Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Hi there, guys!
I'm back - finally!
As I've already told you in my last post, I was kind of in a reading slump. I started several books and finished only a single one. The reason for my slump was The Walking Dead.
A good friend of mine always raved about this show and I was really intrigued. There was only one problem: I was terribly afraid of zombies. I don't mind the bloodiness of TWD, just...zombies.
If I ever stood in front of a boggart, it would definitely turn into a Zombie.

But the curiosity won, and I started to watch the show. And about four episodes in....I was slightly hooked.
I'm now currently watching 03x11, so I was pretty productive last week!
Do you watch the show, too? If so, who's your favourite character?
Tell me in the comments!
Mine are defenitely Daryl (I live a Daryl Dixon appreciation life), Carol, Michonne and Glenn.
But in the end, they're all really cool characters (well, except for Andrea. I can't stand her at all).


As you probably all have noticed, TWD did not only shorten my motivation in reading but also in writing. Sorry, guys! Anyways, I'm back now, so let's get started!

Basics

Title: Frostbite
Series: Vampire Academy, book #2
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: April 1^st 2008
Publisher: Razorbill
ISBN: 1595141758
Number of Pages: 327
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
What's special? We get some new boys to drool over!

Summary

After the discovery of a brutal massacre against one of the royal families carried out by Strigois, St. Vladimir's is on high alert.

The bloodthirsty vampires were able to break through the building's magical barriers, which means the school, too, is not as protected as it seems to be.
Many guardians come to protect St. Vlad's – including Rose's Mom Janine.
During the winter break the whole school (plus the student's families) retire to a posh ski resort in Idaho. But not only the Strigoi are loose. The emotions, too.
Rose loves Dimitri. But they can't be together. And Dimitri may love Tasha. Tasha seems to love him too. Mason loves Rose. But does Rose love Mason? And then Adrian Ivashkov shows up and he may or may not love Rose but he certainly wants her.
In the middle of this tohubohu three students run away to wreak revenge on the Strigoi.

My Opinion

It's been a while since I've read the book but I took a lot of notes, so here we go!
In my opinion Frostbite was even better than Vampire Academy. All of our characters developed vastly. Rose became more grown-up. Her actions became more mature and better thought-out.
She's still hot tempered but her lessons with Dimitri helped her to keep her calm in debates.
And thanks to Rose's thoughts and sassy one-liners, I laughed so hard at some points.

But not only Rose, Christian, Dimitri and Lissa, too, got some new layers, and their characters became more complex. Good job, Richelle!
What also improves: Christian and Rose's friendship. But I'll get into detail later.

At the beginning of the book there's a nice little recap for people who've read the first book a while ago. You can skip it if you're marathoning the series or read it to dwell on old memories. But let me tell you: It's nice to reread all the events and details!

Thank god that I bought the boxset #1-#3! After finishing Frostbite, I could go on with Shadow Kiss right away. I've already finished that one, too, and the review will follow – hopefully – soon!
Meanwhile I also got the boxset with the last three books(Blood Promise, Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice). I finished book 4 a few days ago and will probably do two double reviews.
Rose definitely became my favourite heroine. She developed so much in the course of the series and had to endure unthinkable horrors. She can kick ass and has a HIGH badass level. But she kept her stubborness and her humour, which makes me love her even more.

She's a caring person and if she makes mistakes, she tries everything to make it right again.
In Frostbite, we already get some sneak peaks at her mental state in book three. My poor baby.

Moving on to Rose and Dimitri's relationship: OH GOD.

Back in book 1 I didn't fully grasp why they love each other or how they fell in love but after reading Frostbite, I can see it. Their dynamic works so well. THEY JUST FIT TOGETHER PERFECTLY.
In Frostbite I started to like Dimitri a lot, but after #3 I LOVE HIM. To quote Rose: He's a god.
But I'll get to that in my next review, and be prepared, guys, be prepared. I'll rave about him a lot.

We also get some more of Christian. And I'll always love him. He's a perfect friend for Rose, even though they don't really see it yet. The cooking scene was amazing. His snarky tone and his don't-fuck-with-me-attitude always manage to make me laugh.

At the end, in the house, I just thought: YOU GO BOY!
And wait till you read book #3, I have so much to rave about! ROSE AND CHRISTIAN, GUYS!

Their friendship was written very well. It develops slowly. It's not like 'oh, you're Lissa's boyfriend? Sure I like you!' They still have their problems and disagreements.

I really started to dislike Lissa in Frostbite and it got worse in the course of book 3 and 4, but I'll talk about that in my double review!

Apart from our main characters, we meet a few new characters or get to know old ones better:

- Rose's mom Janine Hathaway: I didn't like her in the beginning of the book but was quite curious about her, tho. She has such a strong personality, there's really no place for weakness.
We knew Rose was strong but this woman? She's a badass. She is one of the best guardians out there. And because she choose her job over her daughter, Rose hates her mom. But read and see, guys.

- Then we have Mia: I've never thought I would say this, but I started to like her! Yeah, she still makes some bad decisions in Frostbite but she became way nicer to everybody and wait until you read book 3!

- Mason: much more present in this one and hE'S SUCH A CUTIE
  We also get to know his best friend Eddie but he gets more present in #3

-Adrian: I disliked him first too, he seemed so plastic. Always smoking, always drinking and always trying to hit on Rose. But now? I LOVE HIM. Really, Richelle only writes desirable men.

He's on top of my 'precious babies'-list (but after Daryl from The Walking Dead. He cared so much for Sophia and still cares about Carol and Carl and JUDITH. The feeding scene! Holy crap – I thought my ovaries are about to explode. I mean, LOOK AT THIS:

  

What. A. Man.) 

Anyways, what I actually wanted to tell you:

Adrian is a cutie.

If you enjoyed Vampire Academy but aren't sure if you should go on with the series:

Try Frostbite! It's a huge improvement! And you would miss out Adrian – and believe me, you don't want to do that!

 

Rating

5 out of 5 stars
Definitely one of my favourite books!

See you guys soon!