04 August 2011

Review: Frost By: Marianna Baer

Title: Frost
Author: Marianna Baer
Publisher: Balzer & Bray, 400 Pages (September 13th 2011)
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: Leena Thomas’s senior year at boarding school begins with a shock: Frost House, her cozy dorm of close friends, has been assigned an unexpected roommate: confrontational, eccentric Celeste Lazar. But while Leena’s anxiety about a threat to her sanctuary proves valid, it becomes less and less clear whether the threat lies with her new roommate, within Leena’s own mind, or within the very nature of Frost House itself. Mysterious happenings in the dorm, an intense triangle between Leena, Celeste, and Celeste’s brother, and the reawakening of childhood fears, all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. Frost is the story of a haunting. As to whether the demons are supernatural or psychological . . . well, which answer would let you sleep at night?

Review: 3 Stars - Frost by author Marianna Baer is a mystery with an extra high creep factor. It’s psychological right through to the last page and Baer had a knack for turning the plot upside down just when you thought you had a handle on what was happening. Baer writes a good ghost story, eerie setting and all. Just when you think you finally figured out what’s going on… think again.

Leena’s senior year at her boarding school starts off on a high note, moving into a coveted house on campus – Frost House – that over the years was strictly kept as boys housing. The house had called to her from the first time she came across it and she knew she wanted nothing more than to try to make this place home for the rest of the year. Something she wasn’t expecting when moving in was the addition of a new roommate, the brash and forward Celeste.

Leena wasn’t a character I could connect to at all, but I think that was part of the point of the story. Looking back on it now, you can’t help but see her changing because of the crazy things that were going on in Frost house. Leena’s not lacking of her own personal issues from home life and her childhood, so those things played into the events as they continued to unfold. I liked Leena at the beginning of the book, but by the end… she was so removed for me as a character that I honestly didn’t like the person she turned into and it ended up taking so much away from the whole thing for me. However, I get the point and why she had to go through the changes she did.

And Leena’s friends… don’t get me started on them. I mean, I can totally understand why they would be upset with her, but they also rubbed me the wrong way. I wish I could tell you more about why I felt as I did, however it’ll give away too much. I stay away from spoilers as much as possible, so I’ll just say that I was somewhat disappointed. And I can’t forget to talk about Celeste. Now, that girl needs therapy! I couldn’t get over her personality and the things that sometimes came out of her mouth.

Then we have Celeste’s brother David, who had a somewhat unhealthy obsession with his sister. I liked the times when Leena called him on it, made him think and see how it appeared from the outside. He was a great character because he was able to listen to what other people had to say and grow because of it.

All of our main characters had so many issues to deal with in their lives that it was bound to all spill over into each other. And then the issues with what were really going on within Frost house… In the end, I could never have guessed that ending was right around the corner, which is always a good thing, right? Speaking of the ending, seriously? It wrapped things up, explained so much, but I felt somewhat deflated. It’s not to say that the book was a bad one. The creep factor was high enough, coupled with the mystery between all the characters and the Frost house; those two things saved this title for me.

All in all, Frost was more than I expected when it came to the creepiness and mystery, but was a bit lacking for me when it came to liking the characters. Not to mention an ending that was a bit, eh… I had to give it 3 stars. Would I recommend this title? Yes, to anyone looking for a mysterious ghost story set in a boarding school, in an old house… especially to anyone looking for a bit of a scare. Enjoy!

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

Find the Author

Follow me on Twitter     /     Be friends with me on Goodreads
Subscribe to my RSS Feed

3 comments:

  1. Great review and with david and Celeste..interesting family. I started questioning the narrator soon because of the ??? in the animal. Oh don't get me thinking about the house. Good story but I didn't connect with her either.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great honest review, I hate it when characters are hard to connect with. Thanks for sharing

    The Cait Files

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shoot, I was hoping this one would be really good. I guess as far as being creepy it delivers, right? Do you know if this is a series? Or is it a stand alone?

    Heather

    I'm having a giveaway on my blog. Come see BuriedinBooks

    ReplyDelete

Comment and let me know your thoughts on this post.

Twitter Goodreads Email

Recently Read


Blog Archive

Search the Blog!

Learn more about RAK

Book Soulmates
Xpresso Book Tours

Total Pageviews

Copyright

FTC Disclaimer:

In accordance with FTC Guidelines, I have not received any monetary gain for any information posted within the pages of this website/blog. Any and all information has been provided by the publisher, author and or publicist for free. Content is also based on purchases made by myself or of my guest reviewer(s). Any and all opinions expressed within the pages of this website/blog are solely my own or those of the authors of any and all guest reviewers(s) or guest bloggers.



Related Posts with Thumbnails

About Me

Hi, I’m Lisa and I'm a proud bibliophile.

I enjoy reading and reviewing a variety of different books within the Young Adult, "New Adult" & Adult genres/categories. If you have any questions or if you are an author or publisher and would be interested in promoting a book, please feel free email. You can find my email under the "mail" button or under the contact link at the top of the page.

I look forward to hearing from you!


Authors, Publishers & Publicists

Have a book you'd like me to review or Promote? How about doing an Author Interview? Or maybe a Guest Post? Great! I'd love to! For more information about having your book reviewed here, please follow this link for more information:

Reviews, Interviews, Guest Posts and Contest.

Guest Reviewer Jenny

Guest Reviewer Jenny
Click for info & links to her reviews!

My Ratings

When I review I rate from 1 to 5 stars, 5 being the highest rating. I review based on many different things from the writing, to the story - to the characters and how I can relate to them or how they are developed. I also review based on if an author has worked their magic and was able to draw me into a story so deeply that I don't want to put the book down. If you would like me to review a book, please contact me or view my Contact Information and Review Policy for further details.

5 Stars - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!
4 Stars - I Really liked/Loved it.
3 Stars - I liked it/Was pretty good.
2 Stars - It was, eh okay.
1 Star - It just wasn't for me.

Followers

Follow the Blog

Follow on Bloglovin

Follow By Email

Enter your email address:

Grab Me!

Blogs I Love