Customer Reviews

Frostbite: A Vampire Academy Novel

5 star:		(127)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Life is rough in high school--even for dhamphirs. Rose Hathaway is in her Senior year at St. Vladimir's. In six months, she'll be a full fledged guardian, protecting her lifelong best friend, Lissa, a Moroi Royal.

Rose is on her way to take her Qualifier. She's going to be tested by one of the guardian greats, Arthur Schoenberg. Since he cannot leave the Moroi royal house he is guarding, Rose and her teacher, Dimitri, are coming to them.

What they find instead is slaughter. All Moroi and Dhamphir members of the household are dead--apparently a plot by the Stigoi vampires and humans in conjunction.

St. Vladimir's reacts with alarm. The school won't be allowing the students to leave on Christmas break. Instead, a ski resort will host all the students together and attendance is mandatory.

Then--another Royal house is attacked and it becomes obvious the Stigoi are set to attack all the Moroi royalty and end the lines. While the Moroi are arguing defense, some of the factions are considering a more offensive approach--which, to this point, has been forbidden.

Did I mention that Rose is having man trouble? She's in love with Dimitri, her teacher, but she can have Mason, a fellow guardian-in-training.

And--since the guardians in training need even more defensive training, guess who's come to teach special classes? Janine Hathaway, Rose's mother, who'd given up raising her child for her career...

What impresses me most about "Frostbite" is Rose's character growth in one short novel. You really read how events shape Rose's thought processes and can see how this young heroine is being shaped for her future in service to the Moroi.

The intro to this book is one of the best I've ever read. In author parlance, it's a 'tell', but it's a great introduction to Rose's world and the three types of vampires inhabiting it.

"Frostbite" is the second book in Richelle Mead's 'Vampire Academy' series. It's written for young adults, but I promise you adult readers are going to enjoy every minute of the story. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.

For the fourth time, Richelle Mead has shown just what a brilliant, talented writer she is. "Frostbite" is part 2 of an ongoing teen series that began with "Vampire Academy," and it is clearly the best so far.

"Vampire Academy" introduced us to our narrator--Rose--and about a dozen other important characters; namely her best friend, Lissa, and her mentor and love, Dimitri. Mead's new vampiric world was slowly revealed throughout the course of the story, outlining the importance of the academy, as well as the roles of Moroi (like Lissa), dhampir (Rose and Dimitri), and Strigoi. In the simplest of explanations: Moroi are akin to royalty who must be protected; dhampir are the guardians of the Moroi; Strigoi are vampires gone bad (yes, you read that right).

"Frostbite" is an astounding follow-up. The prologue has Rose re-introduce the basics of this developing series, as well as a couple key roles. It's a good refresher on the events of the previous novel, and brings long-awaiting readers back up to speed.

This time, Rose's life becomes even more exciting. For starters, Strigoi are attacking in coherent, organized groups, slaughtering royalty and their guardians with frightening ease. Then, Rose's previously-absent mother appears--unwantingly for Rose--at the academy while the Moroi in the northwest gather to strategize defense. As if that weren't enough, her feelings for Dimitri, while returned, are constantly being rejected and turned down, as they have a duty to protect Lissa, and the risk of emotion cannot get in the way of that.

But does it end there? Not for Rose. Her friend, Mason, begins to show interest in her just as an old friend of Dimitri's shows feelings for him, causing even more chaos in Rose's heart. And all the while, she's lacking the company she sorely misses from Lissa, AND she's unwittingly witnessing Lissa and her new boyfriend take their relationship to the next level!

It sounds like a lot of drama, and it is. But Mead narrates to us flawlessly in the voice of Rose, who is clearly growing up, albeit struggling. Older teenage girls and even young adult females are likely to find themselves empathizing with our heroine. Mead's style is fresh and exciting, making it hard to put down the book even for a moment. Some of the action gets a little hot and heavy, but Rose is 17, something parents should keep in mind when considering this for younger girls.

But for older teens, this series is exceedingly brilliant. Richelle Mead creates an exciting, brand new world of vampires with all the familiar modern notes of strong female leads, friendships, enemies, relationships, and drama. Interspersed is Rose's wit and sarcasm, often landing her in trouble with others, but keeping the spice of the story and holding the readers' mental palate.

"Frostbite," put simply, has surpassed its predecessor. I wish I could give it more stars, and I simply cannot recommend this series enough. It will be agonizing to wait 'til next fall for the sequel, "Shadow Kiss."

From the first page of Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1) I was hooked. By inventing a fresh, original take on vampires with a believable biology and a detailed world layout explained by more than simply "magic" I saw the start of a great series. By weaving in the beginnings of a forbidden romance and a intensely interesting conflict I knew that I'd devour the book within a day. And I did. I ordered Frostbite from three different places right away: Borders, amazon and the library. Then I paced around for a week and jumped whenever the phone rang. When I walked to the end of the driveway and found it sitting innocently in the mailbox I ripped it open right there - talk about papercuts, but I didn't feel them, because I was hyped up on adrenaline! - I actually sat down right on the lawn and read. Mmmm. Richelle can do a sequel! Quite possibly the best vampire inspired novel I have ever read.
Read it. Devour it. Love it.

Another one, just as good or even better than the first book! Ms Mead is creating a completely real world revolving around a teenager growing up, with the added bonus of involving a dark vampiric setting.

Rose is now ready to take her Qualifier, and to accompany her is her true love and mentor, Dimitri, but as they arrive at their destination they discover that issues are array. Come to find bodies of moroi and dhamphir gardians spread about.

