Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: Out now
How I got this book: ARC from the publisher via Netgalley
I’ve battled the Reapers of Chaos before–and survived. But this time I have a Bad, Bad Feeling it’s going to be a fight to the death … most likely mine.
Yeah, I’ve got my psychometry magic, my talking sword, Vic–and even the most dangerous Spartan on campus at my side, in Logan freaking Quinn, but I’m no match for Loki, the evil Norse god of chaos. I may be Nike’s Champion, but at heart, I’m still just Gwen Frost, that weird Gypsy girl everyone at school loves to gossip about.
Then someone I love is put in more danger than ever before, and something inside me snaps. This time, Loki and his Reapers are going down for good … or I am.
This blurb came from the author’s website.
There is nothing like being hooked with the first book of a series and staying as captivated through the very end. Over the intervening years since I picked up First Frost I have also been lucky enough to review most of them and show my enjoyment. So it was with a combination of eagerness and sadness that I cracked open the cover to the final installment in Estep’s Mythos Academy series. When I read the back cover blurb and tried to figure out exactly what was going to make Gwen snap I had a guess and it proved to be accurate. That was the only thing I guess correctly about Killer Frost which meant I enjoyed the twists and turns even more. If you haven’t read the previous installments you need to stop reading now, enjoy the series up to this point and then pick up reading this review again. In other words I will be unable to avoid spoilers from earlier in Gwen’s life but I will avoid any major spoilers from this installment.
The story opened in a way that made me both laugh and grimace a bit. Gwen’s roommate, Daphne, was trying to convince Gwen to relax and enjoy her double date. Gwen can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen given her experiences during her last date with Logan. But as time goes on it appears as if all she has to worry about is Logan’s reluctance to touch her because of his PTSD caused by his actions while under Loki’s control. Then Logan’s father, Linus, showed up and once again his presence seemed to indicate everything was going to slide downhill rather quickly. The Protectorate had retrieved a large stash of artifacts at least one of which was vital to the Reapers attempts to completely restore Loki to power. Linus wanted Gwen to use her psychometry to determine which artifact and why it was so important. After the Reapers failed to secure the artifact during an attack on the convoy, they decided to switch tactics and go after someone Gwen loved. At that point Gwen decided she had nothing to lose and everything to gain so instead of just reacting she started planning to end it once and for all.
I loved seeing everything from the past stories pulled together. Gwen’s arguments with Linus and his continuing blindness to what really mattered were something to see. All of the allies Gwen gained, the lives she touched and improved, and friends she didn’t know existed all banded together when she least expected it. I also loved seeing her take some observations over the years and give a few individuals a push towards potential happiness. It was as if Gwen’s fears about surviving the next encounter with Loki made her more sensitive to enjoying what was available at the present because the chance might never come again. Her habit of displaying loyalty towards others regardless of the personal cost in previous installments continued as a theme in Killer Frost.
As much as I enjoyed seeing the threads pull together, I certainly did not feel like all of the action occurred in previous installments. On several occasions Estep provided moments when I felt like my heart was in my throat because things looked very doubtful but then she would add a resurgence of hope and I would start breathing again. Estep also continued to weave the threads of myths and legends as she provided closure marking a definite ending to the series yet leaving me wondering how the final events would leave a lingering mark on the survivors.
Estep did a wonderful job with Killer Frost as the final story. I felt fully satisfied because the events that occurred followed the same logic as the entire series. Not to mention all of Frost’s characters remained within their established personas regardless of the difficulty of the situation. I am very glad I picked this series up and I hope that Estep decided to continue writing in the YA/Fantasy genre.
I give Killer Frost an A