Touch of 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 clichÃ?Æ?Ã?©. 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 clichÃ?Æ?Ã?© 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 clichÃ?Æ?Ã?©d 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 libraryshow more

Find Full Review at http://www.readingangel.com/2011/08/touch-of-frost-by-jennifer-estep-review.html Touch of Frost was a book I was quite excited to dig into. Magic, an academy, myths, and warriors?? Sounds like a mix of a lot of my favorite things from books! How can you go wrong? Well, Jennifer Estep did not! Touch of Frost was a great read, and I enjoyed it very much.show more

Gwen Frost is sent to Mythos Academy to learn about her gypsy powers. Her ability which is thru touch and allows her get pictures, emotions, and background from objects and people she touches (which you can about imagine her dating life is non-existent). Her grandmother thinks it is best since Gwen's mother died and we get the feeling that grandma knows something we don't . Once instilled at the Academy, she finds herself alone even though she is surrounded by many students but everyone seems to be paired by what they are and since she is the only Gypsy she is a little on the outside looking in. There are Spartans (enter Logan Quinn!!), Amazons, Romans, and Valkryies all warriors are the last line of defense if the Chaos War comes about, which it seems is quite imminent. Now a student is dead and the Bowl of Tears, an artifact used to bring about the Chaos War is missing. Gwen's sleuthly side comes out and she gets her Nancy Drew on to solve this case before something worse happens. Gwen Frost is my new favorite heroine and Logan Quinn is definitely a hot bad boy (my favorite). Like Estep's heroine from her Elemental Assassin series, Gwen is a feisty and snarky and in the heat of battle always has to inject humorous comments. The soft side of Gwen comes when we learn about the death of her mother and the love of her grandmother. With the new rise in mythology based fantasy books, I personally have not been a huge fan. But, Estep introduces us to the myths and legends without overwhelming the reader with a history lesson. Since Gwen isn't as up on her history as she should be before attending Mythos Academy, we learn along with her. Fantastic first book in a series that I will be anxiously awaiting to read! Highly recommended for YA readers but with a cautionary warning: there are parts of the story that touches on the child molestation of a friend of Gwen.show more

Touch of Frost By Jennifer Estep Copyright August 2011 Publisher Kensington Teen 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. . . Gwen is a typical 17 yr old teen, she went to public high school, had friends and was a 4.0 GPA student. Gwen is also very special. She can find lost objects and also read the history of not only what she touches, but also the people who touched that item. Her world went all to hell after the death of her mom, and she is dropped into Mythos Academy with no explanations or discussions by her grandmother (her only living relative). She finds herself in a school with student who believe not only in magic, but in the actual existence or "The Gods and Goddesses" of myth and legend. I could continue with a long synopses but all I can tell you is that I loved the book. I'm a big fan of Ms. Estep's writing and feel that this new venture will be just as successful for her as it will be entertaining and fulfilling for you the reads. If you like adventure, YA Stories, and Supernatural action then this book and the series to follow are right up your alley. I highly recommend this series. You can find Jennifer Estep hanging out at http://www.jenniferestep.com/ and also at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=602520919&sk=info FTC Full Disclosure: This book was sent to me by the publisher in return for a fair and unbiased review.show more

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Acad�??�?�­emy - a school of myths, magic and war�??�?�­rior whiz kids, where even the lowli�??�?�­est geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spar�??�?�­tan guy in school, also hap�??�?�­pens to be the deadliest. But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jas�??�?�­mine Ash�??�?�­ton was mur�??�?�­dered in the Library of Antiq�??�?�­ui�??�?�­ties. Then, some�??�?�­one stole the Bowl of Tears, a mag�??�?�­i�??�?�­cal arti�??�?�­fact that can be used to bring about the sec�??�?�­ond Chaos War. You know, death, destruc�??�?�­tion and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm deter�??�?�­mined to find out who killed Jas�??�?�­mine and why - espe�??�?�­cially since I should have been the one who died..show more