Review: Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1) by Jennifer Estep

Author: Jennifer Estep

Series: Mythos Academy

Pages: 350

Publisher: K-Teen

Release date: 1^st August 2011

Synopsis – 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...

Review – 4 out of 5 stars

I recently read Jennifer Estep’s newest series starter Cold Burn of Magic and I loved it so once I finished it, I instantly downloaded her Mythos Academy series and despite the different feel, I am really enjoying the books so far.

Touch of Frost is the first book in the series and introduces us to seventeen year-old Gwen Frost who has gypsy magic. When her mother is killed, a decision is made to send her to Mythos Academy to hone in on her psychometric abilities – she is able to touch an item or person and gets impressions from them.

Gwen seems to be in way over her head at the academy, she doesn’t fit in with the other mythological rich teens who are Valkyrie, Amazon, Spartans or other warriors. As an uncoordinated teen she has a lot to learn. I liked her snark and sass but her guilt and repetitive thoughts could get quite frustrating.

Gwen is a bit of an outcast but slowly starts to meet others at the academy, I loved her interactions with Daphne, Grandma and Metis; the romance was a little non-existent but you can see it starting to build with Logan Quinn who seems to be around at all of the right times but his hot and cold manner drove me a little batty as did his reputation. I am extremely eager to find out more about Vic.

I enjoyed the mysterious plot and Gwen’s search to find out what happened to mean girl Jasmine who was killed in the Library of Antiquities and the Bowl of Tears stolen, I thought this aspect was done well and I was surprised by the twist we were given.

I thoroughly enjoy Jennifer Estep’s writing style, the world-building was wonderfully thought out and creative and the storyline thoroughly entertaining. The Mythos boarding school setting intrigued me and I felt we got a clear understanding of who was who and what was what. I liked each of the characters and I look forward to getting to know them a little more.

Overall, Touch of Frost is a wonderful start to the Mythos Academy series.

Favourite quotes:

“What did you expect? That he'd send you flowers and write you bad poetry? That dead Nemean prowler is pretty much as close to a stuffed animal as you're ever going to get from a Spartan like Logan Quinn.” 

“I wouldn't say hate, exactly. You're kind of like fungus, Gwen. After a while, you just start growing on people.” 

“My own eyes narrowed. i didn't like being made fun of, not even by a dangerous bad boy like Logan Quinn. "Yeah, well, this Gypsy girl happens to have a grandma who can curse you so bad that your dick will turn black and fall off, so watch your step, Spartan.”