I downloaded the first Mythos Academy book - Touch of Frost - onto my Kindle a while back but didn't get around to reading it until this week. As a fan of Jennifer Estep's "Spider" assassin series (for grown-ups), I didn't know how I felt about her writing YA. A number of authors have transitioned very well from adult writing to YA. I mentioned previously I thought Kresley Cole did a particularly good job with Poison Princess. Estep, however, didn't quite hit the mark with this book, although I have to admit I haven't read anything else in this series and it might improve. The main problem for me was that this book was too derivative of other books. Estep draws from the current fascination with Greek mythology in YA (like the Percy Jackson series) as well as from her own "spider" series in recreating settings and character webs (no pun intended ... well, maybe). So in many ways the book isn't really "new". It's also a little repetitive in its themes. The lead character (Gwen Frost) has a mysterious gypsy background and is a bit of an outcast in her new school - the Mythos Academy, which is populated with descendants of Greek gods. She has to work out what her special powers are, solve mysteries and cope with her growing feelings for a Spartan descdant who seems to have the hots for her, but something is keeping him at a distance. It's a fun conceit, but the plot is pretty thin and there's a lot of going back and forth ruminating about how lonely it can be to be an outcast, how lonely it can be to be an orphan, how lonely it can be to be in the "in crowd" etc. And the mystery here isn't much of a mystery. It's a little "Scooby Doo" for my tastes. It does hint and more dramatic mysteries to come in later books, but it wasn't enough to really sustain my interest and the big reveal of the bad guy at the end wasn't much of a shock. As with all of Estep's work, the writing is smooth and easy to follow and the characters are relatable (if a little labored in this book), but I still prefer her writing for adults over this series so far.
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