Gwen Frost is a 17-year-old Gypsy girl with the gift of psy­chom­e­try or the abil­ity to know an objects his­tory just by touch­ing it. Gwen can see every­one whos ever touched an object and she can feel their emo­tions too, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Gwen uses her magic to track down objects that other kids have lost like cell phones, wal­lets, and purses for a price.

After a seri­ous freak­out with her magic and her moms death, Gwen gets shipped off to Mythos Acad­emy, a school for the rich, priv­i­leged descen­dants of ancient war­riors like Spar­tans, Ama­zons, Valkyries, and more. Gwen doesnt know one end of the sword from the other, and she doesnt fit in with the other kids. But when Jas­mine Ash­ton, the most pop­u­lar girl in school is mur­dered, and Gwen her­self is attacked, Gwen decides to use her Gypsy gift to fig­ure out who killed the other girl and why and finds her­self learn­ing some secrets that just might kill her

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I am a big fan of Estep's Elemental Assassins series and was excited to see that she was writing a YA series. This is the first book in Estep's new young adult series, Mythos Academy. There are currently three books contracted for this series, but Estep hopes to write 4 or 5. The second book, Kiss of Frost, is due out Dec. 2011. This was a great start to a fun new mythology based series. I loved Gwen as a character and loved how mythology was tied into the story. I recommend checking out the prequel, First Frost, if you want the back-story behind the incident with the girl and her hairbrush which is referenced a number of times in this book.

Gwen Frost has just started at Mythos Academy and is having trouble fitting in. She is surrounded by Romans, Amazons, Valkyries, and Spartans...all strong warrior types. Gwen's only power is the ability to get feelings and thoughts from objects people have touched. When a girl is murdered in the campus library where Gwen works, the powers that be at Mythos Academy blame the Reapers of Chaos; but Gwen thinks there is more to it and starts secretly investigating. Her investigation gets her into a lot of trouble and introduces her to a destiny she never knew she had.

This book takes a bit to get going; for the majority of the book Gwen only has her touch ability to rely on. Gwen is a great character who is very down to earth, and seems to balance school and family well. Gwen has trouble making friends and is a loner at heart. Gwen's potential love interest, Logan, seems like an interesting character...but you just don't learn much about him or see him much in this book.

Most of the book is about Gwen sneaking around trying to figure out what really happened with the girl that was murdered in the library. So this was an urban fantasy with a lot of mystery thrown in. The setting is neat too, Mythos academy is an interesting place. I wish that the powers of the other races there had been expanded on a bit; all of the other races are faster and stronger. There is some mention of other elemental and healing abilities, but it is never talked about in depth and as a reader we never really learn how this relates to the specific races.

I loved some of the stuff that happened towards the end of the book and am really looking forward to seeing what Gwen does in her new place, with her added power. Not to mention the training session planned between Gwen and Logan...I am sure those will be very very interesting. The book ends well, with the main mystery resolved and a lot of things dangling for the next book.

Overall this was a solid YA urban fantasy. I enjoyed the characters and the setting; loved how mythology is tied into this story. It is kind of like a young adult mythological Harry Potter. I am hoping that the characters' powers will be expanded on in future books and I am also hoping we will get to know Logan better. I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series, Kiss of Frost, when it releases. Fans of young adult urban fantasy should check out this book, as should fans of mythology based urban fantasy.

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Absoutley LOVED this book! When I first started reading it, it was very slow...about 1/2 way through the book though the pace picked up and it kept me hooked to find out what happened. It ended nicely and left me wanting more. Looking forward to reading the next in the series. =)

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I don't think I have ever enjoyed the characters in a book as much as this one. I was Pleasantly surprised. Other than The Hunger Games, I have not felt as drawn in to the characters, not just the story. I found myself smiling and hoping for the best as the story went on. I honestly didn't guess the ending, which can happen a lot in YA books. It was nice to read something not so predictable.

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Gwen Frost is sent to Mythos Academy to learn about her gypsy powers. Her ability which is thru touch and allows her get pictures, emotions, and background from objects and people she touches (which you can about imagine her dating life is non-existent). Her grandmother thinks it is best since Gwens mother died and we get the feeling that grandma knows something we dont . Once instilled at the Academy, she finds herself alone even though she is surrounded by many students but everyone seems to be paired by what they are and since she is the only Gypsy she is a little on the outside looking in. There are Spartans (enter Logan Quinn!!), Amazons, Romans, and Valkryies all warriors are the last line of defense if the Chaos War comes about, which it seems is quite imminent. Now a student is dead and the Bowl of Tears, an artifact used to bring about the Chaos War is missing. Gwens sleuthly side comes out and she gets her Nancy Drew on to solve this case before something worse happens.

Gwen Frost is my new favorite heroine and Logan Quinn is definitely a hot bad boy (my favorite). Like Esteps heroine from her Elemental Assassin series, Gwen is a feisty and snarky and in the heat of battle always has to inject humorous comments. The soft side of Gwen comes when we learn about the death of her mother and the love of her grandmother. With the new rise in mythology based fantasy books, I personally have not been a huge fan. But, Estep introduces us to the myths and legends without overwhelming the reader with a history lesson. Since Gwen isnt as up on her history as she should be before attending Mythos Academy, we learn along with her.

Fantastic first book in a series that I will be anxiously awaiting to read! Highly recommended for YA readers but with a cautionary warning: there are parts of the story that touches on the child molestation of a friend of Gwen.

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