Jennifer Estep
Spider’s Bite (2010)
Gin is an assassin called the Spider. She makes a good living, and her handler wants her to retire, but she’s not sure she’s ready–after all, she’s still young, what would she do? All of her family is dead, and the only people she’s close to are her handler (who is all but her father) and his son. She’s also a Stone elemental, but that magic has never gotten her anywhere good as far as she’s concerned.
There were several things I really liked about this story. The world building was very well done. The main character is a magic user, and there are vampires and dwarves and giants, but all of these things are simply background to the story–it’s noted in passing that someone is a vampire, but that’s rarely what’s important about the person. And because Gin rarely uses her magic, we slowly become familiar with magic in her world. By the end of the story we still don’t know the limits of Gin’s magic, but neither does she.
Another thing I liked is that almost from the beginning I thought I’d figured out a major plot point, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was only half right, and the part I was wrong about was the more important part. It’s good to be wrong–especially being right would have been annoying (to me).
I also like that Gin (and the other characters) believe in the importance of making sure someone is actually dead.
And then there was Gin. For someone with such a messed up childhood, she’s pretty stable and sensible.
Except…
GOOD GRIEF! ENOUGH ALREADY WITH THE SEX!
I mean really, you’re on a case. If you’re as professional as you are in everything else, why would you spend so much time thinking about BOINKING when you’re on the freaking job?! If she is that obsessed, how did she not die years ago?!
Yes, it really annoys me THAT MUCH.
However, aside from that the story really was very good. The mystery/secret was well done, the main characters were solidly done, and as I said, I loved the world building.
I just would have loved it more with out the obsession with sex.
Rating: 7/10
Published by Pocket Books.
First Frost (2011)
Gwen Frost has a Gypsy gift–when she touches things she learns about the people who held those items. In addition to that skill, she has a good dose of curiosity, that eventually shows her things she never wanted to learn.
This is a short story, and an introduction to Touch of Frost, the first book in the Mythos Academy series.
If you like YA, this is a good story to check out, to tell you if you’ll like the series. It’s self-contained, which is always good in a short story, but it did lead me to immediately start the first book. Just one more reason to love eBooks.
Rating: 7/10
Published by Kensington Books
Touch of Frost (2011)
When I perused the reviews for this story, I almost didn’t get it. Too much sex for a YA the negative review cried. Aw crap, I thought. I hate boinking books, which is one reason why I like YA–much less boinking, and it’s mostly off screen.
But it was only $0.99, so I decided it couldn’t hurt to try.
Let’s clarify the boinking–the main character does not boink–she doesn’t even get kissed–but she is at a private school where other students are doing what 17 and 18 year old kids do. That does not make a boinking book. It’s an acknowledgement that lots of teens are sexually active, whether adults want to acknowledge it or not. But Gwen herself is not, and I think that’s an important distinction the negative reviewer failed to make. After all, any YA book full of kids who are NOT drinking and NOT being sexually active isn’t reality based in our current reality.
So yes, there is an acknowledgement of sex, but that’s all over TV, movies, and everything else. But this is NOT a boinking book.
Thank goodness.
Gwen Frost is a student at Mythos Academy. She was sent there after her mother was killed by a drunk driver, to learn more about her Gypsy gift and the magical heritage of not just herself but of others in the world–Amazons, Valkyries, Spartans–all these exist and a trained to fight Chaos.
I thought the world building here was especially good–because Gwen knows little other than how her gift works, we learn along with her.
Gwen is a typical teen, except for the fact she’s struggling with grief following the death of her mother. The school to which she is sent is NOT full of typical teens, but instead full of very rich, very spoiled, kids with supernatural powers who have grown up knowing they are destined to battle chaos and evil.
The secondary characters are also good–the boy Gwen has a crush on, and the girl who eventually becomes Gwen’s friend are interesting in and of themselves, and were enjoyable to spend time with.
And of course there was the story itself–I like the idea that there are people descended from myth still inhabiting the world, still fighting evil.
Read the short story first, and if you enjoy it, then I believe you’ll enjoy Touch of Frost.
Rating: 7/10
Published by Kensington Books
Spider’s Bite (2010)
Mythos Academy: First Frost (2011), Touch of Frost (2011)
