Customer Reviews
A Fun Read 
2008-06-15
This book is perfect for summer reading. I can hardly wait for the next installment. My teenager loves this series, too, and the characters are closer to her age.
Frostbite 
2008-06-09
A thriller story for those that like a good vampire story. A lot of the parts get you really excited. But then there were some sad parts, but it is expected.
Fabulous Series, Fabulous Book! 2008-05-27
The first book in this series was wonderful, and this one was just as good. Mead has come up with an extremely original storyline, and her writing flows beautifully. If you liked the first book, this is a must-read!
Get Bitten At St. Vladimir's Academy 2008-05-26
After the lite urban fantasy of Vampire Academy, try on something just a little darker with Frostbite.
Welcome back to St. Vlad's. Christmas is quickly approaching and the wilds of Montana are freezing. The students are all looking forward to their holiday break until a brutal Strigoi (the bad vampires) attack on a family of Moroi (the good vampires) and their Dhampir guardians (half-bloods) leaves the vampire community reeling in shock. Not only is the murder violent but marked by the number of Strigoi it would take for such an attack and their involvement of humans. Fearing for the safety of the students and their families the students of St. Vlad's head to Wyoming for a ski trip in a Moroi owned resort.
Rose and Lissa are back, with new problems brewing. Rose keeps getting sucked into Lissa's mind when her friend is with her boyfriend, Christian. But Rose has boy troubles of her own. She's got it bad for her mentor, Dimitri, who is too old for her and will be guarding Lissa with her after graduation. At the same time her best guy pal, Mason (who has had an obvious crush on her for a long time), would be a great boyfriend and could help her get over Dimitri. When she realizes she's not sure about Mason her actions send he and a group of fellow students out of the safety of the resort and into harm's way.
While the first book was good, Frostbite started off shaky. I was pretty worried it wasn't going to win me over. But when the real trouble starts happening about halfway into the book this story got good. Really good. If you liked the first book you will LOVE this one. Rose is growing up, maturing as much as she can and I found that I began to like her a lot more, even relate to her for the first time. Lissa's role in this one was considerably smaller, but other secondary characters from Vampire Academy rounded this story out well. I even grew to like Mia by the end of the book.
While still lite for the urban fantasy genre Frostbite was very dark in the final chapters and without getting spoilerish I recommend you bring some tissues if you're sensitive like I am. I can't wait for the third book--Shadow Kissed!
Series keeps getting better and better 2008-05-15
Life is rough in high school--even for dhamphirs. Rose Hathaway is in her Senior year at St. Vladimir's. In six months, she'll be a full fledged guardian, protecting her lifelong best friend, Lissa, a Moroi Royal.
Rose is on her way to take her Qualifier. She's going to be tested by one of the guardian greats, Arthur Schoenberg. Since he cannot leave the Moroi royal house he is guarding, Rose and her teacher, Dimitri, are coming to them.
What they find instead is slaughter. All Moroi and Dhamphir members of the household are dead--apparently a plot by the Stigoi vampires and humans in conjunction.
St. Vladimir's reacts with alarm. The school won't be allowing the students to leave on Christmas break. Instead, a ski resort will host all the students together and attendance is mandatory.
Then--another Royal house is attacked and it becomes obvious the Stigoi are set to attack all the Moroi royalty and end the lines. While the Moroi are arguing defense, some of the factions are considering a more offensive approach--which, to this point, has been forbidden.
Did I mention that Rose is having man trouble? She's in love with Dimitri, her teacher, but she can have Mason, a fellow guardian-in-training.
And--since the guardians in training need even more defensive training, guess who's come to teach special classes? Janine Hathaway, Rose's mother, who'd given up raising her child for her career...
What impresses me most about "Frostbite" is Rose's character growth in one short novel. You really read how events shape Rose's thought processes and can see how this young heroine is being shaped for her future in service to the Moroi.
The intro to this book is one of the best I've ever read. In author parlance, it's a 'tell', but it's a great introduction to Rose's world and the three types of vampires inhabiting it.
"Frostbite" is the second book in Richelle Mead's 'Vampire Academy' series. It's written for young adults, but I promise you adult readers are going to enjoy every minute of the story. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.
Am I sick of Vampire books? No way! 2008-07-11
This is not your typical Vampire novel. In my opinion, it's much more orignal and fun than most! It has a range of great characters that you can both adore and hate - that's something that really makes this book come alive! The sequal to the excellent book: Vampire Academy excedes the first and makes me even more impatient for the third novel to come out!
Rose Hathaway is a Guardian-In-Training. She's a student at St. Vladmir's High where teenagers train to either be Guardians or to be protected by Guardians (the Moroi). Her dementor is Dimitri whom Rose completely adores but my stay away from because of their difference in age and the fact that they can't be distracted when they are going to be protecting the same girl: Lissa.
Dimitri might be having his eye on someone else and Rose's friend, Mason would do anything to be with her. But aside from Rose's constant guy trouble the Moroi royalty are constantly being attacked by Strigoi (Moroi gone bad.) and ruthlessly killed in the process. They are killing royalty and common blood alike as well as the Guardians that live to protect them. They must do whatever they can to stop this group of Strigoi from killing any more of their species!
