And my interest in the series grows. I want to say now that I liked how Estep had Gwen's powers grow, but also put a serious handicap on them. Maybe it'll change as she gets older, or more used to using her powers in a different way, but for now its gotta bite.

I admit the mystery surrounding who was trying to get Gwen dead wasn't much of a mystery after the many many warnings Gwen received from everyone at the end of the first book. My surprise was mainly in how...easily led Gwen was. Logan had her so twisted up that she would do anything to just ignore the pain he was (intentionally or otherwise) putting her through.

Estep definitely took the story to a darker level. The book doesn't end with them defeating the bad guy, instead we get to see what happens after. What happens when you push someone who is inherently peaceful to the edge by showing them exactly how evil your side is. I suspected as much, in regards to a revelation concerning a secret being kept from Gwen, mainly because it wouldn't make sense for it not to be connected in some way.

A larger picture of what's going on is painted, though most of that information is brought up in the last quarter of the book. Some things are brought up throughout the novel, the majority is really focused on three things: 1) Gwen's powers and how they are evolving, 2) Logan's asshattery* and angst and 3) Gwen trying to ignore Logan's asshattery. I wish Estep had spent more time building on that plotline and less time with Gwen mooning.

Gwen makes a new friend, and learns a valuable lesson about how the kids at Mythos go about taking care of their problems. They don't talk, no their style is much more about intimidation and deflection. It became pretty obvious what was going on with that whole plotline pretty quickly, but it ended up wrapping up nicely with the final confrontation with the actual bad guy.

I hope we see the Fenrir Wolf again! I really really do!

Dark Frost, the third book due out at the end of May, sounds like Gwen is in for even more trouble from the Reapers of Chaos (the bad guys, who work for Loki, which makes me sad as I think Loki gets such a horrific rap post-Christianity). Can't wait!!

(*)this isn't to say Logan didn't have a good reason to be angsty, or that he hasn't had a tough life, or that I'm discounting how horrible his childhood was. I'm not. I'm taking umbrage that he basically told Gwen--in actions and words--that he won't be with her because of a big secret in his past, but he can't help thinking about her and wanting to kiss her and he doesn't like her with other guys. Meanwhile he's playing tonsil hockey with some other bimbette, often in front of Gwen.
( )

This book was 75% info dump and 25% plot. Logan is no longer a dick. yay! ( )

I enjoyed this book! This was another re-read for me but I remember so little of the book that it felt like I was reading it for the first time. I was curious what danger Gwen and her friends might have to deal with in this installment. I found this to be a very entertaining listen.

Gwen recently started going to the Mythos Academy and is learning how to take care of herself. Early in this story, she faces two possible threats before she goes with the school on a ski trip where things get even more dangerous. I am really enjoying watching Gwen learn how to fully use her powers and I liked seeing what she could do when she really needed to make things happen. I feel like some progress was made between her and Logan by the end of the book and I look forward to seeing where things go with them. It was great seeing Gwen start to make even more friends since I have a feeling that she is going to need help again in future books.

Tara Sands did a great job with the narration of this book. I really like the voices that she uses for the various characters, including a talking sword! I found her voice to be very pleasant and wanted to listen to this book for hours at a time. I do believe that her narration added to my overall enjoyment.

I would recommend this series to others. I think that this is a series that is best when read in order if at all possible so I would start with the first book instead of this one. I will say that the story does feel very young but since teens are the intended audience, that makes sense. I had a great time with this book and look forward to continuing with this series very soon. ( )

I love Mythology fiction and this is one of the best I've read and I couldn't put the book down and I read the books in the whole series as fast as I could. I love the main character and everybody else in the series, especially grandma Frost.

I would recommend this series to anybody. ( )

This is a fun read, a good follow-up to the first book. I caught many of the twists before Gwen figured them out, but not all of them. That made me happy! It has a good blend of being surprised and feeling superior to the heroine because she didn't see the "obvious".

Definitely a YA, but that's not a bad thing. Just something to be aware of when you pick it up. ( )