Kiss of Frost
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Mythos Academy (#2)
Publisher: Kensington
How Received: publisher ARC
I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Academy, and I have no idea how I’m going to survive the rest of the semester. One day, I’m getting schooled in swordplay by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gorgeous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invisible archer in the Library of Antiquities decides to use me for target practice. And now, I find out that someone at the academy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword...
Got to page: 93
Here's a summary of the first 93 pages of Kiss of Frost.
Gwen is in training to defend herself from Reapers, servants of Loki who have been trying to kill her all of book one. Rather than actually focus on training, she spends the entire time lamenting about how she's not with Logan, the sexy Spartan boy. We know he's sexy because she mentions it on at least four different instances in the first 93 pages of the book, complete with intricate descriptions of what he's wearing and what he looks like. (It's also stated in the summary, just to drive that point home. He's gorgeous. More gorgeous than anything you can imagine. Ever. Just to establish that.)
Never mind the fact that he's currently dating another girl, spends most of his time ignoring her and already told her he wasn't interested.
She then goes to her grandmother's house, where her grandmother drops some strange fortune and Gwen eats some cookies. Gwen then goes home, where she is nearly run over by an SUV and killed. She thinks this might be on purpose. Then she goes to work in the library, where she then is shot at and nearly killed.
I'm going to repeat that: she is nearly killed twice in a row, on purpose. This is going to be important to the story at some point. Right?
Um, wrong.
Gwen mentions this briefly to her friend Daphne, who thinks it's a GREAT idea to go to this weird convention for all of the mythical kids. Gwen agrees and spends all of her time on the bus there lamenting that she's not with Logan and how she's a pathetic third wheel, eventually bitching to a kid who might actually just want to be her friend.
She then arrives at a hotel, where she meets another super-hot guy. Light shines down on them -- literally -- and she forgets her own name, she's so stunned by his beauty and his flirting.
WHAT.
Gwen has nearly been killed twice. She was nearly killed four times in book one. And what is she doing? She's lamenting about the lack of penis in her life.
This is a girl who was chosen by Nike to be her champion; who wields a sword that talks; who attends a school where the entire purpose is to build up kids to by warriors against Loki's evil; who is supposed to become something amazing.
This is a girl who has nearly had her life taken from her six times.
And she's not going around and trying to learn how to swordfight or how to properly defend herself or investigating why people might want her dead or who could be trying to kill her or so many other things.
No, no, she just wants a boyfriend.
LOOK AT YOUR LIFE, LOOK AT YOUR CHOICES.
I just can't with you! You're having your life threatened and everything is at your disposal to teach you to defend yourself and become a hero, and all you want to do is kiss a boy?
Somebody needs to get there priorities in order.
Final Comments: I've never wanted to smack a character as much as I do Gwen. If she were any more obsessed with boys, she'd be Bella Swan.
Message from the Blogger:
"Hey, Gwen? This is what a weapon looks like. I recommend learning how to use one before somebody actually DOES kill you.