Kiss of Frost

I'll admit, the mystery in this book surprised me.
I wasn't expecting that final reveal.

The rest was a bit of too much sindrome.
I get that every book needs a little bit of suspension of disbelief. I get that in an adventure book bad stuff need to happen to the hero, but Gwen manages to escape death 4 or 5 times in as many days. The main events in the book happen in less than a week.
And in that time span Gwen manages to learn a couple of her "friends" secrets, foil a plot to murder her and cause chaos and learn how to use her psychometry to fight. Plus a couple of clues for the next book...

I liked the main story, but the I love you but I can't be with you that Logan has with Gwen is starting to get a little tiresome by this point

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

In Kiss of Frost, Gwen is starting to make a place for herself at Mythos Academy. She’s made a couple of friends and has a new trick up her sleeve thanks to her evolving Gypsy gift. I enjoyed this book more than the last simply because Frost was no longer all alone. High school is miserable enough to begin with, add in all of the horrible things that Gwen has been through and it becomes downright terrible. She at least deserves a shoulder to cry on so I was happy that she found a new BFF in Daphne. The fact that Frost makes a little headway with Logan certainly didn’t hurt either!

This series has a real epic feel to it which is probably in large part due to the fact that the story deals with gods and show more champions. As a result, every little thing that the characters do in these books feels important but Gwen herself seems to be the key. Especially after a Reaper proclaims: “Oh, we know all about you, Gwen Frost, and what you’re supposed to do.” All of a sudden, that weird Gypsy girl appears destined to save the world from chaos! Kiss of Frost really ups the stakes and defines this series’ story arc in a big way.

It really became apparent in this novel that Gwen’s gift is also at times, a curse. She flashes on her mother’s death in this installment and I can only imagine how painful that must have been for her. Not only that but the fact that she never forgets any of the memories she gleams from others meaning that those painful images will be with her for the rest of her life. Imagine having to watch your mother die over and over again. That’s a big burden to bare for anyone, let alone a seventeen year old girl. In spite of all the secrets she’s witnessed, I like that Gwen remains a genuinely good person at her core. Once again she does the right thing in a sticky situation even though it will probably come back to bite her (literally) in the butt with big Fenrir wolf teeth.

I’m enjoying the progression of Logan and Gwen’s relationship, as slow as it may be but that’s the Paranormal Romance reader in me talking. I have to keep reminding myself that this is how relationships are in high school; clumsy and awkward. The further I get in this series the more I notice how perfectly suited Jennifer Estep’s clean cut writing style is for YA. She captures the younger POVs beautifully and makes good use of teenagers’ rampant imaginations with her ominous statues and freaky carnival games.

Other than the bad guy being a little too predictable for my tastes, Kiss of Frost weaves an intricate web of mythology, magic and destiny that you won’t be able to resist getting caught up in. show less

This picks up right where the first book left off. With Logan as Gwen’s personal combat trainer I was oh-so-ready for a romance. But alas, the UST is really heating up now. Why oh why can’t they be together?!?

This book soon takes place at the Winter Carnival, a tradition for all at Mythos Academy and similar schools. It sounds divine and out of this world, but totally normal to all the students, except for Gwen who was not raised in this environment. We now know that Gwen is in serious danger, but she can’t help but try and figure out who the Reaper is that is trying to hurt her.

We start to get to know a lot of the secondary characters better at this point and I really ended up loving them all! From Daphne to Oliver to Kenzie. But show more my favorite is Vic. OMG. I LOVE VIC. yes, that is a shouty love :) I can’t stop laughing when I read his parts. He is genius.

I kept waiting for Logan to give into his feelings that he has for Gwen, but in the meantime watched Gwen try to enjoy herself among all the couples at the Winter Carnival, from her best friend Daphne and boyfriend Carson to Logan and Savannah (ick!). So she was delighted when Preston, the very cute guy from another academy, seemed to be interested in her….and Logan was jealous. Of course nothing is that simple, and you throw in a Fenrir wolf, an avalanche, and some serious combat scenes on top of the UST, the intensity level was pretty high. All this led me to turning the pages as fast as I could read, and yes, I finished in one sitting.

