Dark Frost, Jennifer Estep

Dark Frost is an enthralling addition to the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep.  This series is based on Gwen Frost, a strong teenage girl who has a rare magical talent of psychometry, the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it.   To really understand this book, number 3 in the series, it is best to read the previous books.   Written from Gwen’s point of view, the series begins with her being sent to attend Mythos Academy - a school for the descendants of ancient warriors like Spartans, Valkyries, Amazons, and more.  It is at this school that she learns about the hidden battle going on in the world to prevent the evil god Loki from being freed from his prison and reigniting the Chaos war.  His followers, the Reapers, are determined to kill anyone in their way.  In the previous books Gwen was made a champion of one of the God’s, began training to learn to fight and defend herself, and learned that her mom hid a dagger which can be used to free Loki making it crucial for her to find it before the Reapers.  She has also had a trying relationship with a fellow student, Logan. 

This book picks up as the students are returning from fall break and with Gwen still trying to discover where she stands with Logan.  She has spent the break trying to search for the dagger without any success and is hopeful to come up with more leads. Gwen and some of the other students are attacked by Reapers the weekend before school begins while visiting a museum as part of their winter break homework assignment.  Gwen and her friends are successful in defending themselves but other students aren’t as fortunate.  In her battle she is forced to fight the person who killed her mom and during the battle the Reaper drops a map of the school’s Library.  This leads Gwen to realize that the dagger she is searching for is in the library.  This attack causes a ripple affect upon the school.  As the school locks down and prepares for a Reaper attack, the nerves of the students are challenged and the pressure on Gwen to find the dagger begins to weigh on her.  Her friendships are tested as each of her friends begins to have to face their own destinies and roles in this war.  And her relationship with Logan returns to being very strained and complicated.  This story really ramps up the significance of the challenges that the students are facing and proves to be a turning point in how much of a role each of them are going to play in defeating Loki once and for all. 

This series is great because Gwen is such a strong character.  She is somewhat of an outcast due to her rare abilities but she does not let that affect her self esteem or who she is as a person.  She is a great role model for parents to allow their young adult to follow.  The stories have just enough romance to keep the reader interested but not enough to concern parents.  The story is definitely more about Gwen fulfilling her own destiny and being true to herself.  The quest she goes through is exciting and a fresh twist on ancient gods. 

RATING:  Four chocolate dipped strawberries. 

This book was given to us by Jennifer Estep. Many thanks.