like to mention is "Host" also by Stephanie Meyer. If you haven't read it yet, please keep it in mind. It's Very Different from her other books.

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  2. A great review thank you. I have this series written down to read. It sounds fascinating.

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  3. What a great book that most YA's would love to read. (Quite honestly, I think many adults would as well!) Heading into a new school is tough enough as it is but facing these obstacles would be very difficult. I think that any young person reading this and comparing the obstacles of today vs those faced in this book could probably help them. Great review. Thank you!
    Connie Fischer
    conniecape@aol.com

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  4. I hope you enjoy it, Flora. My daughter just devoured The Hunger Games trilogy, and she's dying for me to read it so we can "discuss" it. :-)

    A friend of mine read The Host and really enjoyed it. I'll definitely check it out.

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  5. Marybelle, I really enjoy Jennifer's writing. Hope you like it, too.

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  6. Heading into a new school is tough enough as it is but facing these obstacles would be very difficult.

    Connie, that is so true, and Jennifer does a great job with the whole situation.

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  7. I do like Greek Mythology!

    I will also recommend to my daughter who teaches middle school English. I know she does a section on mythology, The Lightning Thief etc.

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  8. Tantalizing review, Gannon. The description reminds me of Inara Scott's Delcroix Academy which I loved.

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  9. Laurie G, I've always been interested in Greek Mythology as well. Tell you daughter it's fine for her to read this book, but some of the subject matter is too mature for middle school aged children.

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  10. Janga, I have Inara's book in my TBR pile---I really need to move it closer to the top. :-)

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  11. Wow, Gannon, this sounds like another great one. You have raved about Jennifer for some time now ... guess I better catch that train :-)

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  12. Terrific review, Gannon! And I have to say that my daughter was walking by while I was reading your review and told me that she thinks the girl looks like Miley Cyrus. LOL!

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  13. I worked as a children's librarian until a little over a year ago. The change in what was available for older teens has been nice to see. There was an increase of paranormal fiction. Best of all was the quality of the writing. I read much of it so I would know the suitability of the books for age levels and the interests of patrons. There are many books and authors aimed at teens that are enjoyable reads for adults too.

    Thanks for the review.

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  14. Yes, Buffie, I am a big fan of Jennifer's. *g*

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  15. Andrea, I think Abby may be right. LOL

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  16. There are many books and authors aimed at teens that are enjoyable reads for adults too.

    Librarypat, I completely agree.

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