Not only are the secondary characters and the hero well done, but I love how our heroine Gwen really comes into her own in this 2nd installment. She finally realizes she isn’t a “nobody”. However, it was a natural transgression even in her wild world that was very well written. I was never rolling my eyes, I was just wishing she were real so we could be friends. She also wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to Logan and I love her for that. There are no games, she plain out admits she likes him. He just needs to give in now too! Ha, it always comes back to the romance for me. ♥

To top it off the ending of this story was very smooth, tidy, and lovely, with clear goals in mind for the next book. Speaking of the next book, Dark Frost, I can’t wait to start it straight away. It’s a fab series! show less

I was very excited to dive back into the world of Gwen Frost. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, Touch or Frost, and looked forward to seeing what was happening to Gwen after the events that transpired in the first book.

We pick up a couple of weeks after the battle in the library and things have settled down and gone back to normal. Well almost normal, there have been a couple of changes in Gwen’s life. For example, she now has combat training with Logan and his friends in the mornings before class. She did not grow up learning how to shoot a bow and arrow or wield a sword like her classmates did and since she now finds herself with a target on her back it is important she learns how to defend herself.

One of the best show more elements of these books is our main character, Gwen. She is a strong lead and stands up for what she believes in. She has been through so much in her life and she bears her burdens well and is not whiny like some teenage girls her age can be. She does need to work on her trust issues at times and let others help her, but at a school where violence and betrayal is an everyday occurrence, I cannot really fault her for guarding her secrets carefully. I always enjoy being in her head and her general attitude towards life. She is a great character and Jennifer has made it very easy to adore her.

I also love the secondary characters in this series. Especially Gwen’s pink loving best friend Daphne. That Valkyrie cracks me up with her short temper and complete devotion to her band geek boyfriend, Carson. She is very supportive of Gwen and is always willing to help where she can. We don’t get to see as much of her in this book since her and Carson are always trying to sneak away together, but I still think she is a great character.

I can’t review this book without talking about the romance. While Logan is still trying to keep his distance from Gwen, she is still crushing on him, hard. When she is with him, his words say one thing, but his actions say another. Poor Gwen is left trying to decipher what he is really thinking and always comes away confused. I am still rooting for these two even though I know Logan is trying to guard his heart. We get a little peak into the reasons behind his aloofness, but I still think there is plenty more to discover about that Spartan. One of my favorite scenes between Gwen and Logan comes a little later in the book, but I am just going to give you a quick snippet so it is not spoilery.

“I am glad you came looking for me,” I finally said…

Logan gave me a crooked grin. “I’ll always come looking for you, Gypsy girl.”

I am not going to put any more because you have to read it to see what happens next, but don’t moments like that just make you think “aww, they are so cute!”? Well, that is what goes through my head at least. They have such an innocent and sweet relationship. I really want them to work through the issues keeping them apart so they can be together, but I think only time will reveal how their relationship will develop.

As for the plot, I get so involved in these books and read them so quickly I am almost done before I come up for a breath. There is always so much going on and Jennifer has a way of sucking you in so deeply that you cannot even begin to try and put the book down. Gwen is being pursued by the Reapers and danger seems to wait around every corner for her. She is not sure who she can trust and there were quite a few plot twists thrown in there that I did not see coming at all. I did figure out some of the mysteries surrounding Gwen before she did, but I still relished watching her riddle it all out for herself. We also get a plethora of new information revealed to us and I could not believe some of the revelations Gwen uncovered.

I also enjoy the mix of mythology that is encompassed in this world. Greek, Egyptian, Roman, they all have a place here and the fusion of those any many more was fascinating. I have always been a lover of mythology and getting to see so many of them come together to make up one world is so intriguing and had me soaking up every the detail Jennifer gave to us.

