Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1)

Oh, Logan. *Swoon* He is one of my favorites. In fact, I really enjoy this series. I am glad to see that this is told from Logan's perspective. He is such a mystery in the other books. As a bridge book, this helps explain what he is thinking after that shocking ending in Crimson Frost.


As a Spartan, he is dedicated to the fight, but we have no idea how far his dedication goes. Now we get an idea. It's obvious he loves Gwen, but could he really just leave her? (I won't tell!)


As far as bridge books go, I appreciated that this just didn't retell a scene from his perspective. It actually extended the story a bit as well. There was new action that I had not seen before. I am anxiously awaiting my chance to read the next book, Midnight Frost.

Previously published on my blog: http://fictionfervor.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/review-touch-of-frost-by-jennifer-estep/

I’ve been meaning to read this series for quite a long time. I mean, it’s about an academy with teen mythological warriors. (What better than Valkyries, Amazons, Vikings, Romans, and Spartans to lure you in?) And a hot guy. And a spunky heroine. What’s not to like? So when I finally found this at the library, I grabbed it immediately.

I’m sad to say, however, that I was a little disappointed.

The protagonist, Gwen Frost, is a Gypsy with a psychic power–psychometry, the ability to read an object’s history if she touches it. It’s pretty cool, but it can be pretty annoying. Her mom and her grandma both had psychic abilities too, which comes with being a Gypsy. But Gwen’s the only Gypsy at Mythos Academy–and that makes her feel left out. ‘Cause who wants to hang out with the poor Gypsy? She’s the only one in the school who doesn’t take to a weapon like it was made for her, and she’s not rich.

Boohoo. Why should she care about being rich? Thankfully, she doesn’t worry TOO much. But while I love Gwen’s snarky personality, sometimes I find her a little bit too stupid for her own good. That’s probably because of how predictable this book was. (More on that later.) She honestly should have connected the pieces together before she was in danger and a hot dude had to save her. Again. (Ever the damsel in distress.)

And, obviously, there’s romance here. Duh. (It’s a school full of teenagers–what do you expect?) Gwen finds herself attracted to Logan Quinn, a handsome but deadly Spartan–a warrior who can grab any object and instantly know how to kill you with it. (You better not get on his bad side.) And while I did love Logan, I thought he was a little bit too bad boy–a little bit too cliché. Especially with that mysterious secret that he doesn’t want her to know…

Can I talk about how much some characters bothered me? For instance: the Valkyrie princesses (aka the typical mean girl clique). How many times have YOU seen this cliché in books? For me, I’d say at least ten by now. I’d be surprised if it was less. Because I am so tired of it: how the mean girls treat the heroine like dirt, and then either the mean girls turn good or the heroine gets revenge. Something of that sort, hmm?

To be honest, my favorite character was a talking sword. Interesting guy.

The mystery in this book really let me down. I’d been hoping for this epic fight between the gods in the Pantheon and Loki’s Reapers, but well…It didn’t quite turn out that way. See, in the beginning of the book, Gwen (who works in the library) discovers a girl’s dead body next to the Bowl of Tears, a mythical artifact that everyone but her believes to be stolen by the Reaper who must have killed Jasmine too. But Gwen isn’t so sure, and she’s going to use her psychometry to get to the bottom of this.

Two ways I was disappointed: (1) the motive behind the murder mystery was incredibly stupid, and (2) I figured it out loooong before the solution was revealed. Why, you ask? Because the clues were repeated OVER and OVER again. They clearly stood out in Gwen’s head, and she didn’t get a thing out of them. (Hence why I thought she was not so bright.) I think the question that went most through my head while reading this book was, “Really, Jennifer Estep, couldn’t you be a little more subtle?”

Touch of Frost was a light read; the concept was great and the characters were entertaining, but the characters were clichéd and the mystery was lacking in an important characteristic: surprise. However, I did love the romance, and I’m hoping that Jennifer Estep can redeem herself in the future with the sequels.

Source: Paperback borrowed from library

This was a fun read--nothing too serious or complicated. If you’re a fan of mythology, you’ll really enjoy this series. It’s so full of mythology, you’ll overdose.
The plot isn’t overly complicated with this one. There were a few twists that I enjoyed along the way, but most of them I saw coming. It wasn’t a bad thing though. I really did enjoy just reading the story for the simple pleasure of enjoying a story. No analysis. No deep thought. Just simple enjoyment. This was a good, fun read. (It should be noted that the sexual references were high in this one, so don’t read if you like “clean” books.)
Gwen Frost is a Gypsy… whatever that means. She’s not entirely sure, since she’s the only one at Mythos Academy (or so she thinks). All she does know is that everyone else thinks she’s a freak and she has the hots for the reputed campus man-whore Logan Quinn, Spartan extraordinaire. I have to admit, Logan seemed pretty darn dreamy, even if he had this whole conflicted warrior thing going on. I would drool too. Reading about Logan kept my interest long after I figured out the majority of the plot. He was definitely mysterious, and I—like Gwen-- wanted to know why. Their love-hate relationship kept me turning the pages as fast as I could, until his betrayal at the end. Oh, how my heart broke right along with Gwen’s! Scandalous. (I also quickly picked up book 2 to find out what would happen next. So glad I did!)
If you can’t tell, the romance factor is what I enjoyed the most in the book. The complicated weaving of the various mythologies was very original and interesting as well. I thought the author did a nice job blending Greek, Roman, and Norse mythologies together in a cohesive, slightly complicated way. Along with the on and off romance between Gwen and Logan, other characters develop relationships too. My favorite is between Daphne (super hot Valkyrie) and Cameron (Celtic band geek). They are adorable. There are a lot of transformations and lessons learned throughout the book, especially by Gwen. She has to figure out her place in the mythological world. See, Gypsies aren’t freaks. They are rare warriors gifted directly by gods/goddesses and she is no exception. Her biggest challenge is figuring out how to use her special magic, her touch magic that she views as both a blessing and a curse. (and for very good reasons!)
As I’ve said, this was a fun read. Good beach reading. There is lots of romance, a good bit of action, and a kick-butt main character who is sarcastic and funny. I love Gwen’s uncanny ability to get herself into impossible situations. This is, however, meant for older YA readers. Since the book takes place at a boarding school of sorts, you can guess at the “extra-curricular activities” that occur with a lack of adult supervision. I wouldn’t want my 12 year old reading about that stuff. Just sayin’.

The premise of the book was great. It was like Veronica Mars if she went to Hogwarts and had magic powers. The only problem with this though was Gwen. I really wanted to like her character but every other sentence was stating her loneliness or lack of friendship. Now I know it's hard not having friends but I would of liked if the novel focused a little more on the mystery of the Bowl of Tears rather than Gwen's lack of friends. The characters weren't all bad! I really loved Daphne, she was hilarious. The relationship she has with Gwen starts off a little strained but ends with actual friendship. I especially love the one liners they were always throwing at one another. Logan Quinn was a good character as well. We didn't get to learn much about him but he seemed pretty funny (Plus he reminds me of Patrick from the show 10 Things I Hate About You). At times it felt like it moved a little slowly but it speeds up towards the end. I do think it was well-written and funny. I look forward to reading the sequel because my theory is now that Gwen has friends the next novel won't dwell so much on the lack of friendship. Plus I want to know what will happen with her and Logan. Overall all this book was a fun read. I'd say give it a try.