Wednesday 9 June 2010

Review: Frostbite - Richelle Mead

...Winter break turns deadly

A massive vampire attack has put St. Vladimir's Academy on high alert.  With all the deadly creatures closing in, this year's trip to the wintery peaks of Idaho has just become mandatory.

But Rose Hathaway can't escape her (guy) troubles.  Her relationship with gorgeous Dimitri can never be and her closest friend has just confessed to his huge crush on her...

The glittering winter landscape may seem like the perfect hideaway - but Rose, and her heart, are in more danger than she ever imagined.

Vampire Academy Series:
Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy Graphic Novel
Frostbite
Shadow Kiss
Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice

Bloodlines Series: (This is a spin off from the Vampire Academy Series)
Adrian's Lost Chapter (Free Short Story can be read here)
Bloodlines
The Golden Lily
The Indigo Spell
The Fiery Heart (Release date to be confirmed)


Visit Richelle Mead's website for more information

Review:
Frostbite is the second book in the series and I would strongly recommend you read the series in order starting with Vampire Academy.  Although I don't include spoilers for Frostbite in this review if you haven't read Vampire Academy yet you might not want to read any further.  I absolutely love this series though so I would definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't started reading it yet!

Continuing the story on from the end of the first book Rose and Lissa are still at St Vladimir's Academy trying to catch up on the work they missed while on the run for 2 years.  Rose is working hard with the help of Dimitri but things between them are strained since they still can't act on the feelings they have for each other.  She also has to deal with the realisation that her close friend Mason has feelings for her - they get on so well that perhaps they would make a good couple?

When a group of Strigoi attack one of the royal families Rose finds herself caught in the middle of the investigation.  It soon becomes clear that the attack was like nothing that they have ever seen before - the Strigoi are working together in ways that are previously unheard of and now pose a greater threat than ever to the Moroi.  Increased security measures mean it will be safer if the entire school goes on the annual ski trip - it will be easier for the guardians to protect everyone if they are all together.  But when some of the novices decide to take action against the Strigoi, Rose and her friends find themselves in a danger they couldn't even have imagined.

I loved Vampire Academy but enjoyed Frostbite even more.  We get to see quite a different side to trouble maker Rose - she still has a temper and her smart mouth will continue to get her in trouble but we get to see her do quite a lot of growing up throughout the book.  We get to meet her mother Janine and Rose has to start dealing with the issues between them.  Rose has also become more sensible and after events in the last book she is fully aware of the danger that the Strigoi pose to both the guardians and the Moroi.  She was already one of my favorite young adult heroines but I like her even more now.

We don't see as much of Lissa in this book but I'm enjoying watching things develop between her and Christian.  I think they make a great couple and I'm looking forward to seeing how things continue between them.  I also really liked Christian's aunt Tasha - another great female role model who has great kick ass potential that I'm fully expecting to see more of in the future.  Things between Rose and Dimitri may be difficult but I love watching them together, the attraction between them is potent but I find the fact that they are both trying so hard to do the right thing and stay away from each other intriguing - I don't think I could be that noble in their position!

Another new character who I'm not so keen on at the moment is Adrian but I have a feeling he is going to be someone with an important part to play in the future of the series.  I'm curious to see what will happen with him but I hope his character grows on me more than he did in this installment.  Let me just say prepare to be on the edge of your seat in the second half of this book.  When the main action kicks off I was having trouble reading fast enough - I just couldn't wait to find out what would happen and how they would manage to get out of the predicament they found themselves in.  You might want to have a few tissues to hand though as there are a few heart in mouth moments before you reach the end of the book!  I definitely consider this to be my favorite young adult vampire series and I would urge anyone who loves vampires to give it a try - I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Source: Library

Other Reviews:
Ink and Paper
Darlyn and Books
So Many Books, So Little Time
Chrissie's Corner
Story Wings
I'd So Rather Be Reading
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

10 comments:

  1. This series is on my TBR mountain, I think the author is wonderful

    great review Sarah, cant wait to read this series. =) Just as soon as i get my clone so i can read as much as i want lol

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  2. Hey Claire, you're going to LOVE this series! I'm not sure why I'd been putting off reading it but I'd say it is my favorite young adult vamp series by far (& I really like the House of Night series so thats saying something LOL). I can't wait to see what you think of this series!! When you figure out where you can get hold of clones can you let me in on the secret? I could really use one LOL

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  3. This is my favorite vampire series now too. I am kind of glad I didn't start reading them until a few months ago so I could read books 1-4 one after the other and I just had to wait for Spirit Bound and now Last Sacrifice. I look forward to hearing what you think of the rest of the series! It took awhile for me to like Adrian's character. Great review!

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  4. I've read this last few weeks ago and glad that it gets better like you said.Each character plays their parts very well and some are mysterious too. I linked your review to mine and here's the link;

    http://darlynandbooks.blogspot.com/2010/04/frostbite-by-richelle-mead.html

    i'm going to read shadow kiss after finish the one i currently read and cant wait to hear what you think of it too ;p

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  5. Are you kidding me? I absolutely love Adrian! Dimitri and Adrian are two of my favorite fictional guys ever!
    Excellent review, though! I loved hearing what you thought of Frostbite.
    Love, Hannah

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  6. Yup, Adrian is very important in the series. But my heart belongs to Dimitri without question. Great review!

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  7. Oops, I forgot to leave the link to my review. Here it is.

    http://solittletimeforbooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/frostbite-vampire-academy-novel.html

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  8. Damn you Sarah! I so want to read this after I finished VA. Trouble is I am so overloaded with review books, I haven't even read a single book that I bought in Waterstones. How can I let myself buy more? It would be insane but I so want to read this. Maybe hubby will buy it for me and so I can be guilt free? But then surely I will want book 3 and this will never end.

    Super duper review!!!!!

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  9. Awesome review, Sarah! I LOVED Frostbite! And omg, I can't tell you how much I felt the same about Adrian when he first came along, but now I LOVE HIM! He is amazing! You'll love all the other books! I can't wait for your review! :)

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  10. @ Christina - I actually prefer to discover a series when it is nearly at the end so that I can devour all of the books quite close together! I'm not very good at waiting for months for the next release LOL. I'm not sure how I'll make it until December for Last Sacrifice! Adrian grew on me more in Shadow Kiss but he's still not my favorite character. I'll see how my opinion changes over the next few books :o)

    @ Darlyn - I'm glad you're enjoying this series too! I'm just about to read your review & add your link :o) I have to say that Shadow Kiss was probably my favorite book in the series so far so I can't wait to see what you think of that one!

    @ Hannah - I have to say that Adrian grew on me in Shadow Kiss but I still like Dimitri (swooon!!) & Christian more. I'm not sure how that will change over the next few books though :o)

    @ So Many Books - I love Dimitri soooo much! Adrian is growing on me but he'll never be able to take Dimitri's place LOL. I'm just about to read your review & add your link now :o)

    @ Becky - You sooooo need to carry on reading this series!!! I can't even begin to tell you how much better it gets than VA & VA was pretty awesome LOL! I understand the issue with review books though, they can take over sometimes can't they. You do have to allow yourself time to read other books though :o) I have to say that this will have you wanting to read Shadow Kiss & the ending of Shadow Kiss - well it was my favorite book in the series but you've got to have book 4 on hand before you read it. The delay is practically killing me!!!

    @ Jo - Adrian definitely grew on me in Shadow Kiss & I'm curious to find out more about him later on. I found him too creepy to start with but he definitely improves :o)

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