Do you like adventure? Does a good treasure hunt intrigue you? Are you fascinated by ancient history and mythology? Then perhaps you have come to the right place for this book provides you with a good mix of everything I just mentioned above.

There are mixed reviews all over the place about this book and it’s really easy to see why. Some people will love this and some people won’t. One reviewer described this book as the Dan Brown of women’s fiction and that is a very apt comparison because this book does have the same vibes as a typical Dan Brown book and your enjoyment of this book will largely depend on whether or not that sort of thing works for you. If you haven’t read any Dan Brown and are confused as to what I am referring to.. basically, do you like info dumps? Do you mind being stuffed with information? Avoid this if that doesn't appeal to you, but if you don’t mind so long as the topic interests you (which in case it did for me), dive right in but prepared for a couple of unrealistic things that may bother you.

I was in 3^rd grade when I first heard about the lost city of Troy and since then, mythology hasn’t let go of the grip it has on me. As soon as I came across this book and saw the combination of mythology, history and women’s fiction, I knew I had to read it and I was not let down. I went into this expecting a good adventure and that is exactly what I got.

This novel follows the story of two women, namely Myrina, who lived in the Bronze Age and Diana who lives in present day.

Diana is approached by a mysterious man who tells her that proof that Amazons existed has been found. The man proceeds to hand her an image to back up what he is saying. Diana is definitely vary but she is also intrigued because well she is passionate about Amazons and something about the writing in the image seems familiar. It turns out that the notebook her grandmother left her was written in the same language and so begins our adventure as Diana follows the same path Myrina did over thousands of years ago.

Diana for the most part is a pretty decent female lead. She is headstrong and can make her own decisions. She doesn’t let the men make her choices for her but instead does what she feels is right. She’s grown up, she can handle herself… for the most part. Sometimes she may need to be rescued and sometimes her decisions land her in icky messes but really the one thing that bothered me about her is how oblivious she can be. Especially with the whole thing about her grandma. It’s GLARINGLY obvious what’s going on there yet Diana was blind to that for a major chunk of the book.

Also, I do not buy the fact that this chick translated an ancient scripture in a manner of days. Uh.. NO. Even with the ‘translating dictionary’ Diana had (her grandmother’s notebook), it should still take more than a mere 5 days. Remember when I mentioned unrealistic things? Yup, this was one of them.

Myrina was an interesting character to say the least. Both Diana and Myrina get thrown into circumstances that turn their lives upside down, they follow similar paths but their stories are different. Myrina travels all the way to a city to find the Moon Goddess so that her sister can be cured of the blindness that came as a result of a fever. Myrina is a wonderful sister and more than that, she is a brave warrior. She is a hunter at heart and she is a strong female lead and a great leader. In spite of all these wonderful things about her, I never really liked her. I didn’t dislike her, but her story, while fun to follow, was not nearly as enjoyable as Diana’s. Perhaps this is because Myrina’s story has an underlying sadness to it. When you realize that all of this occurred in a past so distant, in a part of history that has been lost and might not ever be recovered, it makes you feel very melancholic.

One of the loop holes in Myrina’s story was her elder sister. I have no idea what happened to her. Perhaps I accidentally skimmed over the part (hey, the book was long!!), or perhaps it was never mentioned.

The world building is were some of the other issues arise. The scholars in this world are constantly looking down on women and I know this happens in the real world. I KNOW. But the extent to which it happens in this book kind of pisses me off. It seems overdone. Then there was also the thing about the female lead being half American and other scholars constantly mocking her for her ‘Americaness’ when according to her she was raised in Britain. Really? Are we really going there?

The author brought some original twists to the tales we know and some of them, well, some of them just didn’t work for me. They were believable. The author didn’t just pull them out of nowhere but sometimes some things don’t work for you and nothing can change that. There were also other things that the author threw into the mix which didn’t sit well with me but I learned to live with those grievances to enjoy the adventure I was on.

One of my other issues with this novel was the romance. No the romances. Neither of the romances were all that well developed. The romance is not the focus of either story (okay so perhaps Myrina’s tale has a tad bit more romance) but I never saw it coming. I mean I knew there was going to be a romance, but there wasn’t enough development in either case to make the romance more believable. They seemed to have popped out of nowhere.

With that said, Myrina’s romance, even with my annoyance of how it seemed random, was so sweet. It really just brought out emotions. Yes I was annoyed that Myrina willingly gave up who she was but then her romantic interest is just so adorable that it’s hard to stay mad. There is so much respect in their relationship and so much love and SO MUCH COMPANIONSHIP. They can tell each other things. They do get mad at each other but they are sweet together.

