Ok so, I wasn't sure what I was going to think of Frostbite. I've previously reviewed the first in the 'Vampire Academy' series named, well, Vampire Academy, and I wasn't impressed (you can read my review for that here)
so I was pretty dubious that the sequel would be any good at all.
How wrong I was. Admittedly, I read the first chapter and all I could think was 'this reminds me of one of those last time on.... spiels you get at the start of TV shows' but it was quite good to get a recap of what happened to Rose and Lissa in the last book, and went a long way to reminding you of close character relationships.
In Frostbite, we see Rose about to be tested as part of her guardian training, by one of the most legendary guardians alive, however she turns up to the house she's to be tested at with Dimitri to find the guardian and his Moroi family murdered by what appears to be a marauding band of Strigoi. It becomes even more alarming when they discover that humans are working alongside the Strigoi in an attempt to annihilate the Moroi royal families for good.
It's almost Christmas, and the Moroi world is in uproar with families scared to leave their children at the Academy, but knowing they all need to stick together - so the students of the Academy and their parents head to a remote ski resort owned by a particularly wealthy Moroi royal family for a winter vacation none of them will forget.
I really enjoyed this book - it drew me in much quicker than its predecessor, and although I really, really hate the names 'Moroi' and 'Strigoi' (they just sound too, made up I guess. Which they are but yeah, it bothers me) the quality of writing had improved much more as well, which all clubbed together to draw me into the fabulous world of the Academy.
I began to really care what happened to these characters - I wouldn't go as far to say that I was emotionally involved with them yet, but the events with Mason saddened me somewhat and I'm keen to see how Adrian brings some drama to the group. I also like that Mia has begun to mellow, and I feel like her and Rose are going to have a particularly interesting relationship as the series progresses.
I made a comment in my last review that I hoped Richelle's writing would mature with the series, and so far it definitely has done. I'm actually really looking forward to reading the next installment now, and I'm also quite excited to see the film eventually.
Ok, so I'm not too sure where to start with this one. I actually finished reading it weeks ago and meant to update with a review straight away but then life got in the way like it has a habit of doing, and now I've sat down to write it and honestly, I can't think of one defining thing about the book to talk about.
It took me forever to get into to begin with, and I really didn't enjoy Mead's writing style. Although if you asked me to explain why, I would have a serious problem trying to put it into words.
Admittedly as it went on it did get better, and towards the end of the book I did begin to get sucked into the narrative, I just didn't care about the characters which I think is so important for me with books. I like to get so totally sucked in by them that I'm reading until the early hours of the morning every morning because I really just need to know what happens right now. And that didn't happen with Vampire Academy.
If I'm honest, I wouldn't bother reading the rest of the series if I hadn't bought them as a box set from Amazon. I'm hoping that as the series progresses, I get more into the narrative, and perhaps start to enjoy Mead's style of writing.
I know that the 'long anticipated' film is coming out at some point this year, and no doubt I'll end up going to see that too as I always do like to check out book-film adaptations. Maybe I've been a little harsh in this review, here's hoping I'm surprised by the next installment.
So today I may have gotten a little carried away in WH Smiths and also on Amazon, but I think I probably speak for a lot of people when I say there is really nothing better than a new book day. Most people probably get like this over clothes (I kinda do as well, and don't get me started on buying new makeup) but nothing makes me happier than a massive stack of new books. To go with my other growing stack of new books. I'm pretty sure I could now open a library.
1. Delirium - I will admit to being heavily influenced by other fiction enthusiasts when it comes to books. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly capable of finding new books by myself, but if I find someone obsessing over something on Tumblr, it definitely makes me very curious to try it myself, especially if there is a strong fanbase behind it. Delirium is one of these occasions, I was going to order it off Amazon last week but for some reason didn't, then I stumbled across it today and it was the last copy and of course I made some excuse involving fate just to justify spending more money. I am SO excited to read it.
2. Vampire Academy series - I have a friend who I used to work with, with an almost identical taste in books to me. She has spent most of the last couple of weeks going crazy for these books, so when I saw the box set on sale I figured I'd be stupid to not buy them. I'm a little apprehensive that they may turn out a little 'Twilight-y' as they're centered around vampires but even if this is the case I will definitely give them a go. I cannot possibly leave a book unread, no matter how much it may or may not appeal to me once it's sat on my bookshelf.
3. Fallen & Torment - These were two books that I picked up on a whim when I was in WH Smiths this afternoon. I almost bought the entire series but I had just spent £100 on makeup about 10 minutes earlier and figured I should probably try and restrain myself a little, so I settled for two instead. I thought that was a personal achievement for me as I was in the mood to buy the entire bookshop. From what I could gather from the blurb, these books focus around angels, a supernatural theme which I find hasn't been represented much in fiction in comparison to the vampires and werewolves that have taken over since the birth of Twilight. I have a feeling that I will have two new fictional characters to fall in love with and cry over now, and I am sure we will all bear the brunt of my emotional trauma over the next few weeks.
I now have to make sure I don't buy any new books for a while. I literally have an entire desk and a whole shelf of my bookshelf full of unread books from as far back as 2012 to get through. I have an awful habit of just buying and buying books and not getting round to reading all the ones I already have, so the next few months will be a bit of a test for me.
I also need about 8 more bookshelves to store them. Or a whole room dedicated to them-the sooner I get my own place the better!
