finia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
shelfaddiction's review against another edition
4.0
Dark Frost was a fun, fast paced read. I had just finished up a more complex book and this was a wonderful change of pace. After finishing this book, I was even more motivated to finally read Jennifer Estep's adult series. So instead of putting it off, I'll be reading the first book in her Elemental Assassins series next month. I'm curious to see if her writing style is similar with the adult content.
Back to this book. As always, I enjoyed reading about all of the gods and goddesses, champions, reapers, the skilled students of Mythos, etc. There aren't too many books in the Urban Fantasy genre that aren't packed with vampires and werewolves or witches. Which makes these books all the more appealing. The story flows and even though it may be slightly predictable, if you keep in mind the audience, that shouldn't bother you.
I may have said this in a previous review, but it does help that the students at Mythos Academy start at age 16, up to 21. Gwen's group seems to be 17+, so there really aren't any young kinds in the books. That's a good think because it makes the situations that Gwen and her friends find themselves in more believable. The adults at the academy are not only present but help to train and fight the war against the Reapers. In this book Gwen finds out a lot more about her psychometry magic and abilities. Even though Gwen thinks that her type of magic is sort of weak, really she has bad ass abilities. Once she figures them all out, she'll be one scary opponent. Which she'll need to be to accomplish the ultimate task that has been handed to her.
Of course, anyone who has read the previous books wants to know what happens with Gwen and Logan?!?! Well, finally they get their chance! It's been a long time coming and finally, at the end of the book, Gwen gets a little glimpse of happiness when she and Logan actually start dating. I wonder how long that bliss will last into the next book.
Gwen's best friend Daphne also gets some development in this book too. She finds that she has the power to heal others. Not exactly what she wanted and she acts out in a bratty way, which is slightly annoying. We find out the whole story about Logan, which if you put two and two together, you already know what happened in his past. We also get the scoop on why Nickamedes seems to dislike Gwen so much. Very interesting! I even love the whole story line of the Fenrir wolf, Nott and her baby wolf Nyx,
There was a slight twist when we it's revealed who Loki's Champion, aka Reaper girl, is! I won't tell who it is, but it's probably not who you'd think.
The character building and world building were great. I didn't feel that anything was missing and the pace was just right. I read the first chapter of the next book, Crimson Frost, and it seems promising. Too bad I have to wait until January to read it!
A few of my favorite quotes from the book:
"It was comforting to know that no matter how bad things got, some things would never, ever change."
"Well," he said, "At least I had the pleasure of killing you tonight. That's something, I suppose."
Back to this book. As always, I enjoyed reading about all of the gods and goddesses, champions, reapers, the skilled students of Mythos, etc. There aren't too many books in the Urban Fantasy genre that aren't packed with vampires and werewolves or witches. Which makes these books all the more appealing. The story flows and even though it may be slightly predictable, if you keep in mind the audience, that shouldn't bother you.
I may have said this in a previous review, but it does help that the students at Mythos Academy start at age 16, up to 21. Gwen's group seems to be 17+, so there really aren't any young kinds in the books. That's a good think because it makes the situations that Gwen and her friends find themselves in more believable. The adults at the academy are not only present but help to train and fight the war against the Reapers. In this book Gwen finds out a lot more about her psychometry magic and abilities. Even though Gwen thinks that her type of magic is sort of weak, really she has bad ass abilities. Once she figures them all out, she'll be one scary opponent. Which she'll need to be to accomplish the ultimate task that has been handed to her.
Of course, anyone who has read the previous books wants to know what happens with Gwen and Logan?!?! Well, finally they get their chance! It's been a long time coming and finally, at the end of the book, Gwen gets a little glimpse of happiness when she and Logan actually start dating. I wonder how long that bliss will last into the next book.