Overall, this is another thrilling edition to this series and I enjoyed every minute of it. Jennifer gives you a little bit of everything, a budding romance that you can cheer for, an adorable and resilient main character, a cast of lovable secondary characters and an overall mystery that will keep you glued to the pages. I cannot wait for the next installment to see what Gwen will do with all the information she now possess. show less

Jennifer Estep delivers a fun, action-packed sequel to Touch of Frost with Kiss of Frost. This second book picks up shortly after the first with Gwen learning how to fight from her crush (and hot Spartan), Logan Quinn.

As with the first book, Estep effortlessly weaves mystery and mythology together creating a story that's hard to put down. After the events at the end of book one, Gwen knows she may be the target from those wanting to get revenge and it's not too long before she is attacked. She has to find out who wants to kill her and she has to do it fast.

Gwen Frost is an extremely likable character. On the surface, she seems like the most ordinary girl in a school in a school full of rich, spoiled superheroes but her psychometry show more (ability to know an object's history by touching it) gives her character a lot more depth. In Kiss of Frost, we get to see more of Gwen's ability at work, which is nice. We also find out more information about the Chaos War and Gwen's role as Nike's champion.

The secondary characters are well written, especially Vic, Gwen's bloodthirsty, talking sword. I love him! While I was happy with Gwen and Logan's relationship at the end of the book, I want more! Jennifer Estep writes the opposite of insta-love: characters that are perfect for each other, have awesome, tension filled interactions but take forever to get together! It's been fun seeing these two deny their feelings and I am very excited to see where the story takes them in Dark Frost, which will be published in June.

While the mystery in Kiss of Frost was a bit more predictable than in Touch of Frost, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. This series has romance, action and excitement. Can't wait to see what Estep has in store for us next.

Content: Profanity, kissing, underage drinking and violence. show less

I remember reading the first book, Touch of Frost, back in August and liking it more than I expected. But this book? It blew the first one away. (And I really like the cover of this one :P)

Gwen Frost is a very real character to me. Her reactions were realistic, and her emotions always made sense to me. She's a very determined character, and that's something I like about her. She doesn't let other people fight her battles for her, but she also acknowledges that sometimes she needs help and she lets people give it to her.

As for Logan Quinn? Not only do I totally love him, I also loved getting to find out a little more about his past. I hated that he never really explained what he was doing with Savannah, though - sure, he talked to Gwen show more about it a little bit, but he never really gave any reasons as to why he was going out with her when we all know he likes Gwen >.o Logan and Gwen spent the first book dancing around each other, and the same can be said for Kiss of Frost - but this time, it's even better. No matter how much I want them to just rip off each other's clothes and get it over with already.

I have to admit, though. I think Vic might be my favorite character, regardless of the fact that he's a talking sword. There was not nearly enough of him in Kiss of Frost. I really hope he's in the third book more.

And of course, what would a Mythos Academy novel be without a Reaper trying to kill Gwen? I was kind of shocked about who it was, but once Gwen realized it and started to notice all the signs she missed, I went "Ohhhhh, yeah," right along with her. Now THAT'S what I call some good foreshadowing.

And I don't care if most people think it's cliche, but I love the fact that these books take place at a boarding school. I'm usually a fan of board school books, but Mythos Academy is fairly original, if you ask me. I can picture it all in my head, and I love the way it looks.

The only problem I had was that sometimes I had to force myself to read some paragraphs that I really just wanted to skip over. There was a lot of recapping from the first book that I didn't really want to read because, yes, I did read the first book, and yes, I do remember what happened. The first chapter of the third novel was also included in the e-ARC, and it seemed to do the same thing. Then again, what I believe is unnecessary recapping might be important for someone else. I just forced myself to read through those parts because I didn't want to miss anything :P

Overall: Kiss of Frost surpassed the first novel by a margin. The suspense was great, the characters were even better and more developed, and I loved the new characters that get involved. While my attention wandered a little bit during parts of the book, for the most part, I loved this and can't wait for the next one. Estep does a great job with descriptions - both of the action scenes and the setting in general. 4.5 stars. show less

Welcome back to Mythos Academy,

Home to the Valkyries, Amazons, Romans, Vikings and Spartans of the world, there's always bound to be some trouble lurking in the shadows. In Gwen's case that 'trouble' happens to be someone trying to kill her.

