Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

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Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2)
Richelle Mead
Released April 10th, 2008
by Razorbill

Goodreads / Purchase

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…

I liked this second installment of the Vampire Academy series much better than the first. The story is already established, you know who’s who, you know the lore, so none of that introduction gets in the way. The action starts right away and you get to jump right in.

The character development is great, I found Rose grows up a lot in this book, but who wouldn’t with what she went through. The chemistry between her and Dimitri is fantastic – very sexy and often frustrating. And some of the other characters are a great addition to the story, especially Adrian who is introduced in this book. Christian, whom I didn’t like in Vampire Academy, has started to grow on me in Frostbite. However, Lissa is still a bit dull. I don’t know exactly why. I’m just glad she’s not the narrator.

The ending is a bit harsh. It’s sad; gloomy, but I think necessary. It can’t all be happily-ever- afters, right? I don’t like to put spoilers in my reviews so that’s all I will say about it. The only complaint I have are the recaps included in the book to remind us of what happened before. They’re a bit drawn out and boring for those of us who have read Vampire Academy not too long ago.

Frostbite continues the wonderfully real and creative world Richelle Mead has built, with genuine characters, well written storylines and realistic scenarios.

4 Hot Espressos

Previously reviewed in the series:
1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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17 Responses to “Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead”

  1. Kelly

    I wish author’s wouldn’t do recaps. I mean, who’s going to start a series with the second book? It just doesn’t make sense. And if you need a refresher on what happened in the first, you check out Goodreads before you start.

    Nice review!

  2. Brodie

    So happy you’re reading and enjoying VA! It’s one of my absolute favourites. I am SO curious to read your thoughts when you finish Shadow Kiss in particular. These just get better and better as the story progresses. But I do agree about the recaps, they get annoying if you’re reading back to back.

    Great review and enjoy the rest of the series!

  4. Kathy Ann Coleman

    Yes, I really liked that book, too. I really do need to sit down and read those again and give them proper reviews. Its been a few years and right now I wouldn’t be able to do them justice.

    I think you did a great job at covering it and I agree with what you said, though. 🙂 (Also being vague to keep it spoiler free.)

  5. Bonnie

    I haven’t read VA yet although I have read Bloodlines and really enjoyed it. I am hoping to clear some time in my reading schedule soon so that I can read the entire series start to finish without any interruptions! I have heard so many great things about it and I can’t believe it has taken me this long to start in on it!

    Happy to see that you are enjoying it!

  7. Andrea

    I agree about Lissa. I liked her less & less as the series went on. Rise is one of my favorite heroines ever. And Dimitri, one of my favorite heroes. Hope you enjoy Shadiwkissed!

  10. Giselle

    Andrea I’ve actually finished the series. Just updating/posting my reviews now :). I enjoyed the whole series. My fav. book was the very last one. Very action packed.

    And I haven’t read Bloodlines yet I’m sort of scared to everyone seems to hate it :S

  11. Mimi Valentine

    YAY! I’m really glad you read this one, Giselle! I liked it so much better than the first one too, especially because I liked Rose a lot more after everything that happens in this one. It just made her seem so much more real, y’know? Although the ending made me really sad too. 🙁

    Awesome review, Giselle! I can’t wait to read your reviews on the next books — I hope you like them as much as I did! 🙂

  13. Ron C. Nieto

    Some folks do jump the first volume in a series (who, me? noooo… *ahem*) sometimes, but still I agree that the recaps can kill the mood like nothing else. I’ve read second books without reading the first that both did and didn’t do recaps… The one who did almost made me *not* read the title! Too much information, too crammed, not interesting enough. I prefer to work through what I see and figure out the rest!

    That said, though, I’m glad to see that number two is better. I love vampires and have been wondering about this series, but never gotten around to it… yet. You’ve certainly helped to move the balance towards “Do Read”. Thanks a lot for the review!

    Ron @ Stories of my life

  14. BookBreather

    This is my favorite book in the series. Lissa never really gets better or more exciting, though I do begin to like her more in Last Sacrifice. And believe me…the ending in this book is INCREDIBLY essential to the plot.
    I looooove Adrian. I think I converted from team Dimitri to Adrian in the fifth bok, which is Spirit Bound.
    I love the VA series. It’s my favorite! I go totttalll fan girl! Glad you like it.

  15. Michelle @ Book Briefs

    I really really need to read this series! I have all the books just sitting so pretty on my shelves waiting for me to pick them up and enjoy.

    I was just writing a review about a book that did a lot of recaping and it annoyed me. Its sad because that was really the only thing I disliked about the book but it makes me feel like I am wasting my reading time re-reading.

    Thanks for stopping by my review of a beautiful dark. Let me know what you think of it if you read it 🙂

  16. Sarah (saz101)

    Oh, everyone says this is so much better than the first! I’m so excited to read it! And I’m so glad I’m not the only one who hasn’t already read all these books!

  17. Maria

    @Kelley, I agree! I can’t understand NOT starting with book one (ah how I think my brother was switched at birth). The ending sounds harsh but I hope it works out.