Book Review: Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1)
Author: Jennifer Estep
Publication Date: July 26, 2011
Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Genre/Category: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

Summary on Goodreads:

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. . .

My Thoughts:

Touch of Frost is the first book of the Mythos Academy series. All the students in the school claimed to be descendants of different mythological creatures and are being trained to be great warriors to protect and prevent the second Chaos war. Gwen is a gypsy and gifted with the power of touch--a power to see and feel other people's life and emotions by touching a person or an object. But she still questioned her identity and couldn't understand why someone like her needs to go to the academy. She doesn't even feel that she belong there.

The first time I saw this book, I was so eager to read it. It has a good premise, a beautiful setting, and an interesting character that I so want to meet. I'm a sucker for a good love story, and I expected something nice out of this book. But I'd say that I was a little disappointed when I read it. This book lack of romance. I was desperately looking for something to blossom between the two main characters but I guess I need to wait until the next book. The pacing was slow at the beginning, and if you're not patient enough, you might get bored. There's also too much repetition of Gwen's thoughts. They were all the same throughout the story that's why I skipped a lot of parts. It's so hard for me to like Gwen. With all the proofs that surround her, how could she find it very difficult to believe the myths? She has the power and she's using it but she can't accept the truth that she's one of them. She's blind in almost everything and it doesn't help her become an effective heroine.

But don't get me wrong, this book is really good. The story is fascinating, the setting is beautiful, and the rest of the characters are interesting enough. In spite of the few issues I mentioned, I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to see how the author will pull everything together in the next book. I have a strong feeling that it will be way better than the first especially after you read the ending. I just hope that Gwen's character will improve, and we get to see more of Logan. There seems to be something about him that I want to figure out, aside from being a drop-dead gorgeous spartan, not to mention being the hottest guy in Mythos Academy. I'm excited to see how his relationship with Gwen will blossom into something special and interesting. 

Consider this book if you like fantasy and mythology with action, mysteries, and suspense.

My Rating: