Kiss of Frost

Kiss of Frost is the squeal to Touch of Frost and I am happy to say I enjoyed it immensely. Thankfully the writing and the character development picked up so I am glad I continued with the series.

Gwen is now Nike's champion and being hunted by a Reaper. Unsure of who she can trust and lacking pretty much any fighting ability Gwen works at staying alive. Not wanting to be alone at Mythos academy while the students go to the annual winter festival Gwen relucantly tags along with her best friend. Instead of fun games and yummy food Gwen is playing a deranged game for her very life.

I had major issues with the writing in most of Touch of Frost and happily the writing was a lot more enjoyable. Instead of every other word being "gypsy gift" or "gypsy girl" new words were introduced describing Gwen's power and it was not shoved down the reader's throat. I look forward to reading Dark Frost.

Bubble World

Bubble World was very different then what I expected. I chose it blindly from a bargain bookshelf at the local bookstore since the cover looked interesting.

Freesia has it all, good looks, amazing clothes, perfect family, friends, and a stunning island life. Sadly for her none of it is real, instead she is in a virtual reality school. When her life starts to glitch Freesia is beyond confused as to what is happening. Despite living a virtual reality world for several years and then being back in the real world suddenly Freesia did not really lose it. I did find her character extremely shallow and two dimensional. All Freesia cared about was pretty people and clothing.

Sadly Bubble World was not my favorite. I found the main character unbelievable and the side characters were painfully underdeveloped. The writing was majorly confusing in the start, I did not know what was going on half the time. Several words were invented for Bubble World and it took me a bit to figure them all out. The ending was predictable and anti-climatic. 

Room

I do not recall where I saw Room, maybe a Friday 56 blog, but I have been anxious to read it. A few pages in I knew Room was going to be tedious but I still wanted to read it.

Jack's whole life is a tiny room, he has never been outside or seen a single person except his mother. Kidnapped and locked up like a prisoner Jack's ma gives birth to him and does all she can to keep him safe from her abductor. Since Old Nick only shows up at night Ma has Jack sleep in the wardrobe for his own safety. At times Jack seemed wise beyond his years and other times he seemed highly immature.

In some ways I would have liked to know more about Ma and old Nick. They were both kind of understated characters. The writing was hard to read since it is told in a five year old's voice and it did take me awhile to figure out what was going on. However it was a nice change of pace from books I have been reading a lot of lately.

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies

I was not sure if I wanted to buy another collection of short Hogwarts stories since I was not overly happy with the first one I purchased. It just seemed not enough for the money however I wanted to know more about side characters in Harry Potter. Since Pottermore confuses the daylights out of me I broke down and bought the short story collection.

No denying it is short, under a hundred pages and most pages only have a few words on them but it was still fun. Harry Potter maintains a magic all its own for me so any time I can get additional details about it I am happy.

All in all a fun read with a few new facts about side characters in the Harry Potter series.

Truly Madly Deadly

I read a sample of Truly Madly Deadly several months and immediately ordered it from the library.

Sawyer is struggling to come to terms with the death of boyfriend Kevin. While their relationship seemed perfect to the untrained eye it was far from that. Kevin was abusive and Sawyer was always his favorite punching bag. Worried if she does not grieve properly Sawyer is unsure how to act around her family and friends. All that changes when a note appears in Sawyer's locker saying "You're Welcome."

I could not stop thinking about everything going on even when I was not reading. The mystery and suspense were dished out in the perfect amounts. I did have a couple issues with a few small things that occurred, they just did not seem to fit with everything that was going on. Overall I enjoyed the story and would not mind reading more work by Hannah Jayne.

Wrecked

I have been wanting to try a merperson story for months so when I spotted Wrecked on the discount shelf I did not hesitate to buy it.

Miranda blames herself for the death of her friends in a boating accident. Despite not having been drinking she was driving the boat and somehow managed to escape the water despite plantlife tangling in her leg. Lost in her own sorry Miranda goes around in a drugged trance trying to cope with all the changes in her life.

Christian has always been drawn to the human world and despite the pains from surfacing Christian watches humans. Seeing a boating accident Christian is unable to help himself and saves a girl who passes out in his arms. 

Sadly I am not even sure how to describe the plot line, writing, or character development for Wrecked. The story was long, boring, and full of filler. Almost none of it was believable, friends turning against Miranda because she lived through the boating accident seemed odd and poorly done. I saw no changes in Miranda at all and this was a huge disappointment. The story was so boring and poorly written I just skimmed the last fifty pages or so. Thankfully it is a standalone novel so I was not left wondering anything or trying to decide if I would struggle through the second book.

Touch of Frost

The dazzling cover piqued my interest in Touch of Frost. Drawn to the cover I downloaded a sample on my Nook and was immediately hooked. Lucky for me the library had a copy in so I did not even have to wait.

Gwen Frost has had a normal life until the death of her mother, pulled out of her school she is enrolled in Mythos Academy. Hurting over the death of her mother, the loss of all her friends, and confused about her new school Gwen is a loner and a outcast until she stumbles upon the body of the most popular girl in school. Despite the teachers shielding the student body from the horrible details of the girl's death Gwen is determined to find the truth.

I had a couple issues with Touch of Frost. The writing was just plain bad in parts, the farther I read the better things got but it took far too long for anything to be revealed which was frustrating. Literally it was three pages of what is going on then wham out of no where forty pages of everything being thrown at you at all at once. Another major issue for me was the repetitive writing, I kept checking to see if I had read that part before. Way too much use of the words "gypsie gift" and with how touchy people are about slurs I am not sure that was the best terms to describe Gwen's powers. Despite these flaws I do hope to continue the Mythos Academy series.

Run

A few weeks ago I read an excerpt for Run on a Friday 56 blog post and I immediately ordered it from the library. Sadly I am unable to recall which blog it was to provide a link. :(

Bo Dickinson is known as the local wild girl who does what she wants when she wants. Full of spirit and caring little what others think Bo works at befriending a local blind girl.

Agnes has always been quiet and accepted her parents iron control over her, as they say they are keeping her best interests in mind. Stuck with a friend that treats her more like an inconvenience and ditches her any chance she can Agnes's life is pretty much school and then hanging out at home with her parents. All that changes for her when Bo decides to start being her friend.

The two girls are very different and I saw a lot of peer pressure in the book at times. Parts of it did seem to odd to me when Agnes just gave in like it was no big deal and yet held out on other things. I did enjoy Run a good deal until the end. I was not happy with the ending at all.