Frostbite was written by Richelle Mead. It is the second novel in the Vampire Academy series. The synopsis on the back of the book:
Rose Hathaway’s got serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, and she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian.
Then a massive Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir’s on high alert, and the Academy crawls with Guardians–including the legendary Janine Hathaway . . . Rose’s formidable, long-absent mother. The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks. This year, St. Vlad’s holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose–and her heart–are in more danger than she ever could have imagined . . .
This has a prologue. It helps catch everyone (more to the benefit of people picking up book two before book one) up with what’s going on. I like that it’s also from Rose’s point of view.
Chapter One starts with Rose and Lissa having a conversation about Lissa’s medication. She is on medication so that she remains sane. Insanity is a side effect of using spirit. Rose then has to leave to go take a test with a dhampir legend. Dimitri takes her to the test site: the home of the dhampir legend and the Badicas (a royal bloodline). They arrive to find that everyone had been killed by Strigoi. What scares everyone the most is that the wards around the house were broken by a silver stake. Strigoi cannot touch these silver stakes without a lot of pain, so it was done with the help of humans. “This changes everything . . .” (Mead, 22).
The attack drives St. Vladimir’s to have a mandatory ski trip. This placates worried parents and students. To make Rose’s life more difficult, this is the moment that her mother, Janine Hathaway, decides she’s going to pay a visit. There’s a lot of strife between her and her mother. To add to the story, she has feelings for three men: Dimitri (of course), Mason, and Adrian Ivashkov (nephew of the Queen). Dimitri is pushing away from Rose. Rose’s heart hardens to Tasha Ozera when she learns that Tasha offered to give Dimitri a baby. I feel bad that Tasha doesn’t seem to understand the connection between Rose and Dimitri. Also, Tasha is amazing with offensive magic!
Adrian Ivashkov is an alcoholic and a [clove] smoker. He is also a spirit user (this isn’t found out towards the end of the book). He shows a lot of interest in Rose, but he has a reputation with women. I find it creepy that he can just enter your dreams whenever he wants. Even though he has some stalker qualities, he seems to have some potential to date Rose.
Rose and some of her friends are captured by Strigoi. I cannot say what happens, but it made me depressed. Richelle Mead is not afraid to kill some fictional people, just to warn you. The very last chapter just warms my heart. It also gives some hope that things just might work out between Rose and Dimitri. Hurray for Dimitri being the one to make the move first!
Read it if you read the first book. You may attempt to read it before book one if you choose, but you will be lost on some mentioned events from Vampire Academy. It was a good book, but it spent a lot of time on Rose’s love life.
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Stars (out of 5): ****
Cat on the Bookshelf 