Novella Reviews: Spartan Frost + Flirting With Maybe

SPARTAN FROST
Mythos Academy 4.5
Jennifer Estep
Paranormal Young Adult
60 pages
Kensington Teen
Available now
Source: from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
I'm Logan Quinn, the deadliest Spartan warrior at Mythos Academy. At least I was--until the day I almost killed Gwen Frost.

Professor Metis and Nickamedes say that I'm fine, that Loki and the Reapers don't have a hold on me anymore, but I can't risk it. I can't risk hurting Gwen again. So I'm leaving Mythos and going somewhere far, far away.

I know Gwen wonders what's happening to me, whether I'm safe. I can't tell her, but this is my story. . .

MY THOUGHTS
Spartan Frost is a treat for longtime fans of the Mythos Academy series, a peek into the inner workings of the mind of Logan Quinn at his most vulnerable in the aftermath of the events of Crimson Frost. Not only do we get access to a new and beautifully tragic character landscape–a light suddenly aimed at the dark corners of Logan's we’ve previously danced around–but we also get it at a time when we have the most to learn.

He’s closed off completely to us and Gwen at the end of Crimson Frost, more inaccessible than he’s ever been before as he runs mind, body, and soul from what happened, but with this little novella the door he slammed brutally shut in our faces creaks open ever so slightly, and we surge through with all the enthusiasm and love we have for this series in tow.

While nothing hugely significant happens plot-wise, obviously, we can’t help but feel utterly content with what we're given, simply all around thankful for our few brief moments with him. His pain, guilt, and shame are there for us to see, helping us to further understand why he chooses to hurt Gwen further by leaving her. Though we disagree wholeheartedly with the way he sees himself now, we’re unable to deny the strength of his fear, and can only look to Midnight Frost with a great deal of anticipation upon finishing, longing for the moment when Gwen will inevitably beat that fear of his into submission.

Rating: 4/5

Find Jennifer:
 
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FLIRTING WITH MAYBE
Wendy Higgins
Contemporary Young Adult
92 pages
HarperTeen Impulse
Available now
Source: from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
When sophomore Ryan "The Kid" McPhearson makes the Varsity baseball team, he finds himself submersed into the life of upperclassmen, and falling in love with senior Brooke Bennet. To Ryan she's his dream girl, perfect. Maybe to the outside world a two-year age difference doesn't matter, but this is high school. Everything matters.

Ryan soon realizes Brooke's life is not so perfect. He becomes her closest friend, her safe place to fall when she needs to escape. Ryan seems to be benched in the friend zone with no chance to bat.

Time is both a curse and a blessing. It ushers Brooke away to college, and Ryan into the arms of his first girlfriend. It alters Ryan from a kid to a high school graduate, ready to venture to college himself. But when Ryan sees Brooke again he realizes there are some things even time can't touch.

Though much has changed, one question still remains. Will the things that mattered in high school always stand between them?

MY THOUGHTS
Flirting With Maybe is a beautiful novella from Wendy Higgins, packing an emotional punch in a very short amount of time and giving us two impressively developed characters who ensure we’re invested in the outcome of their relationship from the very first page. The brightly colored cover and cute title suggest a story lighter in tone, but the reality of Brooke and Ryan’s friendship and romance is a bit darker than expected, the pain of a love unrequited for a time chipping away at us until we’re a gloriously lopsided, unstable mass that threatens to teeter over at the slightest touch.

Brooke is someone we want desperately to like from the beginning, Ryan’s feelings for her crystal clear and intensely genuine for someone as young as he is, but each page seems to slowly pull back the sheath on our claws, preparing them to cause serious damage if she keeps on the path she’s started down. She’s for all intents and purposes an addict in this story–her drug of choice being affection–and she constantly siphons it away from Ryan as their friendship hovers on the edge of something more for months and months, never giving anything back to replenish what she’s taken until she reaches the point where he nearly runs out of anything to give. Just before she lunges toward the final fix that will kill any lingering feelings between them, Ms. Higgins grants her a chance at redemption, and Ryan’s happiness proves to be infectious and impossible to ignore even if we still hold a small grudge against her.

While things do reach a satisfying conclusion in this novella, Ms. Higgins grants her readers an added gift in the form of an epilogue available on her blog, providing a more concrete future for this pair than is found in the story itself, and finally bringing the smile to our faces we’ve been dying for all along.

Rating: 4/5

Find Wendy:

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