Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) Review

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Title: Frostbite
Author: Richelle Mead
Published: April 10, 2008
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 327
Source: Personal Copy

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…
In Vampire Academy, we met Rose and Lissa, best friends, but also something more. Rose is destined to be Lissa’s guardian, and the two share an unshakable bond, one that keeps them together at all times. But life isn’t all roses and peaches now. After a massive attack, the school is overrun by new guardians, throwing Rose’s distant mother into the mix, as well, and when the school is thrust into a mandatory “holiday” to protect the students in one place, things threaten to go from bad to worse. Rose is learning more about herself every day, and every revelation makes life a little bit scarier and a lot less safe.

Ok, remember how I told you I hate vampires? Well, I still do, so don’t get your hopes up (Ginger). That said, I was blown away by Frostbite. I liked Vampire Academy enough, don’t get me wrong. I think the world that Richelle Mead set up was fantastic, but I wouldn’t say it really blew me out of the water. Frostbite, however, was completely and utterly captivating. The world within the walls of the Vampire Academy grew exponentially, the boarding school was magically deceptive and the cast of characters grew in leaps and bounds, all of which heightened an already tumultuous and riveting plot.

There were so many highlights in Frostbite that I don’t think I could adequately pinpoint them all. That said, the character development of Rose was a huge strength. While I knew her background before, the introduction of her mother, as well as new secondary characters like Aiden heightened the tension and discovery of more of her background. Lissa, too, grew in my opinion and was less of a whiny little mope than before. Plus, there’s Dimitri…swoon. I swear that the Rose/Dimitri plotline is killing me, too, and every chapter just had me reading faster and faster to see where that would end up. Frankly, I can sum it up like this – Frostbite featured an amazing cast of characters, a fantastically developed plot and a speedy pace that kept me guessing throughout.

Frostbite was a fantastic sequel to Vampire Academy, and I’m officially hooked on the series (even though I swore I’d never be.) I give it a 5 out of 5, and I’d recommend it to all fans of the Vampire Academy series and YA fans, especially those who enjoy paranormal and paranormal romance stories.

37 comments:

  1. I loved this series! And with each book its gets better and better! I love Dimitri!! I know you'll love the other books. They won't disappoint you. Great review!!

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  2. I have just read the first part but liked it a lot! I have had mostly bad experiences with vampire novels but Vampire Academy was an exception. Rose is a wonderful character! And Dimitri too, of course :D Your review makes me want to read the 2nd part !

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  3. I think Frostbite was one of the best books in the series. I love Dimitri. Lissa sometimes gets on my nerves, but she grows on me. I love Christian. This is definitely one of the best action books of the series.

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  4. I've heard everybody raving about this series, but I have still resisted picking it up! But maybe I should, now, with that glowing review... :)

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  5. OMG !! I'm glad you liked it !! You're going to love the other books even more Melissa, I promise !! One of the best YA series ever ;)!

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  6. I really liked this series (even though I still need to read the last two). I can't wait to read Bloodlines! Awesome review Melissa!
    -Danna

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  7. Yessssssssss! I'm so glad to hear that I've helped in converting another Vampire Academy fan :-) this series is perfect for you Melissa, because you forget there's even vampires in it! The story & characters hold itself up. I love that. And just you wait.. if you thought FROSTBITE was awesome.. oh man.. I hope you get your hands on Shadow Kiss ASAP! That one is my fav of the series (so far - still need to finish it! ack!).

    Great review!

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  8. YES! A 5 out of 5! Woot:) So glad you're enjoying this series despite the vampires. And Dimitri is definitely swoon worthy, I just adore him. Fabulous review, looking forward to your thoughts on the next one:)

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  9. I don't hate vampires, but I have been getting a bit tired of them lately. I'll have to agree that Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy is one of the best vampire series out there. I think the next book (Shadow Kiss) is my favorite. Glad you enjoyed this one, despite your hesitations about vampires.

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  10. Cool! I haven't read these books, and really, never had any interest in reading them, but maybe I'll rethink that...