Gwen's best friend Daphne also gets some development in this book too. She finds that she has the power to heal others. Not exactly what she wanted and she acts out in a bratty way, which is slightly annoying. We find out the whole story about Logan, which if you put two and two together, you already know what happened in his past. We also get the scoop on why Nickamedes seems to dislike Gwen so much. Very interesting! I even love the whole story line of the Fenrir wolf, Nott and her baby wolf Nyx,
There was a slight twist when we it's revealed who Loki's Champion, aka Reaper girl, is! I won't tell who it is, but it's probably not who you'd think.
The character building and world building were great. I didn't feel that anything was missing and the pace was just right. I read the first chapter of the next book, Crimson Frost, and it seems promising. Too bad I have to wait until January to read it!
A few of my favorite quotes from the book:
"It was comforting to know that no matter how bad things got, some things would never, ever change."
"Well," he said, "At least I had the pleasure of killing you tonight. That's something, I suppose."
bibblanmadde's review against another edition
5.0
Jag avgudar den här serien, verkligen avgudar den. Jag vet inte vad som är så speciellt med den men den har någon magi som gör att man bara dras sig in i historien. Boken vara bara för spännande och man kunde och ville inte lägga ifrån sig den. Den här boken var även inte lika förutsebar som de andra böckerna vilket gör att boken för ännu mer plus poäng!
Spoiler
Och äntligen blev det Gwen och Logan, på tiden!sarah_meyr's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sara_evaney's review against another edition
3.0
Well, well, well, it's not getting any better, is it?
This book pretends to be all mysterious, but really it's not. It's predictable as heck.
When they first introduced Vivian, I instantly one she'd be the one who tries to kill Gwen in this book. A new girl that seems all nice and has never been mentioned before? Perfect choice.
I don't understand a lot of things though.
1. Gwen recognized Loki's champion in the museum because of her voice. Then why would she even think anyone with a different voice (Savannah or Vivian) could be the girl she's looking for? Yes, it turned out Vivian manipulated her voice, but Gwen never considered anything like that.
2. Why even look for the dagger when it's in a perfectly good spot where no one has found it?
3. Where is Nick in her mother's diary? I'm sure she would've maybe mentioned her best friend in it or have at least some memories with him in it connected to the diary. (That is so Snape and Lily though, very dumb. )
4. Who the fuck are these mighty people of Mythos that are mentioned every two pages and can we pleaaaase stop mentioning them?!
Oh and then I have some other problems with this book:
The gods aren't godly at all!
If Gwen is gonna go on a pity trip I'm gonna throw the next book against a wall.
If Gwen won't stop seeing herself as a monster because she killed Preston, I'm gonna throw the book out of the window. There is absolutely no risk that she will accidentally kill someone by simply touching them. It took so long to kill Preston and she actively tried to take all of his magic (btw why did it heal her when he didn't even have the healing powers?).
Embrace your freaking powers, girl!
And stop getting new powers in every book!
Oh and get on with the Logan love story. Either you are finally happy together or get over him, but this middle stage is verrry annoying!
There is one thing I love though and that is Nott and Nyx!
This book pretends to be all mysterious, but really it's not. It's predictable as heck.
When they first introduced Vivian, I instantly one she'd be the one who tries to kill Gwen in this book. A new girl that seems all nice and has never been mentioned before? Perfect choice.
I don't understand a lot of things though.
1. Gwen recognized Loki's champion in the museum because of her voice. Then why would she even think anyone with a different voice (Savannah or Vivian) could be the girl she's looking for? Yes, it turned out Vivian manipulated her voice, but Gwen never considered anything like that.
2. Why even look for the dagger when it's in a perfectly good spot where no one has found it?
3. Where is Nick in her mother's diary? I'm sure she would've maybe mentioned her best friend in it or have at least some memories with him in it connected to the diary. (That is so Snape and Lily though, very dumb. )
4. Who the fuck are these mighty people of Mythos that are mentioned every two pages and can we pleaaaase stop mentioning them?!
Oh and then I have some other problems with this book:
The gods aren't godly at all!
If Gwen is gonna go on a pity trip I'm gonna throw the next book against a wall.
