Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy #2)

by Jennifer Estep (Goodreads Author)

4.31 · rating details · 132 ratings · 54 reviews

Logan Quinn was try­ing to kill me. My Spar­tan class­mate relent­lessly pur­sued me, swing­ing his sword at me over and over again, the shin­ing sil­ver blade inch­ing closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes prac­ti­cally glowed with the thrill of battle...

I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword...

Unnatural by Michael Griffo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars





In the town of Eden in northwestern England stands the exclusive boarding school known as Archangel Academy. Ancient and imposing, it's a place filled with secrets. Just like its students. .

For Michael Howard, being plucked from his Nebraska hometown and sent thousands of miles away is as close as he's ever come to a miracle. In Weeping Water, he felt trapped, alone. At Archangel Academy, Michael belongs. And in Ciaran, Penry, and especially Ciaran's enigmatic half-brother Ronan, Michael finds friendship deeper than he's ever known.

But Michael's only beginning to understand what makes the Academy so special. Ronan is a vampire--part of a hybrid clan who are outcasts even among other vampires. Within the Academy's confines exists a ruthless world of deadly rivalries and shifting alliances, of clandestine love and forbidden temptations. And soon Michael will confront the destiny that brought him here--and a danger more powerful than he can imagine. . .
Michael Griffo is an award-winning writer and one of six playwrights whose career will be tracked by WritersInsight.com until 2010. He is a graduate of New York University, has studied at Playwrights Horizons and Gotham Writers Workshop, and has written several screenplays.

MY REVIEW:

This is a story of a young man named Michael who is living in the small town of Weeping Waters, Nebraska with his mother and grandparents. The Michael we get to see in the beginning of the book is very unhappy, sad, you feel so bad for him. He is picked on at school, bullied, isolated and struggling with who he is and his attraction to other boys. He dreams of a better life. His grandparents are distant, him mother is depressed all the time, it’s quite the sad tale. Then to make matters worse Michael’s mother commits suicide. Next thing he knows his father arrives from England to take Michael back to London after his mother’s funeral. Michael doesn’t hesitate in leaving; he cannot believe his luck he finally gets to leave the small town of Weeping Waters and hopefully begin a new life.

When he arrives in London he finds out his father is away on business and his chauffer will be driving him directly to the boarding school he will be attending; Archangel Academy a school for boys. Arriving at school Michael feel a tremendous weight of his shoulders he feels for this first time in his life he is actually home and maybe he could be happy here.

We are introduced to some of the other characters in the book and we get to see some of what they are thinking about. The author does a terrific job with each of the characters points of view.

But of course the best part of any romance is when Michaels see Ronan standing in the rain they both can’t take their eyes of each other. Of course in everything that starts nothing goes as smooth as they want but they both know they feel strongly for each other. This is an amazing story of two young men finding love and accepting who they are.

This is a YA/Paranormal romance between two young men, author Michael Griffo does a terrific job at writing a paranormal romance and puts his own twist on the types of vampires we read about. It’s new and different and I really enjoyed reading Unnatural. There are many other characters in this book that make it a terrific read. It's not just a romance novel though there is murder and some mystery and I recommend this book to anyone who loves paranormal books.

Mind Over Matter by S.J. Clarke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mind Over Matter is a story about a woman named Rebecca McKenney , we find out fast that Rebecca is grieving the loss of her daughter Sabrina who was abducted 3 years ago and is still missing. She knows people in her small town think she should admit defeat and come to the realization that Sabrina is most likely dead, Rebecca knows her daughter is alive.

Having breakfast at a local restaurant one morning she sees a picture on a milk carton of a missing girl seeing this is a catalyst that brings on two very strong and fast visions one after another. First she sees the young girl on the milk carton alive; her second vision is her daughter 3 years older. Here we find out this is not the first time Rebecca has had visions.

