Jennifer Estep - Kiss of Frost

So I've read normal books recently, I've read some really odds ones set in another reality, and I've read dystopic/post-apocalyptic ones and now for a magical high school based one that I do have a tendency to read along with all the other weirdness.

Kiss of Frost is the second book in Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy which focuses on Gwendolyn "Gwen" Frost, a Gypsy girl with psychometric magic who became Nike's warrior in the previous book at Mythos Academy, a place that trains young men and women to fight against Reapers who are warriors of Loki and want to release Loki from his prison.  Previously, Gwen had no friends at the school until she develops a friendship with the Valkyrie Daphne and her new boyfriend Carson after Gwen helps Carson find something he's lost.  As she's new to this school, Gwen is still out of place because she's not been training as long as the other students to be a warrior who have been training since they were children.  In the previous book, Gwen fights with a student who is a Reaper in disguise and wants to release Loki and intends to sacrifice anyone to do it.  During this fight, Logan Quinn the Spartan, who Gwen has a crush on, saves her and helps defeat the Reaper, saving the school and the world from Loki's chaos.

Rating: 7

Recommended To: Those that liked the House of Night series and Starcrossed series

Favourite Characters: Vic - sarcastic and bloodthirsty like last time; Oliver and Logan - both heroic but for different reasons

Favourite Part: Part of me was thinking about Logan, but the other part of me was thinking about Daphne[.] [...] Daphne was great with a bow. [...] An image flickered in my mind then, one of Daphne using the bow, instead of me-              
[...]
"Yeah, come on, Gwen, while we're all still young," Oliver sneered.       
My anger flared up to supernova level at Oliver's snarky tone, so much so that I didn't think - I just let go.     
THUNK!
The arrow hit the target dead center - perfect in the middle of the black bull's eye. - Page 17

Good Points: Taking the story out of the Academy; Oliver's character development; would almost be a funny story if Gwen's life wasn't in jeopardy permanently

Bad Points: Felt a bit repetitive; the identity of the Reaper was a bit obvious

Kiss of Frost picks up a few months after Touch of Frost as Gwen is training with Logan and his fellow Spartans so that can improve her fighting skills up to the standard of the other students to defeat Reapers or at least so that she can defend herself until someone can help her out.  After her training session and a visit to her grandmother, Gwen goes to the library for her job where she is shot at with an arrow which scares Gwen as she begins to believe a Reaper is after her yet again.  When she tells Daphne, her Valkyrie refuses to allow her to stay at the academy alone and insists she comes to the Winter Carnival everyone is going to because she’ll be safe with all the teachers and staff there as well as Gwen's friends, Daphne, Carson, and Logan.  Or so they all think.

After setting the first book inside the academy apart from the occasional trips outside to Gwen's grandmother's house, it was great idea on Estep's behalf to mix up the setting by going outside of the academy but still include all of the academy characters so the reader can see them in a different environment for a school event where there are less restrictions.  This allows potential for characters to come out of their shells more as they interact with others like them through parties and socialising rather than being stuck in a classroom or inside the library.  Taking them out of the academies also opened the students to more threats in a way as they are out in the open, away from the protection of the school, and could be more likely hurt by Reapers which I found interesting because I wanted to see how other characters fair against Reapers and fortunately, Estep fulfilled this desire.

What really struck me was Oliver's character development in this book; Oliver is one of Logan's friends who has been roped into helping Logan train Gwen so that she can fight better through hand-to-hand combat and weaponry and initially, he is standoffish but by the end of the book, he eventually opens up to Gwen and has become a potential friend to Gwen.  The way Estep wrote his character and explained his behaviour through his conversations with Gwen, I began to understand him better and why he was so offhand with Gwen which lead to him growing on me very quickly; this is much like Gwen's relationship with Daphne which was rocky at the start and I feel that Estep is continuing to expand Gwen's social circle so that she is less of an oddball at Mythos Academy.

