Touch of Frost by J. Estep

I’ll be honest and say that when I heard that Jennifer Estep had decided to write YA, I was a bit leery. Not because I didn’t think she’d be good at it, but because I’m such a huge fan of her Elemental Assassin series. I was afraid that somehow this new series would fall short, and for whatever reason, I wouldn’t like it. Thus, I wouldn’t have been able to keep Ms. Estep in my favorite authors category.

I have no idea what I was so worried about. Time and time again I’ve been handed a book by this wonderful author, and each and every time she’s not only made me love her books all over again, but she’s been able to completely exceed anything that I’ve been able to expect.

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…

In Touch of Frost the main character is Gwen Frost, a young woman with the strange ability to touch any object and know it’s history. Having lost her mother six months ago to an accident that Gwen blames herself for, she’s rightly had her world turned upside down. However, as if dealing with her mother’s death isn’t enough, she’s been transferred to a new elite school. One for kids like her with powers and abilities that have been handed down from Gods and Goddesses.  I really could relate to Gwen, and that made me love her all the more. I don’t have any powers, but I too lost my mom suddenly as a teenager. The way Gwen handled her mother’s death was incredibly realistic, or at least so far as my experience went. There was guilt, sadness, isolation, and longing for everything to go back to the way it was. Then the realization that maybe it’s okay to be happy even though Gwen’s mom wasn’t there.  In that aspect, Touch of Frost really got to me personally.

Other character’s throughout the book were equally great. There was a professor that took an interest in Gwen, a cranky librarian, and a sexy spartan love interest. I think though my favorite was Daphne Cruz. She’s one of those mean girls that are so popular in books and movies, but it quickly becomes apparent that she has so much more to offer than the catty remarks that she initially flings around.

And the story was just as engaging as the characters. Gwen witnesses a murder and, since no one else seems to be concerned, takes it upon herself to solve it. Along the way she gets into a heap of trouble, but also learns a lot of important things about herself and her family.

Overall,  I don’t know if I really did Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep any justice. I adored this book, and can’t wait for any that will come after. Touch of Frost is something that I would recommend to anybody, whether they be 16 or 35, who’s looking for a good story.