Title: Crimson Frost
Series: Mythos
Academy #4
Author: Jennifer Estep
Summary
Loki is free and
Gwen blames herself for his release; after all, the Reapers wouldn't have
gotten the Helheim Dagger if Gwen hadn't found it. While the Reapers are helping Loki to regain
his strength and start the second Chaos War, Gwen has to accept her destiny: to
be the one to kill Loki.
But Gwen doesn't
just have to worry about the Reapers trying to kill her and her friends. Gwen has been accused of being a Reaper and
she must prove her innocence to The Protectorate, the Pantheon's police force,
or die for her supposed crimes. For once
Gwen must follow all the rules at Mythos Academy, because one wrong step could
only convince the Protectorate of her guilt.
It's times like these when friends show their true colors, and Gwen
needs all the friends she can get.
My Impression
I really liked the
spin that this book took. While I have
to say that I hated the Protectorate on a moral level because of their
accusation that Gwen is a Reaper, I loved what they did for this series. Before this point, there haven't been any
characters that have truly questioned Gwen's actions besides herself. And while I knew that their accusations were
clearly false because I have read about all of Gwen's actions, I think it was
important that she be questioned and that she really has to prove herself. This book and the Protectorate do three
things:
- They show Gwen who her real friends are. As news spreads of her supposed crimes, many people at Mythos Academy are hostile towards Gwen. While she has been mostly ignored by many of her peers or blown off as "that Gypsy girl", it was good to learn which people actually trust Gwen, and which characters we might be seeing more of as their friendship with Gwen grows.
- They show that you can't trust everyone. Gwen lives in a world where Reapers hide in plain site; Jasmine even mentioned in Touch of Frost that there are students and teachers are Mythos Academy that are Reapers, and yet there are very few times that Gwen, or anyone, actually questions whether the people they are sitting in a classroom with are actually Reapers. While Gwen is a trustworthy person, no one has ever doubted that she is telling the truth, but in her world, blind faith in a person can get you killed.
- They force Gwen to accept her previous actions. While she has made some mistakes that have ultimately led to the release of Loki, she has made every decision with the intent to defeat the Reapers and stop Loki. Gwen constantly doubts herself and in order to prove her innocence, she first has to accept that she is a good person and that some things that happened were out of her control.
Something I found a
bit frustrating in this book is how Gwen still constantly doubts herself. While some of her moments of doubt are
justifiable, such as her role in the release of Loki and murdering Preston,
some things that run through her head make me want to shake some sense into
her. There is a moment in the book where
she compares herself to Logan, thinking about how amazing, gorgeous, strong,
and brave he is, and then she goes on to say that the only interesting thing
about her is the necklace that Logan gave her.
I think she has proved herself to be just as strong and brave as Logan
and her other friends, and that she has learned a great deal about her power
and how to use it. While she may feel
inadequate when she compares looks and weaponry skills, she still has a lot to
be proud of and has many interesting things about her. My hope is that after having to own her
actions in this book that she will appreciate more about herself in Midnight
Frost.
Why I Picked Up This Book
I fell in love with
Gwen's character from the first time I read Touch of Frost, and I can't wait
for Midnight Frost's release.
Genres: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Mythology
My Rating: Five Stars
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