Let me first say that I have NOT read the Mythos Academy Books yet - I bought the Mythos Academy Bundle, which includes "First Frost", "Touch of Frost", "Kiss of Frost" and "Dark Frost", and I'm going to read them in this order. So I do not know yet if this short story contains spoilers,
foreshadowing etc. for the main books.
In "First Frost", we meet our heroine Gwen, a teenaged girl with an…mehrLet me first say that I have NOT read the Mythos Academy Books yet - I bought the Mythos Academy Bundle, which includes "First Frost", "Touch of Frost", "Kiss of Frost" and "Dark Frost", and I'm going to read them in this order. So I do not know yet if this short story contains spoilers, foreshadowing etc. for the main books.
In "First Frost", we meet our heroine Gwen, a teenaged girl with an unusual gift: when she touches things that other people have touched before her, she draws fragments of memory and emotion from them in vivid images. Her mother and her grandmother also have supernatural talents, a fact that Gwen explains with their shared gypsy heritage. Before the happenings of this short story, she has apparently mostly used her talent for personal gain - by finding lost belongings for a small fee.
One fateful day, Gwen's curiousity gets the best of her: she deliberately touches a hairbrush belonging to a girl in her class in order to learn her secrets... And Gwen learns more, far more, than she bargained for. Her attempts to help trigger a tragedy that she couldn't have anticipated.
Pros:
Books that feature schools for paranormal teens always appeal to me, and this short story gives me hope that Mythos Academy is going to be just the ticket. Boarding school - check. Young heroine that is (mostly) new to the world of the paranormal - check. Hint at a possible love interest - check. Hint at conflicts and an enemy or possibly several - check.
I like that Gwen "sounds" like a real teenager. The writing style may not be perfect but it feels natural to me for exactly that reason. At heart, our heroine seems to be just a normal girl with normal insecurities, hopes and dreams. It's going to be interesting to see how she copes with her new unusual school (that not only features kids with awesome powers, but also kids who flaunt their apparent wealth with brand clothing and designer watches).
I also like that right from the start, Gwen's talent is not just a blessing but also a curse. She helped somebody who was stuck in a horrible situation, but she paid a heavy personal price for it.
Contras:
This is a short story with the emphasis on "short"! It's really just a teeny tiny teaser to get you hooked. Since I got it as part of the bundle, I don't mind too much, but I would've been disappointed if I'd spent money on it.
I feel that Gwen has more than a touch of Mary Sue* - the white skin and the violet eyes (not a combination I usually associate with gypsies), the unusual magical talent and her magical family... Her awkwardness and clumsiness only make up for that a tiny bit, but I'm hoping that in the main novels, Gwen will develop further into a fleshed-out, well-balanced character.