Book #77 - Dark Frost (Mythos Academy #3)

Dark Frost (Mythos Academy #3), Jennifer Estep
336 pages
urban fantasy, paranormal romance
Started 7/13/12
Finished 7/15/12
4.5 STARS

Boy, Dark Frost starts off with a bang. And a clash, bam, whomp, and screech. Seriously - it's exciting right off the bat and the action doesn't let up. Good Lord - it sounds like I'm talking about Die Hard and not a YA book.

So, the baddies are still trying to raise Loki, and now they're closer than ever. Only one more step to take - and Gwen has the key to that final step. So, of course that makes her Reaper Enemy Numero Uno. Luckily, she has her badass friends, including her kinda-sorta boyfriend Logan, to back her up. And, of course, her own powers are multiplying and amplifying every day, it seems.

Like I said - Dark Frost is exciting from beginning to end. Despite some seriously heinous attacks by the Reapers of Chaos, life still gets back to a semblance of normalcy at Mythos Academy. Gwen returns to her sparring with Logan and his friends and her classes. But, there is an undercurrent of stress and urgency that flows throughout the pages. Gwen feels responsible for saving her friends and measuring up to the standards that she feels Nike has placed upon her shoulders. And, I felt that from her as I was reading. I love books that make me feel what the characters are feeling. Estep has achieved that in spades.

I felt Gwen's struggle to honor her mother's memory. Her love for Logan and frustration when things weren't right with him. Her desire to protect her friends and family from the enemy. Her hopelessness when she felt that all was lost. I cried at her sadness and laughed at her snarkiness. Bravo Ms. Estep.