This leads her to looking up the agent who worked her case 3 years ago. Finding out he has left FBI she tracks him down to his own firm called Anderson Securities. Agent Dan Cooper feels guilty as he knows he made a very grave mistake early on in his investigation, he understands the helplessness Rebecca feels. He agrees and he does warn Rebecca that he doesn’t believe in her visions he thinks it more or less stress related. This novel is what I would classify as a mystery, suspense, paranormal and romance all wrapped up in one very good book.

I found myself drawn to this story as you want to know more turning each page the suspense, secrets, lies, cover up, the townspeople, her ex-husband who isn’t who he said he is, even her close friend.

This is the first book in the Anderson Securities and it’s the first book written by S.J. Clarke. I will say I cannot wait to see what happens in this series and I definitely will buy book two.

GOODREADS BOOK DESCRIPTION:

For three years Rebecca McKenney has been grieving the loss of her daughter. Now, a vision showing Sabrina three years older, suggests her baby is still alive, and the FBI agent who gave up the search is the only one who can help find her. Rebecca once witnessed a psychic connection between Agent Cooper and her daughter. She only hopes their fragile bond remains-and that the coward has the decency to pursue it.

Special Agent Dan Cooper, haunted by a tragic mistake made early in the investigation, agrees to help Rebecca to ease his conscience, if nothing else. Together they fight inner demons, all too real bad guys, and an attraction neither wants to admit to. Each step closer to finding her daughter unearths wide-spread deception and an evil so vile it threatens to break Rebecca's spirit. The thought of having her daughter back in her arms is all that keeps her going. Until she learns the horrifying truth – her daughter is scheduled to die in mere days.

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The Next Thing I Knew by John Corwin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


GOODREADS BOOK DESCRIPTION:

When Lucy Morgan drops dead along with everyone else on Earth she refuses to take death lying down even if, technically, her corpse is.

She drags her ghostly social life back from the grave and enlists her friends to figure out the rules of the afterlife. More importantly, they want to discover who or what killed everyone and why the heck anyone would do such a mean thing.

But what they discover changes everything. And if they can't figure out how to put their newfound ghostly powers to work, humanity will be extinct for good.

MY REVIEW:
This book starts off with the main character Lucy waking up and realizing that she is dead; it appears she is a ghost. She start to wonder around her house her neighbourhood meets up with a friend who also confirms that yes everyone is dead. The Apocalypse must have happened.

In her travels Lucy finds her friends, family members, neighbours and even the boy she has a crush on. With nothing to do, no time limits, no school, iPods, facebook etc. Lucy and her friends start to explore the realm they all appear to be on, but is it heaven or someplace in between? They can move around from their realm to earth to outer space they can pretty much do what they want. In all of their exploring they end up finding small things and realize they need to figure out what happened to cause everyone on earth to die. The story is filled with alien’s, ghosts, space travel, a deadly virus and of course a love story.

The Next Thing I Knew is well written and the author adds humour to make it even a better read, I would say this book is more of a YA Science Fiction then a YA Paranormal book. It is a great read and what I really liked about this book is that it was different something new and fresh. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this book, I can see how this story can lead into more books in this series and I can’t wait to see what John Corwin comes out with next.




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Love Turns the Page by Etienne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Love Turns the Page (Avondale Stories #7)

GOODREADS BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Tom Foster has his life planned out, and he’s systematically pursuing his goals. At twenty-two, he’s been organist and choirmaster at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd for three years, he’s working on his doctoral thesis, and he's beginning a secondary career performing in concert. There is no room in his schedule for romance... until Noah Webster, a gorgeous green-eyed blond, walks into the church one evening to audition for the choir.

What starts as an arrangement of convenience—Tom’s usual page turner is unavailable, and Noah agrees to do the job—soon turns into a fast friendship. Then Noah, who is saddled with an obnoxious roommate, rents the spare bedroom in Tom’s house, and ultimately the two men become lovers and partners in life. But before they can ride off into the sunset together, they must face one major obstacle: Noah’s violent, homophobic Southern Baptist father.
Etienne is one of the first authors I read in the m/m genre, so of course I will say he is a favourite of mine. This story is the 7th book in the Avondale series, and I love that you get to see all the different characters from his other books it’s like seeing old friends.

