DARK FROST by Jennifer Estep

Dark Frost
Jennifer Estep

Rating: A-
Release date: 05/29/12
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
 I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me—again. 

Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects—and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me? 

It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me—and I’m in for the fight of my life.

My thoughts on the book:

Dark Frost, Estep's action-packed third novel in the Mythos Academy Series, is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Gwen and her friends are back again, and while we don't get to see as much of Daphne and Carson this time, we do get to learn a lot more about Logan and Grandma Frost. Also, the wolf is back from the last book, and we get to know more about her. On top of all of that, the Reaper attacks start on page one. I spent at least 3/4 of the novel wondering if Gwen and her family and friends were going to make it.  

So with all of this wonderful suspense, why, you may ask, did I give this book an A- instead of an A+? Well the answer is simple. Gwen really annoyed me at some points, and she seemed a bit... well... dense. I tried to realize that it's easier for me to see what's going on, who's guilty, etc. when I'm on the outside looking in, but at the end of the day, she was still just really stupid. I'm not sure what happened to her to make her dumb in this book, but I think the whole thing could have been handled in a way that didn't make Gwen seem like she lost over half of her brain cells in between the last book and this one. As soon as everything had run its course and the next book had been set up, her intelligence seemed to come back. Maybe she was just really confused. She was facing things she'd never seen before, but it almost felt like some plot device. I'm trying to give Estep the benefit of a doubt with this, though, because I really do love her work. 

While Gwen did annoy me, she at least grew as a character throughout the novel. So did Logan. I was proud of both of them by the end of the book, and the ending tied everything up nicely and set up the next book. I also enjoyed getting to see more of Grandma Frost and learning more about her. She was always one of my favorite characters, so it was nice to get to see more of her. We also got to know Gwen's mom a bit more, even though she's dead. That kind of helped flesh out the memories of her mother that Gwen has. Also, we learned Logan's secrets. He's an idiot for part of the book as well, but he's a guy type of idiot. You'll see what I'm talking about when you pick up this copy. We also got to learn a bit more about Nickamedes and why he has a such a giant stick up his butt. My favorite addition, however, was the Fenrir Wolf. I was so glad to get to know her more, and Estep really did a beautiful job of showing how much difference an animal can make in a person's life. Gwen's interactions with the wolf had to be my favorite parts of the novel. 

The plot is intriguing, but I knew who the bad people were and what was going on long before Gwen did. I really feel that could have been handled a bit differently, but the action kept me turning the pages. I had to see who was going to die when, or if anyone was. There were a lot of fight scenes. The scenes weren't graphic, thankfully, but they did hold my interest. There was a certain feel of urgency throughout the novel that definitely kept me hooked until the very end. The pacing was spot-on, and I didn't feel that the story lagged anywhere. There was no real cliff-hanger, but there is a major thing that's unresolved. However, that thing may not be resolved for many books to come. 

Overall I enjoyed this book, and I feel that it makes a terrific edition to the series. If you're a fan of mythology, or paranormal romance, then you'll want to pick this book up for sure, and if you're a fan of the Mythos Academy series already, then you cannot miss this novel!

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