Frost by Wendy Delsol

After the drama of discovering that she’s a member of the Storks, a mystical order of women endowed with powerful abilities, Katla Leblanc is finally settling into her life in chilly Minnesota. In fact, the ex-California girl even hopes for a white Christmas. But Katla’s wintry wish unexpectedly turns into the snowstorm of the century, drawing the attention of Brigid, a gorgeous environmental researcher with an amazing array of fur coats and an unusual interest in Katla’s boyfriend, Jack.

Inspired by Norse mythology and Hans Christian Andersen’s THE SNOW QUEEN.



Frost is the much awaited sequel to Stork. The novel is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen. The main focus of attention in this novel is Jack, Katla's boyfriend. This may be slightly disappointing to readers who were expecting further development of Katla. Jack has a fierce desire to understand and control his own magical ability. Jack and Katla are slowly beginning to have a deeper relationship when Brigid arrives on the scene. Brigid comes to Minnesota due to a gift from Jack to Katla gone awry. Brigid draws Jack's attention away from Katla; not long after Brigid's arrival, Jack disappears. Katla must go on a mission to find him. The novel continues in much the same way-Katla trying to find Jack.


For readers of Stork who were expecting a deeper development of Katla's ability and a better explanation of the Stork society...this book is a bit of a letdown. The novel literally focuses on her finding Jack, there is only one instance where she guides a soul in the entire novel. There is more attention given to the love triangle between Brigid, Jack, and Katla than there is to the ancient historical Story society that was the first novel's plot. However, the author's way of drawing the reader into the book and holding his/her attention and the seamless, flowing sequence of events are still present. The author does not neglect Katla's character development-she is portrayed as a slightly more mature, humorous young woman. The reader will find him/herself laughing at Katla's thoughts and statements during the novel. Brigid is a new character and the perfect character to hate in this novel. She is haughty and self-assured with an undertone of evil. The author does a good job at giving a teen's point of view (Katla's) during the novel-not the easiest thing to do when you're not a teenager anymore and another demonstration of the author's skill.


This novel splits off into smaller sub-plots. Again, some readers may enjoy this new quality to this series while some may dislike it. Katla's mother, newly pregnant, deals with the stress of preparing for another child, Katla's class puts on a musical of The Snow Queen- the author's bid for irony in the novel. Katla's friends aren't getting along and Katla isn't quite sure if she has time to deal with everything. Jack veers away from Katla and their relationship. The Stork society isn't addressed all that much. Katla takes off to find Jack, but at the same time has to deal with a few things that leave her having nightmares. All of these different sub-plots are a little grating at first, they don't appear to fit cohesively into the novel at first. However, the ending is satisfying and many of these events fall into place.


This book is recommended for young adults/teens that enjoy escaping to a world where magic is possible when reading.


3 1/2 Stars