Frostbite by Richelle Mead (5/5 stars)

This is the second book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. It was just as engrossing and griping as the first book. This is another one of those series that I just can't put down, yet I am not sure why.

In this book a violent Strigoi attack on a noble Moroi family leaves St. Valdimar's academy in a state of panic as the Christmas holidays approach. An elegant solution is presented that will allow the students of the academy to mingle with their parents for the holidays. The whole school is put up in a ski resort for the holiday season; with the highest security measures taken. Lissa is forced to mingle with her noble kindred and much of her time is spent in the company of Christian. Rose finds herself in a lonely situation. Dimitry is doing his best to ignore her and Lissa is otherwise occupied. Rose's life is even further complicated when her famous guardian mother shows up to help with security. As Strigoi attacks continue to get more violent and more frequent, many questions are brought up; among them are whether the Moroi should learn to protect themselves and use their magic to harm others.

This book was well-written, the characters have a lot of depth, and the world is creative and interesting. The action scenes are well-written. The love scenes are sweet without being overly explicit. The binding between Rose and Lissa is interesting. The inclusion of both Adrian and a new love interest for Dimitri made for wonderful new character additions. Throughout the whole book is a overlying sense of urgency and doom as if the Moroi are being marched toward their extinction. The next book promises to have even more dire situations and more interesting character development.

I could not put this book down. I had to blink back tears at the ending for a number of reasons, it was sad and yet hopeful. It takes a good author to drag a reader into a story that thoroughly. The only thing that has bothered me about this series is that I think the book titles are a bit corny and the book covers could also use some help. That is a small quip though based on how much I have loved this series!

I was sad to finish this book and can't wait for the next one to come out. I would put this series right up there with the Twilight series given how much I love it.