One thought I had while reading this book was that if Gwen's life wasn't in jeopardy permanently, this series would be quite humorous which, while sounds strange, seems to work well in this series as Estep tries to keep the series light enough so you aren't completely depressed when reading.  This is how a young adult fiction book should be; light-hearted in parts, making it enjoyable and engaging, yet with a few darker elements to bring conflict in an otherwise interesting world that provides an escape for an hour or so.

Yet again there is only a brief appearance of Vic but I still love him, he is one of my favourite characters as he hasn't changed which is good because he's old sword which isn't really supposed to be alive.  The fact that he is a sword and Gwen and Daphne actually talk to him makes this series stand out for me because it's different from other young adult novels I've read as I've said before.  I love the contrast of his character in comparison to Gwen's as well as they make a great warrior combo as he brings the bloodthirsty and sarcastic elements that Gwen seems to lack while Gwen is the human element who holds back when she believes it is the right thing to do and the strength to manoeuvre him.

I have two other characters that I liked in this book as well and I decided to combine them because I've already spoken about one in this review and I like them for the same reason; they both are heroic in this story though under different circumstances.  Logan is just like how he was in the first book, running in to help Gwen when she needs him most to fight the Reaper and tries to do his best to ensure she is safe and protected because she isn't as skilled as any of the other students while Oliver sacrifices himself for Gwen and Logan in the fight with the Reaper so that they can get some of the teachers and ensure all of the students are safe rather than focussing on one person.  This particular moment when Oliver told Logan and Gwen to leave became the moment where he became one of my absolute favourite characters out of all of my books; it's impressive to see someone willing to give their life for others rather than just one person, it makes me believe that the world Estep has created doesn't completely revolve around the main character just like the real world doesn't revolve one person even if someone thinks it does.

One point I disliked about this book, along with others that have read this book, was that it felt a bit repetitive in moments as Gwen tells the reader all about her magic yet again in nearly the same way, explaining about how it works and what she does with it; it's good for those that just picked up the second one without even reading the first one but seems very strange to me.  Gwen also swoons over Logan and behaves the exact same way around him in this book like she did in the first despite the fact that they are now nearly friends; she tells the reader about his family and how he's probably the most popular boy yet again which seems unnecessary for a second book.

I'll try to not give away any spoilers now but the Reaper's identity was predictable for me when they first appeared in this book; Estep could have introduced them in the first book subtly and became friends with Gwen instead of in this book and so quickly, meaning it could have been more of a shock.  However, their motivation wasn't as obvious until they explained who they really were and why they did what they did through Gwen's magic.  Maybe it's not to make the story overcomplicated by having so many characters all at once but having an already established character as the Reaper would have been better in my opinion.

Part of me was thinking about Logan, but the other part of me was thinking about Daphne[.] [...] Daphne was great with a bow. [...] An image flickered in my mind then, one of Daphne using the bow, instead of me-              
[...]
"Yeah, come on, Gwen, while we're all still young," Oliver sneered.        
My anger flared up to supernova level at Oliver's snarky tone, so much so that I didn't think - I just let go.      
THUNK!
The arrow hit the target dead center - perfect in the middle of the black bull's eye. - Page 17

This was a wonderful moment in the book in my opinion because it showed Gwen actually embracing her heritage, allowing her powers to progress more and therefore made her grow as a character.  This made me wonder what she is going to capable of in the future and will hopefully be able to protect herself and others without depending on Logan who always appears in the nick of time.

While predictable in parts, overall this was an enjoyable book and a solid continuation in the series and while I see Loki coming into the story a bit more, I'm not completely sure how it's all going to pan out.  I am planning to read the rest of this series but you should see my book pile and I think the third one is right at the bottom so it might be a while yet.  I do recommend this series for anyone who likes young adult fantasy lovers and those that don't hate high school settings even though it's not a traditional school setting.

Predictions

1. Gwen's powers could continue to grow

2. Things don't go smoothly between Gwen and Logan
3. Gwen finally discovers Logan's secret but hides that she's found it out

Other Books by Jennifer Estep