No wait, two people are trying to kill her; or at least that's how it feels to Gwen, because Logan freaking Quinn has got himself a girlfriend. A girlfriend he very much enjoys making out with. All the time.

As if that wasn't enough, our dear Gwendolyn Frost, local Gypsy girl, is dragged on a yearly trip to the winter carnival despite not wanting to go. Leading us into a winter wonderland you won't forget anytime soon..

So.. This reminded me of [b:Frostbite|2282133|Frostbite (Vampire Academy, show more #2)|Richelle Mead|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361098960s/2282133.jpg|6651004] by [a:Richelle Mead|137902|Richelle Mead|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1270374609p2/137902.jpg]. Not the entirety of the book, but certain aspects of it for sure. The whole winter resort theme for example, and the fact that the protagonist has a new love interest to distract herself from the person she really likes.. Who happens to train her in combat..

However, that didn't stop me from loving [b:Kiss of Frost|10421530|Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy, #2)|Jennifer Estep|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310420615s/10421530.jpg|15324210]. I mean let's face it I'm so in love with the [b:Vampire Academy|345627|Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1)|Richelle Mead|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361098973s/345627.jpg|335933] series that anything even remotely similar is going to make me fangirl..

And um there's the whole..

Yes, I did just spend ten minutes (it was more like fifteen..) making that .GIF Feel free to judge me. But it got the point across perfectly ;)

So, I was saying..
LOGAN has gotten himself a girlfriend; a gorgeous Amazon, Savanah Warren. As you can imagine, Gwen does not take this so well. She doesn't put an arrow in his ass as she claims her best friend Daphne Cruz would have; but needless to say she's upset. Upset with him for dating Savanah and just as equally upset with herself for still harboring feelings for the Spartan. It's after seeing them together for the first time that she discovers another aspect of her psychometry magic. The ability to mimic actions from other's memories. A neat trick I'm sure we'd all like to possess. I mean can you imagine simply shaking hands with an olympic standard archer and instantly being capable of winning gold? Definitely going on my Christmas list!

Unfortunately for Gwen, that's really the last of her worries.. Judging by the way she's almost run over when visiting Grandma Frost and then shot at in the Library of Antiquities she's really in for some trouble..

Not to mention Daphne manages to convince her to go to the Winter Carnival. Even though she can't ski. And really just wants to curl up in her room and read her comic books. But no, her Valkyrie best friend will have none of that and Gwendolyn is all but thrown into the snow.


But don't fret! For there's a solution to all most of Gwen's problems!
1) She can distract herself from the crushing hurt she feels around Logan and his new squeeze with the handsome Preston who she instantly connects with!
2) The newfound ability allows Gwen to instantly know how to ski!

But that whole someone-out-to-get-her thing is really sticking.

Sigh..

I'd like to say that [b:Kiss of Frost|10421530|Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy, #2)|Jennifer Estep|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310420615s/10421530.jpg|15324210] had no flaws. I;d be lying though, and I'd really rather not.. I'll be the first to admit that yes, it was predictive. In moments when [a:Jennifer Estep|580315|Jennifer Estep|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1264385515p2/580315.jpg] probably hoped for me to have this reation:

WHAAAAAAAAAAT?? NO! THIS MUST BE A JOKE!!

I instead kind of just sat there like:

Yes, I believe I predicted this. Perhaps I have my own Gypsy magic Mrs Estep?

But truthfully, I'd recommend [b:Kiss of Frost|10421530|Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy, #2)|Jennifer Estep|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1310420615s/10421530.jpg|15324210] to anyone who likes Mythology, Mystery or just plain old Romance!

To sum up..

Full of some downright awesome fight scenes!


Some good old jealousy:


And maybe even some intense scenes with a certain Mr Quinn..

Over & Out, T xx show less