Review of Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep

Title/Author: Dark Frost (Mythos Academy #3) by Jennifer Estep
Publisher/Date published: KTeen, May 29th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "I’ve seen so many freaky things since I started attending Mythos Academy last fall. I know I’m supposed to be a fearless warrior, but most of the time, I feel like I’m just waiting for the next Bad, Bad Thing to happen. Like someone trying to kill me — again.
Everyone at Mythos Academy knows me as Gwen Frost, the Gypsy girl who uses her psychometry magic to find lost objects—and who just may be dating Logan Quinn, the hottest guy in school. But I’m also the girl the Reapers of Chaos want dead in the worst way. The Reapers are the baddest of the bad, the people who murdered my mom. So why do they have it in for me?
It turns out my mom hid a powerful artifact called the Helheim Dagger before she died. Now, the Reapers will do anything to get it back. They think I know where the dagger is hidden, but this is one thing I can’t use my magic to find. All I do know is that the Reapers are coming for me — and I’m in for the fight of my life."

**WARNING: If you have not read the first two books in the series, you might want to skip this review as I can't promise there won't be spoilers for those 2 books**

I recently read the first two book in the Mythos Academy series and while I didn't review them separately, there'll also be something about them included in this review of Dark Frost. Because I cannot talk to you about that third book without that, it's just the way I'm wired ;)

So far this series has been a ride of ups and downs for me. I LOVE the idea of Mythos Academy and all the students being descended from these amazing warrior races: Amazons, Valkyries, Spartans, Romans and the odd one out: Gypsies. Or rather just one as Gwen is the only known Gypsy at Mythos. I absolute adore it. I also love that the Gods have Champions and it's not just limited to Roman or Greek Gods, but every kind of mythology possible. Of course there needs to be conflict, so Loki, the bad boy among the Gods enters the picture to bring the chaos. So far I was an incredibly happy camper.

And I like Gwen, she's got a good heart and is loyal to her friends and loves her family. I like that in a girl! Admittedly, she had her shallow moments, but don't we all? The only problem I've been having with her is that there were some things that were just SO obvious and she just completely ignores the obviousness and gets to the wrong conclusions and well, sometimes she does some things that make me go: how did you not see this ending badly to begin with??? SERIOUSLY?

**SPOILER, LIGHT UP TO READ**
I mean, seriously, how did she not think that it might be a bad idea to just grab the dagger when she figured out where it was without even checking if anyone was around and maybe getting some reinforcement just in case and actually having a PLAN as to where to take it next??? REALLY? With the fate of the world depending on it? REALLY? I found this kind of hard to believe.
Also, don't even get me starten on Metis leaving when Gwen was 'questioning' Preston. I mean, really, when she stepped out I just knew he was going to escape. It was just so irresponsible! And it seemed out of character for Metis to me.
**END OF SPOILER**

I loved Logan, Daphne, Carson and Oliver. They're just amazing, strong people and I loved the dynamics between them and Gwen. They all have their own set of problems and I love getting to know them better. Also, I absolutely adored the new character that was added to this book: Nott, the Fenrir wolf. She completely stole my heart and even made me cry a bit. And yeah, I'd love to have a talking sword like Vic. If I knew how to use it instead of just slicing myself up by accident. Which I would.

The thing is, the writing can be AMAZING. Sometimes it was so good. And then other times it felt a bit childish to me in the descriptions and the repitition of the words. There were a lot of sentences that had the same word repeated in them 2 or 3 times and it got a bit annoying. Also, seriously, after the first few mentions of Gwen being a Gypsy, I GOT IT OKAY? I don't need to be reminded every other sentence that Gwen is in fact a Gypsy. I mean, who knew? She's a Gypsy? REALLY? *ahem, excuse my sarcasm* I could have done without the constant reminders of everyone's particular brand of warrior. I mean, it's handy for the characters you don't see every other page, but for Gwen and her friends it just kind of got annoying.

I'm really enjoying the growth the characters go through and just seeing the whole plot unravel. It's starting to get REALLY exciting the more the story progresses and I'm already itching to get my hands on the fourth book in the series, Crimson Frost, and find out what's going to happen next for Gwen, her friends and basically the rest of the world!

So yes, I'd say if you're into mythology you should read this. And yes, you'll probably roll your eyes at some point like I did, but if you can look past all that, the story is really good and it's definitely worth getting into!

My rating: 4 stars