If Gwen won't stop seeing herself as a monster because she killed Preston, I'm gonna throw the book out of the window. There is absolutely no risk that she will accidentally kill someone by simply touching them. It took so long to kill Preston and she actively tried to take all of his magic (btw why did it heal her when he didn't even have the healing powers?).
Embrace your freaking powers, girl!
And stop getting new powers in every book!
Oh and get on with the Logan love story. Either you are finally happy together or get over him, but this middle stage is verrry annoying!
There is one thing I love though and that is Nott and Nyx!
zoe_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
3.0
Es hat einige fast schon schmerzhaft kitschige Stellen, dafür aber ist die ganze Angelegenheit mit dem konstanten Slut-Shaming vorrüber. Finde es auch ganz interessant, dass Estep (gilt auch für die vorherigen Bücher) den Spannungsbogen circa 100 Seiten vor dem Ende des Buches zu einen Crescendo führt und sich danach um die Konsequenzen davon kümmert und schonmal andeutet, was im nächsten Buch los sein könnte. Nur werde ich leider nochmal eine Woche darauf warten müssen. Wobei, wenn ich mich korrekt erinnere wird das nächste Buch sehr frustrierend und mühsam.
thegeekyblogger's review against another edition
4.0
Listened for Review (Brilliance Audio)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 3.50
Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not Part of the Overall Rating)
First Thought when Finished: The original part of Dark Frost was ROCKSTAR but the "rehashing" of previous stories was over done (I don't know why but in this one it really stood out).
Story Thoughts: Here is the deal: I loved the original part of the story. I thought it was the strongest to date and everything worked out perfectly. Gwen had to step up her game and really come into her own as Champion. She also had friend issues, boy issues, and school issues to work through and with that much on her plate I was surprised she held it together as well as she did. There was action and a pretty good little mystery to figure out. I wasn't stunned by the culprit but still think it was very well played. My problem is that 40% of the book was repeating stuff from previous books or in two cases things that happened at the beginning of this book. That was a bit overkill and took away from the enjoyment of the story.
Character Thoughts: I love the kids of Mythos Academy. As far as teenagers go, these kids are alright. The angst is manageable and believable. Gwen is an excellent central character. She loves her grandmother, she is smart, she has strong role models (in the form a teacher), she has a core group of friends, and appears to have a good head on her shoulders. She has all the typical teenage stuff to deal with along with being chosen as a Champion. She handles it all pretty well! The people that who surround her are pretty interesting too. Characters are where Jennifer Estep shines! I simply haven't read a character of hers that I thought was one-dimensional. That is brilliant!
Audio Thoughts:
This is one of those series where the narration has grown on me! Tara is now who I hear as Gwen even if I pick up the book version. Her pacing, emotion, and "oomph" are a good match for the kids at Mythos Academy. I will continue this series in audio!
Final Thoughts: I can't wait to see what adventures Gwen and her friends continue to have!
Overall Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 3.50
Audio Rating: 4.00 (Not Part of the Overall Rating)
First Thought when Finished: The original part of Dark Frost was ROCKSTAR but the "rehashing" of previous stories was over done (I don't know why but in this one it really stood out).
Story Thoughts: Here is the deal: I loved the original part of the story. I thought it was the strongest to date and everything worked out perfectly. Gwen had to step up her game and really come into her own as Champion. She also had friend issues, boy issues, and school issues to work through and with that much on her plate I was surprised she held it together as well as she did. There was action and a pretty good little mystery to figure out. I wasn't stunned by the culprit but still think it was very well played. My problem is that 40% of the book was repeating stuff from previous books or in two cases things that happened at the beginning of this book. That was a bit overkill and took away from the enjoyment of the story.
Character Thoughts: I love the kids of Mythos Academy. As far as teenagers go, these kids are alright. The angst is manageable and believable. Gwen is an excellent central character. She loves her grandmother, she is smart, she has strong role models (in the form a teacher), she has a core group of friends, and appears to have a good head on her shoulders. She has all the typical teenage stuff to deal with along with being chosen as a Champion. She handles it all pretty well! The people that who surround her are pretty interesting too. Characters are where Jennifer Estep shines! I simply haven't read a character of hers that I thought was one-dimensional. That is brilliant!
