Vampire Academy #2: Frostbite - Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy

Warning! There will be spoilers!

Vampire Academy is without any shred of doubt in my mind, my absolute favorite series of all time. I have read the entire series over and over again and I hope to continue doing so until I'm all old and wrinkled.
Hidden within these amazing pages is a story about friendship, forbidden romance, magic, mystery, power, lust, family and self discovery that I can connect with on so many levels.

Also, anyone who follows me on any type of social media knows that my OTP of all time is Lissa and Christian. What about Rose and Dimitri? you might be thinking. Don't worry! I love them very much as well, but although I see a lot of myself in Rose (her impulsiveness, stubbornness and passion) I think when it comes to a romantic relationship I can see so much more of myself and my boyfriend in what Christian and Lissa have. (I have also made myself a Christian and Lissa poster which I put on Twitter to prove my point).

Either way, I have found so much joy and life lessons from reading these books and am glad to finally be able to review them all.

Published: April 10th, 2008

Page Count: 327

"Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires - the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

Rose has serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor, Dimitri, has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, and she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian.

Then a nearby Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir's on high alert, and the Academy whisks its students away on a mandatory holiday ski trip. But the glittering winter landscape and 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 heart - are in more danger than she ever could have imagined... "

~

I think one of the most noticeable things about Frostbite is that although not that much happens in it, it is a wonderful setup for things that are going to happen on later in the series.

One of the things that is very evident is how Rose has already matured and grown since the last book. You can tell she is more reasonable, has more respect for herself and - although there are instances where she slips up - she realizes that true love is a selfless act. 

"You can't force love, I realized. It's there or it isn't. If it's not there, you've got to be able to admit it. If it is there, you've got to do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love."

One of the biggest character introductions happens as well and we finally meet Adrian Ivashkov. (*squeal*) Hot, carefree and quite full of himself, the banter between Rose and him provides the reader with some serious LOL-worthy moments. I think his attitude and edge really bring in a mysterious front about him that makes you want to peel back the layers and see what's underneath.

I also love seeing the entire spirit reveal unfold, especially with Rose's dreams about him and him telling her some strange things about her being 'surrounded in darkness' that will play a part later on as well. (*foreshadowing*) 

"Hey, little dhampir."  

"Rose only hangs out with guys and psychopaths," said Mia.

"Well," he said cheerfully, "since Im both a psychopath and a guy, that would explain why we're such good friends."

"You and I aren't friends either," I told him. 

As per usual, Christian and Rose's banter is just so funny all the time. I actually have to say that I love their sass more than any other person Rose is like that to. 

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about except you guys tearing each other's clothes before I get a chance to leave."

"Then you better go now," said Christian dryly."

"She extended her gloved hand to me. 'Tasha Ozera,', she said. 'I've heard a lot about you, Rose.'

I gave Christian a dangerous look, and Tasha laughed.

"Don't worry," she said. "It was all good."

"No, it wasn't," he countered.

And then there's Mason. Poor, poor Mason. I don't think there will ever be a time when I read about his death that I don't cry. Although I understand the reasons why Richelle might have done it, I don't think I will ever be able to get over it. He was just so sweet and funny and really, really loved Rose. 

I can understand where Rose was coming from, being to confused about Mason and Dimitri. I do think she could have handled it differently in some ways but I think we would all be hypocrites if we criticize her about her decisions, since I don't think any of us would have handled it any more gracefully. 

"How do you now know where the heart is? Especially considering how many of them you've broken?"

It only makes sense that Rose feels threatened and jealous of Tasha, since she can see that she has something with Dimitri that Rose has never seen anyone bring out of him. She wants that too, but knows that she has to suppress those feelings because of the whole guardian problem. So it's only natural to turn to Mason for some comfort. I also think it's admirable that she did really try to be with Mason, and then not let things go too far when she noticed her true feelings for him.

I also think one of the things that slightly eases - but doesn't make it disappear - the pain about Mason's death was knowing that Rose comforted him about their relationship right before the fight with the Strigoi. 

I think this book - however short - delves into a lot of dark and deep topics, especially death. This is the book where Rose witnesses the aftermath of a Strigoi attack on the Badica house. This is the book where she gets to learn how to use a stake for the first time (which I think is a very symbolic thing that Richelle has done, even if some people haven't noticed it). This is also the first book where she herself deals out death. I think this is truly the book where you can see her mature - actively - and grow into the person she will be. Sure, she's still impulsive, reckless and has a big mouth, but I think she sees the world in more layers after what she has gone through and it changes her view on everything else as well.  

Yet again, I think the foreshadowing in this book has been done really well. I'm not sure whether I'm the only one who noticed this, but I think that scene where Mason gets injured while skiing and Rose imagines how he would look like with a broken neck is massive foreshadowing to his death as well as the manner of his death. Not only that, but you can see the conversations between Rose and Lissa getting more and more stressful as Rose continues to suppress her true feelings about things like Dimitri, Mason and her own pent up feelings toward the guardian system. This is again something that is building up for something big in Shadow Kiss.  

Another thing that really touched me was Rose's relationship with her mother and the way that also slightly developed during the course of the book. She is in no way close to being friends with her, but I liked how Rose finally recognized that her mother wasn't doing her job for the glory of getting molnija marks. 

I think these feelings that she had were very much brought about by the fact that she feels slightly abandoned by her. This really does show that however tough Rose appears on the outside, she still has a vulnerable side and makes her a truly admirable heroine to love.

~

Other Favorite Quotes: 

"But I did die once. (I don't recommend it)."

"And I thought the whole point of my education was that violence is the answer."

"If you'd each me to swear in Russian, I might have a new appreciation for it."

"Wow. Talk about a face only a mother could love."

"You want an army? Well, here we are."

"He'd barely seen me coming, and despite the horribleness of what I'd just done, I kind of wished one of my instructors had been there to grade me on such an awesome performance."