While I enjoyed the first book, this was the turning point for me. This book was exciting from start to finish and hammered in how dangerous/fucked up the Strigoi are from the start. Unlike in the first book where they felt like flat villains, in Frostbite, the Strigoi are monsters and they've come to shake foundations in the Moroi and dhampir circles. Rose, while a bit more childish in this book, really comes into her own by the end. The discrepancies in her character are really befitting of her age and the volatile nature of her personality. This book was a keeper.
***SPOILER ALERT***
Which Boy is it Now? #1: While Dimitri's always in Rose's peripheral vision, he starts out strong and then takes a backseat during a large portion of the novel while she's avoiding him. The Tasha situation really drives home some strong realizations about the world they live in and what's required of them as guardians. Arrangements as simple as being assigned to different Moroi could tear them apart and understanding that brings a deeper level of desperation and bleakness to their relationship. However, despite all of the obstacles against them, they still manage to steal some simmering moments during the book, especially near the end.
Which Boy is it Now? #2: A new character into the series, Adrian is a fun sort of irritating from the start. He smokes cloves and follows Rose around like a puppy that relishes in your angry squeals as it nips your heels. However, because of his reputation, even standing in the same room as him causes problems for Rose. About every person she interacts with during the book at some point tells her to stay away from Adrian because he's a bad guy, or gets into trouble. But in actuality, he's got a lot more going on underneath the surface, including the same type of mojo as Lissa, that spirit schtick.
Which Boy is it Now? #3: Mason is a large character in this book. Despite Rose flirting with him, even making out with him and their farce of a relationship, she still doesn't feel anything towards him more than friendship. However, he adores her and likewise, can't help how he feels. But when he gets fired up to take on Strigoi and his fight with Rose pushes him to be impulsive, he nails his own coffin shut. Which is a shame, because he was a likeable guy. She never gets the chance to break his heart, because the Strigoi kill him, leaving his death on her conscience forever.
So, definitely sad that Mason died. He was awesome. But the fight with the Strigoi was all the levels of badassery I was hoping for from the first book that never delivered. The events of the book also hammer a new level of somberness and responsibility into Rose that was never there before and works for her very well. Plus, all the clashing with her mom stuff was incredibly tense, but really well written.
Rating: 4
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