Frozen by Erin Bowman

Frozen by Erin Bowman

Release Date: April 15, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Taken, Book 2
Rated: YA 14+
Format: ARC
Source: Borrowed – thanks Richa @ City of Books!
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Read my review of Taken HERE

The Heists were only the beginning.

Gray Weathersby escaped from the primitive town of Claysoot expecting to find answers, but what he discovered shook him to the core: A ruthless dictator with absolute power. An army of young soldiers blinded by lies. And a growing rebellion determined to fight back.

Now Gray has joined a team of rebels on a harsh, icy journey in search of allies who can help them set things right. But in a world built on lies, Gray must constantly question whether any ally—or enemy—is truly what they seem…

I had a couple of fears going into this book. One of them was that I wouldn’t remember what happened in Taken and this book would be a big pot of confusion. Fear number two was that it would fall into the category of not-as-great-sequels as can be found with several YA books. Turns out, I really didn’t have to worry– Frozen was an amazing ride, and even though I'd read Taken a while back, many of the details and names of characters and places came back to me eventually. It was a great follow-up to an amazing start, and didn’t let me down.
I was pretty bummed when I didn’t manage to get a copy of Frozen, but luckily for me, one of my best friends Richa had an ARC so I was able to read this well in advance before publication date. However, it does mean that now I have to wait a SUPER long time for the next book... which doesn’t even have a name yet! The ending of this one just blew me away and made me ravenous for more.

Gray has developed a lot as a character, because in Taken, he made a lot of stupid, rash decisions that had me slapping my forehead in frustration. You can really see that he’s more mature in this book, although he still feels so much confusion as to which girl he should be with. I like that this book is from a guy’s point of view– it’s nice to shake things up once in a while! There is a definite outcome of who Gray is with at the end of the novel (well... pretty much). Since I was already okay with either Bree or Emma from book one, and I didn’t have a preference since both had their strengths and flaws. I kinda wish that the romance was stronger, but on the other hand I’m still glad that the main focus was placed on the action.
As I’d mentioned before, eventually all characters came back to me when I read through, and there are a couple of new characters as well. I really found Jackson’s character interesting, as the book introduced a new group of “people” known as Forgeries and this definitely seems like something that will be further explored in the next book.

I definitely did NOT see that ending coming. My sister read the book before I did and taunted me endlessly with the shocking twist. Even though my mind thought endlessly about the possibilities, I never ended up imagining the ending that this book has. Needless to say, I’m blown away and dying to find out what happens next!
I also liked the contrast in settings that this series presents, as along with an original concept, different landscapes arise and it was very easy to imagine the journey that these characters take as well as the areas that they land up in. The world building is absolutely gorgeous and Bowman’s writing really allows the reader to understand and build up this dystopian setting whilst reading.

Frozen was an enthralling follow-up to Taken. While I’m sad that there is only one more book to go, I’m anticipating the finale and answers to all the questions I’ve had since I started this series. Captivating and beguiling, Erin Bowman’s sequel is bursting with action, suspense and deception, topped off with a likeable protagonist and wonderful descriptions. Can’t wait for book 3!

If you like this, try...

• Reboot by Amy Tintera ● Goodreads
• Possession by Elana Johnson ● Goodreads