by Jennifer Estep
Paperback, 350 pages
Published July 26th 2011 by Kensington Publishing Corporation
ISBN 0758266928 (ISBN13: 9780758266927)
Summary:
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. . .
Review:
I like all kinds of mythologies, but no YA mythology has caught my attention so far. I thought Touch of Frost was going to be 'that' book. It showed a very promising start and I found myself quickly intrigued with Gwen's ability and attached to her character. I like that even though she was an outcast and didn't have a single friend, she was fine with it and she acted as if it was normal. Daphne was a likable character too. She's pretty, bitchy and popular and has a huge crush on a geek. And Logan, oh! I fell in love with him even before the book started.
I really would have given this a four or a four point five but sadly, the plot took a turn into the wrong the direction and then it just got lost to me somehow. I can't exactly point out on what part the story started taking a downspiral however, the romance did help on that.
It's funny because there's not so much romance here but what little of it the book has managed to get on my nerves. The romance was not technically an insta-love or insta-attraction. The supposed falling in love happened about halfway through, but given the fact that Logan and Gwen didn’t meet a lot before it, I guess it did border on insta-love, regardless if it was one-sided. I think it would’ve been okay if it were realistic, but it just didn’t feel spontaneous. It was also hard to buy the other coincidences. Again, I wouldn’t have any problems with it, but the execution of those scenes made for quite hard to believe scenarios.
Towards the end though, the book redeemed itself. The twist was unpredictable. At first, I thought I had it all figured out, so it was a pleasant surprise to have proved myself wrong. Overall, Touch of Frost is a nice quick read that I'm sure will appeal to UF readers.
Rating: 3/5 stars
I have read mostly good reviews about this one, but not good enough to be AWESOME MUST READ. I guess that's why I have put it aside for so long already XD. Yet, I am glad the twist is unpredictable and that the romance is not insta-love!!
ReplyDeleteawesome review my dear!! thanks for the honesty =)
muah!!
Yeah, the ending managed to surprise me too. Just thought I'd let you know that book 2's villain is very predictable.
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, the romance is kind of a little insta-love. I still really liked it though. The best thing about the series is Gwen. I love her personality!
Oh no! I'm sorry you didn't like this book as much as you hoped you would, Chel! I've only heard the coolest things about this series lately so I think that it's kind of nice to read a review from someone who didn't enjoy it as much. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, Chel! :) LOL and I think the same thing sometimes! The characters have to have a reason to fall for each other, because just not admitting to love in the first few encounters doesn't rule out insta-love! x)
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any Jennifer Estep, I need to get started on some of her works.This one didn't grab you as much as you thought it would. I have felt like that with Kim Harrison, but I am plodding along through her Rachel Morgan series.
Michelle