They realize that humans are now helping the gruesome and lurid stigois. St Valdmir in panic, they recognize the safest approach is to take the students to a ski resort, where it is easily guarded. Christmas, Rose conceives, is definitely not what she had expected. She is entirely confused with her forbidden love with Dimitri, her attraction to Mason, her mother returning after years without contact whatsoever, Lissa straying away to spend more and more time with Christian, and trying to find ways to cope and comprehend with what an actual life of a guardian is after seeing it first hand the grave risks and responsibilities.

I find the characters so intriguing especially the growing up process with Rose. I sympathize with the way she always tries to be the one with the level head. She is so strong and is so hard on herself when she feels she could have done more or acted a differently in certain situations, but that's part of growing up. I can relate, as other will too, to the novels authentic grasp of maturing in life that is both real and reality. My languid heart aches for more!

The story picks up right were Vampire Academy left us. Rose and Lissa are still at St. Vladimir's. Lissa and Christian are now together and Rose is still in love with her mentor/tutor, Dimitri. When a massive Strigoi attack halts everyone's plans to travel home, St. Vladimir sends its students to a posh Idaho ski resort, so families can come together in a safe place.

But there seems to be a lot more drama happening on the slopes than Rose was expecting. Her good friend Mason has a huge crush on her, Rose's mom pops unexpectedly back into her life, and Dimitri seems to have eyes for someone else. Not to mention the Strigoi continue to cause problems.

When Mason and two other fellow students go missing, Rose knows they went to find the Strigoi. Joining forces with Christian, they head off to find the trio and end up way over their heads......

Let me just start off by saying that I love Richelle! I started reading Frostbite and I completely devoured it in one sitting! Is it her writing, the characters, the plot? Maybe it is a combination of everything, but I get so captivated in the story that I don't even see the pages getting thinner and the book coming to an end! In all seriousness, I really enjoy this series. It has everything that I like, vampires, humor, satire, action, romance, and suspense. I feel like I know the characters. I could defiantly see Rose growing throughout this novel and I can't wait to see her grow even more. While the plot had many twists and turns, Meade kept it going at a fantastic pace! I may even like Frostbite better than Vampire Academy! This is a great vampire series and if you haven't read it yet, I suggest that you do! I am anxiously awaiting the release of the next book Shadow Kiss, which will be available Nov. 13!

Love this series and after the fallout from Breaking Dawn, I will anticipate the third book will be high on the best seller list.

Easy, good read.

Wow! This was a great follow-up to Vampire Academy (Book 1). Richelle Mead has a wonderful style of writing that keeps the pace moving quickly. It was hard for me to put this book down once I started reading. Once again, the plot and characters were unique and interesting. Mysteries kept unfolding and love triangles were building; there's always something intriguing going on to hold the reader's interest. Now I can't wait for the 3rd book of the series to come out!

I enjoyed this book nearly as much as the first one in the series, but I'm getting really frustrated with the lack of progress in Dimitri and Rose's forbidden romance. Instead, it seems to have taken a backseat to other plotlines, such as the turmoil between Rose and her mother and the political climate that Lissa is moving into. I find Rose's mother, Janine, intriguing in that she seems to be what Rose could become if Rose chooses duty over love. I sure wish that Janine would open up more since there seems to be a lot of great plot material there that was not exploited very much - Rose's black eye being a perfect example. The politics that Lissa is dealing with appear to be moving in the direction that I guessed might happen when I read the first book, which is an equalizing between the Moroi and Dhampir classes of their society, especially when it comes to dealing with the Strigoi.
Despite how Rose views Adrian, I actually rather like him. There is always something attractive about the flirty-jokester that entices women - afterall I don't know a woman who doesn't like to laugh. It's obvious that he really likes Rose and I find myself feeling sorry for him since Rose is definitely taken, even if not in the literal sense yet. Mason really ends up in the worst position, though, even if I don't include what happens to him in the end. Rose all but lies to him while he falls for her hard, all the while being the perfect gentlemen. In a way, Mason and Adrian are opposite in styles, and yet Rose is blind to both - not that I blame her, as she likes to say, "Dimitri is a badass." Why is it that female protagonists always seem to have hords of guys going after them? (Think - Twilight saga, Rachel Morgan series, Mercy Thompson series, House of Night series, etc.)
I wish that Rose's nazar could be explained a bit more, as there seems to be more to it than anyone is discussing. Adrian knows things that he is not spilling, and Janine sure is tight-lipped about most of her life, excluding what she does in the line of duty.

So, I'm completely sold. Mead has graduated into one of my favorite YA authors.

In the previous installment, "Vampire Academy", there were a lot of lose ends and questions. I was left intrigued enough to pick up book 2, and am incredibly happy to say, I wasn't left wanting.

Rose grew up in "Frostbite". We are introduced to a new cultivating male specimen by the name of Adrian; who is a whole lot of bad in a bottle. We grow up with Rose's character as she experiences the lack of glory of the kill, along with heartbreaking loss.

But of course, most importantly, it all comes back around to the forbidden love between Dimitri and Rose. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that while Mead will leave readers craving more; she simultaneously leaves us with enough to hold us until installment three.

While often, second books are unable to hold onto the hype preceded, Mead succeeded marvelously. The Vampire Academy Series has completely cemented my loyalty with "Frostbite".

Vampire Academy book 1 is a wildly successful beginning to the series. Fans have been clamoring for more, and now we finally get our hands on Frostbite as book 2 of the VA series. Does it live up to our expectations? Absolutely! In fact, Frostbite is even better than book 1. If you enjoyed VA, you will love this book. Richelle Mead writes an immersive and highly entertaining story from the perspective of Rose, a teenage girl who dedicates her studies and her life to protect her best friend Lissa. Someone or something is murdering vampires, and the students and guardians of St. Vladimir's are totally freaking out. Meanwhile, she has to deal with the forbidden love for her instructor Dimitri. Oh, it just keeps getting better! The ending is fantastic, and leaves you clamoring for book 3.