MY REVIEW:
Love Turns the Page is a romance book between two young men, we meet Tom who is an organist and choirmaster and is working on getting his doctorate and Noah who walks in to attend the choir audition and ends up becoming Tom’s page turner as well a member of the choir. Noah has a beautiful voice and Tom soon realizes that he will accomplish some great things.

As the story unfolds we see Tom and Noah falling in love and starting a life together, but nothing is that simple. Noah comes from a very religious family and knows if they find he is gay that he will lose his family and probably be disowned.

The events of what happens after Noah father finds out he is gay is startling. Bigotry, hate from his parents lead to some horrible outcomes.

The story is well written and I enjoyed it right to the end. I gave these book 4 stars, the only problem
I had with the story is how fast the relationship started and how the relationship moved to becoming a very committed couple. But I loved it at the same time.
The other thing I want to mention is that the author Etienne in this series not only introduces us to some great characters he introduces and describes the places they attend in detail, some of the restaurants/churches as well as towns they go to are real places and his descriptions make you want to go find these places to sit and have a meal or a glass of wine. Etienne is a terrific author and I love this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves HEA.


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Drink Deep by Chloe Neill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

BOOK DESCRIPTION ON GOODREADS:

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven't been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.

That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.

Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike.

MY REVIEW:

I have waited for months to read this book, with the devastating ending in Hard Bitten I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. How was Chloe Neill going to get me to keep reading this series after the loss we all felt.

There is an investigation happening at Cadogan House for mismanagement and everything has been tightened up since what happened to Ethan, even their blood is being rationed.

But they all understand that they must go on in Ethan’s honour.

There is trouble brewing and Lake Michigan suddenly turns black and of course vampires are blamed for this.

Merit and Jonah are working together to find out who is responsible for this.

Merit is still the heroine of the story even without Ethan at her side, working with Jonah is working out well, sometimes she does feel a bit guility about how she is feeling towards Jonah but she keeps things professional. Merit still hasn't decided if she is going to join the Red Guard.

So the fans will not be disappointed with this book; Chleo has not a fabulous job in making her loyal readers happy with the ending of Drink Deep.

All I will say without adding spoilers is this is a book you need to read and I must add Thank You to Chloe Neill I am a happy loyal fan.


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The Key by Felicia Rogers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




BOOK DESCRIPTION ON GOODREADS:

A teenage girl suffering from a family tragedy, Maddie Clevenger is oblivious to the ancient mystery surrounding her. She’s young and incredibly unlucky, in life and in love. She should be enjoying her senior year of high school, but instead she is tormented by a reoccurring nightmare and a very real stalker. But all that changes when Chase Donovan, an Air Force brat with a protective streak, shows up at school. Will Chase be the key to helping her solve her stalker problem? Will he be the key to solving the mystery surrounding her family’s past?

MY REVIEW:

Felicia Rogers has created this book around a different type of paranormal creatures; there are no vampires or even werewolves in her story she introduces us readers to the world of the Gryphons.  
This is a paranormal mystery/romance book and it’s a nice change to read a story about a different type of paranormal creature.

So we are introduced to Maddie a senior attending a new high school, with no friends not even a locker to store her books in. She rides her bike home every day with her books weighing her down just like her life. Her story is a sad one her parents died in a house fire, she has moved in with her great grandmother and she having horrible nightmares reliving the fire that took her parents life. She also starts to have strange dreams she has no idea why and what is going on in them. Maddie can barely have a full night of sleep due to her nightmares.

Just a typical day at school in walks two new boys Dougal who for some reason seems to just stare at her giving her chills down her back. The other new student is Chase Donovan who has the complete opposite effect on her, when they touch she feels electrical currents running up her arm.