    Glad to hear you liked them!

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  11. I have to agree with Savannah, the books just get better and better as you go. I can't wait to see what you think of the other books!!

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  12. I didn't read your review in fear of spoilers, but I just wanted to say that this series is sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, and I need to get to it! :) Haha.

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  13. Yay! Even for non-vampire fans, this series is the best! I was like you with the first book - I thought it was OK, but it didn't blow me away, but this one was great! You are in for a treat with the next couple of books - they just get better!!

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  14. I just read another review on the last book in this series this morning, and based on Mead's popularity feel I should read this series just to satisfy that I am not missing out. I am glad to know that I am not the only one, who is just now reading (or in my case going to thinking of reading)the first books. Also good to know that despite your distaste for vamps, you still enjoyed the book.

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  15. Yay- you gave it a try! It's good to know that I'm not the only one whose not a vampire fan but enjoys this series. I kind of started out the series thinking that it wouldn't be my kind of thing and it kind of made me love it more to be proved wrong. Fabulous review :)

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  16. So, I think I'll have to start the series too ^^

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  17. Love this series! So glad you are converted. The series definitely has its ups and downs, and some books you will love more than others, but it's so wonderful overall! Reading this review makes me want to read it again, and I swear I've read it 5 or 6 times already (yes, that's the whole series too!). Oh, how I love Dimitri!

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  18. I'm not a fan of vampires either, but I am looooving this series. So glad that Ginger pushed it so hard on us!

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  19. Ha! You can't ask vamp lovers not to get their hopes up when you give us a 5 by 5! ;)

    Glad you are officially hooked, now I need to get started on this series.

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  20. YAY you loved it! I'm thrilled and glad that you've joined the banwagon!

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  21. I am glad you liked it so much ;)

    For me, well first Dmitri, swoon! But Rose just annoys me to death

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  22. I love this series!! awesome review, melissa!! maybe someday you'll warm up to vampires lol!!

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  23. I need to read this series soon if it is that addicting :) I love Mead’s adult series so I’m sure I’d love this one as well.

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  24. This is definitely one of my favorite books in this series!! (And also the book I read first! I read this one, then went back to Vampire Academy)
    I agree with you - all characters are amazing!

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  25. Ok a bucket with icy water is coming - sorry in advance! Melissa if you find my comment too harsh you might delete it.
    The first book was ok but Rose annoyed me a bit with her crush; I grant her, at least she knew all the time who she liked best. The second book- hardly passable the rest...maybe I had a bad day or maybe this series didn't find a way to captivate my imagination...I didn't even want to write a review...but I did read it all. Well, I also read all parts of "Twilight" and I am hardly a fan...

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  26. I read this series a while ago but enjoyed it. Great review and hope you have fun with more!

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  27. I've been looking for a Vampire series to get into! Will check this out!

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  28. I've actually owned these books for quite some time now and still haven't gotten around to reading any in the series. I guess I'll have to do that. Your review was awesome :)

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  30. I love the Vampire Academy series, though I'd sworn off vampires, too! They are really fun books and I'm glad you enjoyed Frost Bite-- it's maybe my second favorite book in the series. Great review. :)

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  31. A 5 star sequel? Wow. That rarely happens. Great review.

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  32. Isn't the Rose/Dimitri plotline amazing? It only gets better, I promise!

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  33. Awesome review, Melissa! Just wait until you get to the next book - like Meredith said, it gets better! =)

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  34. I can't believe you loved this one and yet haven't been "bitten" by the vampire bug. ;) Oh *sigh* I guess this is a huge sign telling me to read these books!

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  35. We're gonna convert you yet to be a vamp-lover! And Dimitri...SWOON. So glad you swooned. You KNOW my feelings on this series.

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  36. I hated VA so much mainly b/c of Lissa that I don't know if I can stomach another book with her in it. Even with your recommendation.


    Heather

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  37. I'm so glad you liked it! This is one of my favorite series.

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