Review: Vampire Academy 2: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Title: Vampire Academy 2: Frostbite

Author: Richelle Mead

Rating:

Who Should Read It? I feel like most readers of this blog that would like this book have already read it. But if you haven't and you're into strong female leads in a series with a unique take on vampires (and you've read and enjoyed the first one), you should totally check this book out!

What I Have to Say:
As someone who is not over vampire series because I was never actually able to get into them (with a couple exceptions, of course), I was shocked when I more than enjoyed the first book in this series. I read the first one shortly after reading a few books from another vampire series that I absolutely did not enjoy at all, and so when I liked it, I thought it must just be a fluke. I felt like I wanted to read the second one, but I thought there was no way I could continue enjoying a YA series about good-guy vampires.

Which is why I was once again shocked when I enjoyed this book. It was once again well-written, refreshing, unique, engaging, and most of all, enjoyable. How could it not be when Rose, Dmitri, Lissa, and Christian are all back and just as likable as ever! Well, maybe likable is the wrong word, as Lissa is too meek and Rose is too obnoxious and selfish (and yet self-sacrificing at the same time - hmmm) and well, all the characters are sort-of annoying. But in that annoyingness, they are oh so totally real. Believable. I don't want to include any first-book spoilers in this review, so we'll just say that this starts right where the last one ends, and the reader is immediately thrown back into the world of the dhampir and moroi and strigoi.

What I think I enjoy most about these books is the whole complicated class structure that Mead has created. Where the first book explored loyalty, this book went a bit deeper and explored that class structure. It seems so ridiculous and psychtoic, and yet the people living in the system can't imagine it any other way. They wouldn't want it any other way. As an outsider looking in, I want to grab their heads and shake them and say "CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM!" And in this book, the system is actually examined by some of the characters. Richelle Mead inadvertently makes fun of the system she has created, and I really enjoyed this under the surface humor. I also enjoyed seeing the characters themselves at times understanding just how ludicrous their situation really is. I think it is because of this, and the introduction of Tasha, my new favorite character, that I actually enjoyed this book MORE than the first one.

That said, I can say the same thing about this book that I said about the first one - it's super cute and fast-paced with an addictive plot line. I was glad to be reading it on a train, because otherwise my life and studies and friends WOULD have been neglected for the duration. If you haven't read this yet, what are you waiting for?

Summary:
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, she keeps g...more 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, 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. Vladmir'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. Vladmir'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 heat-are in more danger than she ever could have imagined.

Cover Story: Ummm, if that guy is Dmitri on the cover, can I just say NO! That is NOT what he looks like. And that is all I have to say about this cover.