Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) by Richelle Mead

Release Date: April 8, 2008
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 340
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased by Reviewer
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***Warning: if you have not read Vampire Academy, there will be spoilers.***

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose... 

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory. 

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...



Frostbite is the second book in the Vampire Academy series written by Richelle Mead. It begins with Dimitri taking Rose to a remote location so that she can take her qualifier exam. When they arrive at the house where the instructor who was to administer the exam is stationed they find that he, along with the Moroi he was assigned to guard, have been slaughtered by Strigoi.

The book itself, while very well written, is not particularly memorable. I think of it as a filler book. However, while it did not do a lot to further the plot as a whole, Frostbite does show how dire the Strigoi situation really is. It is definitely a much darker book than the first one. Much darker than I realized at the time. It has the gore of an adult vampire novel in the setting of a young adult situation which was fine for me since I am not even remotely in high school anymore.

Rose’s personal growth can be tracked in this book as she learns how to live with grief that those around her, such as her classmates (both dhampir and Moroi), have not had to deal with yet. Lissa would have been able to understand, and even relate because of what happened to her parents, but Rose is unable to communicate effectively with her because Rose feels as if she should protect Lissa from her feelings and pain. This is why I refer to it as personal growth instead of friendship growth.This novel is the step between the immature Rose who could not handle conflict in the first book and the Rose that will have to deal with some absolutely insane personal issues down the line. So, while the content is not entirely memorable, the outcome is important.  It also sets up the opportunity to continue the personal growth in the next book because she will have to learn how to cope with the death of a close friend.

Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead
- 5 of 5 stars

Release Date: August 16, 2007
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
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St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger... 

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.






The first book in the series follows two girls, Rosemarie (Rose) Hathaway and Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir, who have been best friends since kindergarten. The book begins by showing the recapture of the two young fugitives and their forced return to, you guessed it, high school. But not just any high school. Their vampire high school where Lissa is full-blood vampire royalty and Rose, a dhampir (half-vampire) is being trained as her guardian.

It took literally years for me to be able to pick up this book and actually give it a fair chance. As Emily has already mentioned, my feelings about Twilight are very strong and not very positive so, even though these books were recommended to me by one of the most intelligent and well-read people my age probably ever (Hermione, anyone?) I didn’t give the books a shot until very recently. Let this serve as my public and sincere apology. Emily, you were right. Vampire Academy is fantastic. I was struck with Richelle’s ability to accurately portray the emotions that teenage girls deal with on a daily basis. The fact that Rose actually has to deal with real problems makes this book even more remarkable. I think people forget that, while teenage girls deal with their fair share of drama and problems growing up, they deal with real issues, too. This book validates the idea that you really have no idea what someone else is going through and you have to be able to be compassionate and understanding. Since it was only the first book, the level of character development is  limited, which is kind of the point of having a series anyway. The book deals with emotional and physical issues that adults and other young adults try to belittle to make their own problems seem more important.

That being said, Dimitri is one smokin’ hot Russian. Oh, man. That description. I always love the way men are described in young adult novels because the reader is granted permission to completely ignore the imperfections in men. The novels focus on female characters exploring their flaws and their ability to grow, but they also focus on the male characters growing and reacting perfectly to the female growth. While entirely unrealistic, it is so nice to read a story that really is all about the female main character. Ah, if only life could be so sweet.