The author tells us this story giving us different points of views and it works well, not to confusing the story flows right to the end of the book. We the readers get to see what Chase is seeing and feeling as well as what Dorian is up to.

Of course we fall for handsome Chase Donavon, who doesn’t love a handsome hero type figure and he is perfect for Maddie.

What can I say about this book without giving away too much besides read the book and hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I definitely recommend this book for reading.

Also want to thank Felicia Rogers for giving our group Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Fanatics copies of her book to review. And thanks to Kay for arranging this for all of us readers.

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Face the Dark by Dave Ferraro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads Book Description:

One will betray her.

Still reeling from the events of Greece, the hunters find themselves targeted by demons and werewolves. As they try to figure out who has marked them for assassination and why, Shanna learns more about who the mysterious figure Diana was, and about the people she is hunting alongside. After the dust settles, they will never be the same again.

MY REVIEW:

Face the Dark is the third book in the series Hunters of the Dark, I really have enjoyed reading this series so far, Dave Ferraro writing is fantastic, and the series keeps getting better. After finishing this book I am ready for book 4.

The story continues right after book two ended. Shanna is still dealing with her dreams and trying to figure out how Diana fits into this all. Then strange things start happening in her sleep, no one really understands what is going on. A new character is introduced and another dies. The group of hunters find out they are marked for assassination and werewolfs are hunting them. The story is a great read, kept me interested right till the last page. I was a bit dissapointed when I realized I was at the end of the book.

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoy paranormal/uf books.

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Hushed by Kelley York

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Hushed by Kelley York


This is one of the best novels I have read this month maybe even this year. When I first received Hushed I thought it was going to be about a young man who is seeking revenge on behalf of his best friend Vivian. He would do anything for her, even kill.

So as we start reading this story Archer has just killed one of the men on his list, you see how his love and his need to protect Vivian is what is driving him to do these murders. The more you read about Vivian and Archer the more you start to feel compassion for Archer.

So now you’re reading and your feeling sorry for the murderer. I actually disliked Vivian and the way she treated Archer the dysfunction of their relationship is pretty clear.
Then along comes Evan, who you can see has a crush on Archer, so now you’re seeing a romance blossom between these two young men and your praying somehow this is going to end in a happy ever after situation, even though you know from reading this far that Archer has killed a few people and Evan is aware of what is going on.

As the story continues you see Vivian spinning out of control and praying for Archer to get away from her and staying closer to Evan.

Archer knows deep down that he wants and needs Evan in his life, the romance in this story is as important as the murders at the beginning of the book. Evan admits he doesn’t want to be a monster and wants to stop killing. Everything get so mixed up together, the romance, the murders, the messed up relationship he has with Vivian meanwhile you’re still hoping that it all works out in the end for Evan and Archer.

The book is about love, family, murder, romance, and it is gut wrenching and heart breaking.

The author Kelley York did a fantastic job with this story and is an amazing author, I have given this book a 5 star rating. I would recommend to all of my friends.


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Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


First have to say I love the cover of this book.

Ok so Always a Witch continues from Book one Once a Witch.

Brilliant sequel, we get to see all the characters from book one and the story continues. We get to see more of Gabrille and Tamsin now a couple makes you happy inside knowing they are together.

In the first book Tasmin discovered her talent and traveled through time to save her family. In this book Tasmin must travel back in time to save her family from the evil Alistar. She works as a maid for a family that uses evil means to enhance their magic.

What more can I say but read the book if you enjoy y/a pnr/uf.


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Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I stumbled across Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough quite by accident, and have to say I am really quite shocked I hadn’t heard more about this series before this week. I immediately started reading this book and was swept away with the story of Tamsin.

