Review: Midnight Frost

MIDNIGHT FROST
Mythos Academy #5
Jennifer Estep
Paranormal Young Adult
400 pages
Kensington Teen
Available July 30th
Source: ARC from author for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Here we go again …

Just when it seems life at Mythos Academy can’t get any more dangerous, the Reapers of Chaos manage to prove me wrong. It was just a typical night at the Library of Antiquities — until a Reaper tried to poison me. The good news is I’m still alive and kicking. The bad news is the Reaper poisoned someone else instead.

As Nike’s Champion, everyone expects me to lead the charge against the Reapers, even though I’m still hurting over what happened with Spartan warrior Logan Quinn. I’ve got to get my hands on the antidote fast — otherwise, an innocent person will die. But the only known cure is hidden in some creepy ruins — and the Reapers are sure to be waiting for me there …

MY THOUGHTS
As action-packed and engaging as we’ve come to expect from Ms. Estep, Midnight Frost is another fantastic addition to the Mythos Academy series, providing us with a complete story arc within the book itself while simultaneously furthering the larger arc of the battle against Loki. One of the highlights of Ms. Estep’s writing, and this series in particular, is that each installment brings something new to the table – an emotional revelation, a significant physical battle, or even better, a desirable combination of the two – to keep everything moving forward, and we’re never left feeling as though we’re simply biding our time during the build up of something larger to come down the line.

Gwen is hurting at the beginning of this fifth installment, Logan’s absence and the echoes of their battle haunting her dreams instantly snapping our bond to her back in place even after months apart, and our hearts easily take up the beat of the painful tune led by Gwen’s own. While she’s certainly upset that Logan left and finds her mind wandering to him often, she’s not lost without him, instead she continues on as she always has when life has dealt her a punishing blow (of which there have been many), his absence felt and mourned but not obsessed over. She has a group of loyal friends and a job to do being Nike’s champion, and she never once lets her broken heart redefine and reshape the girl she was before Logan left.

Because Gwen is such a strong young woman in her own right, our time with her is not spent simply waiting for Logan to reenter the picture as is sometimes the case when a main couple is separated, rather we are with her one hundred percent, as involved in her newest predicament as ever. When Logan does finally make an appearance, the way Gwen handles the situation has us attempting to high-five the book as though she might feel our pleasure and admiration through the pages. She lets him know in no uncertain terms how his leaving affected her, and forces him to acknowledge that he's not the only one scarred by Loki’s intimate violation. Though Gwen is angry, and rightfully so, she’s not so angry that she doesn’t recognize Logan’s pain and trample over it in favor of expressing her own, instead she’s able to put herself in his shoes and not add to the guilt and shame he’s already carrying.

Overall, Midnight Frost satisfies on every level as have all the books that came before it, and the Mythos Academy series continues to be one that encourages the procrastination of work and the forgoing of sleep in favor of reading.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Jennifer:

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This book was sent to me by the author free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

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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Character Interview + Giveaway: Logan Quinn and Kiss of Frost

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming oh-so attractively arrogant Logan Quinn to the blog to answer a few questions for me. Logan is a Spartan who attends Mythos Academy with Gwen Frost, the heroine of Jennifer Estep's fantastic paranormal young adult series. Today just happens to be release day for Kiss of Frost which is book two in the series, and I think most of you might know by now that I'm a bit of a hardcore Jennifer fangirl, so I really can't say enough good things about this book (you can read my review HERE). Welcome to Supernatural Snark Logan!

What aspect of weapons training and fighting would you say Gwen is best at? What does she struggle most with?

I would say the Gypsy girl is good at improvising. Just when you think you’ve finally defeated her, she manages to do something to completely surprise you and get back into the battle. Also, she always keeps fighting no matter what. I admire that about her.

The Gypsy girl has definitely struggled with just learning how to fight and how to move from one position to the next. She hasn’t been training her whole life like the other kids at Mythos have, and you can almost see her thinking about what comes next and how she needs to move to attack or defend herself.

But she’s made a lot of progress in a short amount of time, and I’m really proud of her.

We’ve only got a few brief flashes of your painful past these first two books. Do you ever see yourself fully opening up to Gwen or anyone else in the near future, or is that part of you going to remain a mystery for a while longer?

Um, well, you see … *falls silent* I don’t know. I don’t like to talk about my past—to anyone.

If you had to pick a regular profession—something that didn’t involve honing your Spartan skills or defending the world against Loki and his Reapers–what might you be most interested in doing?

I’d want to be a police officer, a fireman, a bodyguard, or maybe even a doctor. Something where I could help and protect other people.

What is your greatest fear or your happiest memory?

One of my favorite memories is the day that I first ran into the Gypsy girl out on the main quad at the academy. Or rather, when she ran into me. I had seen her around campus, but I’d never talked to her until then. I liked how smart and sassy she was. It made me want to know more about her, and I’m glad she ran into me that day.

You and Gwen have a deliciously tense and somewhat rocky relationship that’s a little bit addicting for us as readers. Is there any one moment with her you would change? Something you would say or not say if given the chance to do it over again?

I wish I had said something different when she first asked me out. I was really harsh to her, and I didn’t mean to be. It’s just that there are things I don’t want the Gypsy girl to know about me—things I don’t want anyone to know about me. But thanks to her psychometry magic, she could easily find out all my secrets with just a touch of her fingers—whether I want her to or not …

Who's in love with Logan? This girl. For more information on Jennifer and both the Mythos Academy series and her urban fantasy Elemental Assassin series, you can find her here:

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GIVEAWAY!

Jennifer is generously offering up a copy of Kiss of Frost to one lucky winner today! To enter, please just leave a comment and include a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to US residents only and will run through midnight EST on Friday, December 2nd after which time a winner will be chosen and announced on the blog. Good luck everyone!

KISS OF FROST

Logan Quinn was try­ing to kill me. My Spar­tan class­mate relent­lessly pur­sued me, swing­ing his sword at me over and over again, the shin­ing sil­ver blade inch­ing closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes prac­ti­cally glowed with the thrill of battle...

I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword...