TOUCH OF FROST by Jennifer Estep
Published August 1st, 2010 by K-Teen
350 Pages
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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. . .
Sometimes there are things where you read them or watch them or listen to them and you cannot quite figure out why you liked it as much as you did. For me, TOUCH OF FROST is one of those books. Many of my fellow bloggers had issues with this book. Several did not finish it. Meanwhile, I loved it. I know where people are coming from when they cite several issues with the book – an unclear plot, choppy dialogue, cliché characters and settings. For some reason, my love of this book and the fact I find it an ooey gooey fluffy pile of goodness transcended those issues and I came away from reading Jennifer Estep’s first foray into young adult fiction feeling very, very happy.
TOUCH OF FROST follows Gwen Frost, a loner/outcast who has recently come to Mythos Academy in Cypress Mountain, NC (aside: Cypress Mountain = Biltmore Forest, NC, no?), a school for Vikings, Valkyries, Amazons, and Spartans, among other supernatural creatures. They’re training to be warriors and defend the world from Loki and his Reapers, and poor Gwen doesn’t fit in yet again. Gwen’s gift is psychometry, reading the history of an item (or person) with just a touch. When a popular classmate is murdered and an artifact stolen, Gwen is the only one who cares to investigate.
So, what does TOUCH OF FROST have? Superpowers, mythology, an academy for teenagers born to be warriors, an outcast girl with a taste for comic books, and a murder mystery. And it also is not the most thought-provoking or original or anything story on the block. What it does have going for it is a fun story that is quick to read and amusing. And if you know me, you would know I am a big fan of quick and amusing and fun. This won’t be for everyone – if you are looking for something completely serious, you will be disappointed. TOUCH OF FROST is a fun book that you will devour with its wittiness, cute scenes, hot love interest (Logan Quinn is a very interesting bad boy that I can’t wait to get to know better), and great narrator in Gwen.
It isn’t the most original plot ever and does rely on tropes often, so I cannot give it a full 5 stars in actuality. But since I don’t give half stars, I will be rounding this up to five. It’s enjoyable and fun. If you are in the market for a fun read with mystery, romance, and intrigue, you should check out TOUCH OF FROST. It’s probably right up your alley.
VERDICT: While not very original, TOUCH OF FROST makes up for its cliché plot with fun characters, a great bad boy love interest, and a narrator you can’t help but root for. Definitely pick this one up.
♥♥♥♥♥ - FIVE HEARTS
In addition to reviewing TOUCH OF FROST, Kensington Publishing has generously offered one Book Brats reader the chance to read KISS OF FROST, the brand new sequel coming out next week. The contest is open to US and Canada and you can enter below! Open until November 30th.
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