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated by Tara Sands / Running Time 10 hrs and 26 mins
This is one of those series where the narration has grown on me! Tara is now who I hear as Gwen even if I pick up the book version. Her pacing, emotion, and "oomph" are a good match for the kids at Mythos Academy. I will continue this series in audio!
Final Thoughts: I can't wait to see what adventures Gwen and her friends continue to have!
mrose21's review
4.0
This book helped to redeem the series.
GUESS WHAT SOMETHING HAPPENED!!!
Further than book one, I feel reviews are hard to write without spoilers so I'll keep this review to a minimum to avoid ruining it for everyone.
Basically the predictability carries on, she does what I knew would happen and it wasn't her fault as such but it kinda is. If she wasn't so damn hung up on her boyfriend or lack of boyfriend she would have known what was going on. I mean really really really it was sort of obvious something was going on if she kept seeing things that weren't there... Again this makes me think back to the first book where it was exactly the same.
With Gwen's power she can see things which to me is the best power, I am super glad she got this. However she is a little thick sometimes and so smart the rest of the time...
Now my dog lover trait springs into action in this book and I knew I just knew it was going to end in tears because for some reason the authors of mysterious books like this have to introduce some lovable bad creature. And take it away from me. However it isn't all that bad.
Oh and a silent thank you to Logan for shouting at Gwen although you could start to be nicer, as I hate you as much as her right now.
I feel this book could be counted as the end of the bad part where crap wasn't done and Gwen basically ran around like a headless chicken and she gets herself together and actually acts like a champion that we know she is supposed to be. I feel or rather hope it is done on purpose for her to then become something amazing which she is constantly told she is by her professor. (Also waiting for that to happen to, I know it will) and so thus I am looking forward to the next book and I hope it meets expectations.
Its funny though, I hate both reads yet I'm reading the series and somehow not hating it that much... Or at least this book, this book wasn't that bad although why does the sword talk much less speak in a British accent. Why is that always an American author's way to go when something unusual is affoot, like a talking sword..?
Jennifer "Lets make the sword British"
Publisher: "Why?"
Jennifer: "Because British that is why"
Mental forehead smack right here. Oh and
GUESS WHAT SOMETHING HAPPENED!!!
Further than book one, I feel reviews are hard to write without spoilers so I'll keep this review to a minimum to avoid ruining it for everyone.
Basically the predictability carries on, she does what I knew would happen and it wasn't her fault as such but it kinda is. If she wasn't so damn hung up on her boyfriend or lack of boyfriend she would have known what was going on. I mean really really really it was sort of obvious something was going on if she kept seeing things that weren't there... Again this makes me think back to the first book where it was exactly the same.
With Gwen's power she can see things which to me is the best power, I am super glad she got this. However she is a little thick sometimes and so smart the rest of the time...
Now my dog lover trait springs into action in this book and I knew I just knew it was going to end in tears because for some reason the authors of mysterious books like this have to introduce some lovable bad creature. And take it away from me. However it isn't all that bad.
Oh and a silent thank you to Logan for shouting at Gwen although you could start to be nicer, as I hate you as much as her right now.
I feel this book could be counted as the end of the bad part where crap wasn't done and Gwen basically ran around like a headless chicken and she gets herself together and actually acts like a champion that we know she is supposed to be. I feel or rather hope it is done on purpose for her to then become something amazing which she is constantly told she is by her professor. (Also waiting for that to happen to, I know it will) and so thus I am looking forward to the next book and I hope it meets expectations.
Its funny though, I hate both reads yet I'm reading the series and somehow not hating it that much... Or at least this book, this book wasn't that bad although why does the sword talk much less speak in a British accent. Why is that always an American author's way to go when something unusual is affoot, like a talking sword..?
Jennifer "Lets make the sword British"
Publisher: "Why?"
Jennifer: "Because British that is why"
Mental forehead smack right here. Oh and