Another thing is going on as well. Rose's own mother, the great fighter and killer of Strigoi is coming to her school and Rose could not be more displeased...
Things are crazy at St. Vladimir and all could possibly end fatally...
Enjoy this novel!
Engrossing and thoroughly entertaining seqeul 2008-07-08
This is the second book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. It was just as engrossing and griping as the first book. This is another one of those series that I just can't put down, yet I am not sure why.
In this book a violent Strigoi attack on a noble Moroi family leaves St. Valdimar's academy in a state of panic as the Christmas holidays approach. An elegant solution is presented that will allow the students of the academy to mingle with their parents for the holidays. The whole school is put up in a ski resort for the holiday season; with the highest security measures taken. Lissa is forced to mingle with her noble kindred and much of her time is spent in the company of Christian. Rose finds herself in a lonely situation. Dimitry is doing his best to ignore her and Lissa is otherwise occupied. Rose's life is even further complicated when her famous guardian mother shows up to help with security. As Strigoi attacks continue to get more violent and more frequent, many questions are brought up; among them are whether the Moroi should learn to protect themselves and use their magic to harm others.
This book was well-written, the characters have a lot of depth, and the world is creative and interesting. The action scenes are well-written. The love scenes are sweet without being overly explicit. The binding between Rose and Lissa is interesting. The inclusion of both Adrian and a new love interest for Dimitri made for wonderful new character additions. Throughout the whole book is a overlying sense of urgency and doom as if the Moroi are being marched toward their extinction. The next book promises to have even more dire situations and more interesting character development.
I could not put this book down. I had to blink back tears at the ending for a number of reasons, it was sad and yet hopeful. It takes a good author to drag a reader into a story that thoroughly. The only thing that has bothered me about this series is that I think the book titles are a bit corny and the book covers could also use some help. That is a small quip though based on how much I have loved this series!
I was sad to finish this book and can't wait for the next one to come out. I would put this series right up there with the Twilight series given how much I love it.
karissabooks.blogspot.com
Oh Yes, It's the Best, Raw-raw-raw 2008-07-05
The woman has done it again! Another great novel. I have yet to meet a book by this author that I haven't fallen in love with. Mead, in her second Vampire Academy book, has made this book even better than the first, which I thought was impossible. Now I know nothing is impossible for this author.
The character development is really good. Rose has to deal with Lissa's attention being else where. Including Dimitri? Rose shows real character getting past some of that adolescent angst.
Humor even better than last time.
The reality of what Rose does, is training to be finally really starts to sink in. The prices that she has to pay to gain the ability to kill monsters. And the price they all must pay in the end.
Other characters are introduced in this book. And all of them are just too good not to meet in this book. And that's all I'll say so that the story won't be ruined. (At least not by me!)
**** If you've read the first book, trust me you don't want to miss then. If you haven't read any of these books, start. If you love vampires, great action, and good mysteries. This is better then it gets!!! (Here's the first book, Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, Book 1).)
Frostbite (Vampire Academy) by Richelle Mead 2008-07-04
Of all the Young Adult series about vampires, the Vampire Academy series is probably my favorite. This sequel was very enjoyable. I couldn't put it down after I started reading.
I love the relationships between all the characters, Rose especially. When she deeply cares for someone, you can feel it in your soul how much she loves them. Her and Lissa's connection is a really unique way to show inside Lissa's head, without actually having her point of view. Rose and Dimitri's relationship is strained, and Rose is almost positive that there will be nothing between them ever again; especially when a new woman comes into the picture. The friendship between Rose and Mason is growing. He obviously would do anything, and I mean anything for Rose. We find out though, that moving on isn't so easy when you care so deeply for someone. There is also the introduction of Rose's mother, and this definitely throws Rose's world for a loop.
Some of the decisions Rose made were questionable, and the outcome was obvious, but it was nice to see her use what she has learned at St. Vladimir's Academy, and put that to use out in the real world.
Rose is growing and maturing into a woman in this book. She's working on her attitude and her control. She's not perfect by any means, but she's getting better. She now understands her flaws, even though it hurts her when people point them out.
All in all, this was a great sequel. If you read the first, there is no reason to not pick this up. I'm excited and worried to see where the third book takes us. It seems like Rose will have some tough decisions to make in the future.
Wonderful, dark and fun story! 2008-06-25
This was another amazing book by a very talented author. I loved Frostbite every bit, if not more than Vampire Academy. The characters are rich and flawed with hints of things to come. We got an introduction to a new character who bodes to be promising as well as more Christian who I happen to have a soft spot for ;) I adore Rose, she is a fun, strong female character with a great deal of depth and heart. The dark twist to this novel was page turning and Mead did a seamless job unraveling the story and at a fantastic pace. I have not been this engrossed in a vampire novel since LJ Smith. It may not be as great a series as Twilight, but it definitely is high up on the list. With all the flat, cliche series out there these days (such as "Chosen" stay for away from that one..), this is a breath of fresh air. I am eagerly anticipating the third book....