Diana’s romance was… iffy. Nick is not the best love interest out there. He has been lying to her since the dawn of time and has pulled her inside this complicated web of lies and really I have no idea how she could trust him after everything that he has done. I know I wouldn’t. Pretty face be damned (although I am not sure we know what he looks like exactly).

There are secrets, lies, ancient civilizations and heaps of mythology involved and if you’re looking for an adventure, this book does give you one.

But it’s best not to go into this book expecting to be wowed. Similar to a typical Darn Brown book, the excitement only lasts for the period you are reading the book and once you’re done, everything will fade away. This book makes for excellent brain candy and I’d recommend this to fans of Dan Brown but also to anyone who is looking to lay back and just chill with a good adventure. Don’t let the number of pages scare you off for they go by pretty fast and the book will be over before you know it. 

***This review has also been posted on Tangled in Pages

With this book comes to end to a series I’ve adored for almost 2 years. I’ve anticipated each installment eagerly and devoured them rather quickly and it breaks my heart a little to finally have to let go but at the same time I can genuinely say that I am satisfied. Estep did NOT disappoint with the finale. Perhaps there could have been a little less cheese but in the end the conclusion was well done.

The beginning had me a little vary. Logan and Gwen were not back to normal and there was still a certain distance to them. Logan was still heartbroken about what had happened back in Crimson Frost and I was a little worried at this point. I thought Midnight Frost would have ironed out some of the bumps but it hadn’t. With the kidnapping of her grandmother things became even worse and well.. I was worried I’d have to spend the whole book like I did Midnight Frost but there was nothing to worry about because that was sorted out easily.

Gwen is a very likeable female lead. She always makes a point to understand people’s points of views even if they don’t line up with her own. She may not agree, hey no one asked her to, but she respects other people’s opinions. Especially when it came to the situation with her Grandma. She HATED Linus for not trading the candle but at the same time she realizes she would have made the same choice had she been in his position because there is too much at stake. Gwen isn’t a hero. Yes she is Nike’s champion, yes it’s up to her to end the war but she isn’t a savior. She very much needs help from other people. She isn’t some lone wolf who can take care of everything on her own. She also takes responsibility for her actions and is loyal to a fault. She loves her family and is willing to do anything for her grandma and this just adds up to make Gwen a relateable and very down to earth female lead.

This series also has some of the most adorable relationships ever. From the one she shares with her friends, to the one with Logan, her family and Nickamedes. I love how her friends are ACTUALLY GOOD FRIENDS. They see through her bullshit with an ease that only true friends can. They support her and back her up and are willing to help her no matter the cost. Logan was also the sweetest guy ever. You probably wouldn’t have expected it in book one but he isn’t a bad boy cliché. He is ADORABLE. The two are the cutest couple too. Gwen doesn’t want to drag him into her mess not because she doesn’t trust him or couldn’t use help but because she doesn’t want to make him choose between her and his father and you can tell Logan is glad for that, later, even when he doesn’t say it and even when he actually HELPED. I love Grandma Frost and her relationship with her Grandma is adorable. It always makes me want to give mine a huge squeeze (accept that I am an awkward hugger). My favorite relationship in this series it the one between Nickamedes and Gwen; they’ve come such long ways since the beginning of the series, from barely containing their animosity to truly caring for each other. AND THEY FINALLY HUGGED.

All of that aside, I AM SO EFFING HAPPY ABOUT THE BATTLE SCENE. Holy crap Estep wrote an amazing battle scene. One that did my proud. The scenes before the battle were perfect. Dripping in tension, you could feel the emotions rolling off the pages. I was nervous, scared, frightened and really hoping that everything went well. When the battle commenced, I kid you not, there was music playing in my head. IT WAS PERFECT. The battle was VERY WELL DONE. I don’t think I can emphasize that enough (even with all my caps locks) because well it’s the thing we’ve been looking forward to since the beginning of this series. The show down. The end of it all. The fate of the series, whether I would like it or not, was all dependent on that one bit. The battle. And it didn’t let down. Emotions ran high, things were tense, and everyone was on the edge (including me).

My biggest qualm about this book was the aftermath of the battle. I was running on a high from the wonderful battle scenes and the high was ruined by an overload of cheese. I didn’t like how

One of the biggest plus points of this series is that the gods are actually kind of cool. They aren’t some kind of joke. They are serious beings with a shit load of power.

I still cannot quite wrap my head around the fact that this series is over. Admittedly, it isn’t a favorite or even an out of my mind experience, but I had a certain attachment to this series. Gwen was a great female lead and her adventures will be missed. To those who haven’t started the series, I’d definitely recommend this to you if you’re looking for a cute/fun series to latch on to.