Tamsin is from a family of powerful witches, the downside is Tamsin is talentless and I guess you could say because of this she feels that she is not a witch. Growing up and feeling empty and left out she goes to New York to attend school. There we meet her best friend Agatha and see the close relationship she has with her. In reading this story you feel strongly for Tamsin and can only imagine how it would feel to be so different from everyone in her family.

During a visit home, while she is working in her families store she meets a tall dark stranger who assumes she is her sister and asks for her help.

Tamsin decides she wants to prove to her family she can help this stranger, proving something to herself and her family even though she has no talent. This is where the story has some twist and turns and kept me reading till quite late at night.

This story has some funny moments, quirky aunt, handsome young man, a grandmother who doesn’t seem to answer her questions a sister who drives you crazy. Sound like a typical family LOL.

This is the beginning of a great series and would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys reading PNR/UF books.

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Visions by Anna James

My rating: 3 1/2 of 5 stars

Vision’s is a short novel about a woman named Prudence (Pru); we are first introduced to her waking up after having a nightmare of a brutal murder. She doesn’t understand why she keeps having this reoccurring dream.

Prudence has just found out on her mother’s death bed that she was adopted and her parents are both deceased, their lives ending very tragically.

Travelling to her home town of Salem, Massachusetts she enters her childhood home, she immediately starts having visions and experiences some very loving scenes of what she believes are of her parents. Not understanding how this loving couple could have been the two people she was told about and how their life’s ended in murder/suicide. Totally confused about what she is experiences she questions the idea of her father killing her mother.

Then we are introduced to her handsome police officer neighbour, he also tries to fill her in on the facts of the mystery of what happened in this house so many years ago.

This is a murder/mystery/romance all wrapped up in about 57 pages.

The writing of Anna James is good, the story is fast paced, well written and the story flows well.

I have rated the book around a 3.5 as the story is good and I enjoyed it, the only downfall was that it was a bit too short/fast and some of the romance happened at a speed I would say unbelievable but one could hope. The romance between these two are well written and felt very sensual. Great writing.

This is the first book I’ve read by Anna James and her writing is of good quality and I will look into her other books.

I would recommend this book to my friends especially if they would like to read a fast paced novel.


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Witch Hunt by Nick Chivers

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would probably rate this book 2.5 but went with 3 as it does deserve more then a two star rating.

This book fell short on a few things, not much of a romance, no hot m/m sex scenes.

There were times I felt the story moved to fast and then some times I found it dragged on a bit to much.

But I did like the concept of the story and I think there is room for a sequel. I would just prefer to see more around the actual love between two men.

I am not a writer, just a reader so I will give Nick credit for writing this story and I will continue to read anything he writes in the future because like I said I think the idea of the story is a good one, it was just lacking substance.

So good luck in your writing and I will keep my eye out for his next book.

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Blood Warrior by H.D. Gordon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blood Warrior (The Alexa Montgomery Saga) by H.D. Gordon

A new author H.D. Gordon debut novel is worth picking up and reading. If you love PNR/UF then you will not be disappointed with this book. H.D. Gordon’s writing was very thought out and her words flowed and kept me reading till late in the evening.

When I first opened the book it seemed it was about a lonely young woman who was living in a very abusive home. It talked about her mother hitting her and I had to remember what genre I was reading so of course I knew there was a reason.

We are introduced to her sister Nelly, her mother and her one and only friend Jackson. In a fight for their life’s Alexa finds out more about herself and why all the practicing she has done with her mother is going to come in very handy.

This story is full of suspense, mystery and of course has a few young men who are falling for Alexa; I would almost say it’s more than a love triangle as there are a few men introduced to the story. This book is a page turner and left me wanting more. I cannot wait for this saga to continue. As any new series we know we will have to wait for book two. I am hoping H.D. Gordon is writing as I type.

I would recommend this book to all my friends who love reading PNR.

I don’t give book 5 stars a lot, to be a book that rates 5 is a novel that one I can’t put down or stop thinking about. The writing was excellent and like I said I never put the book down. This novel deserved the 5 star rating.


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