Frostbite by Richelle Mead is the second in the Vampire Academy series of books and continues the story of Rose and Lissa. We learn more about their bond and about the spirit magic that Lissa wields. We also get to meet Rose’s mother, legendary dhampir guardian Janine Hathaway and we see the less than warm relationship the two share. The attitude of Moroi towards their dhampir protectors and their lack of responsibility for their own safety is started to be explored through the character of Tasha Ozera. What I liked Character and relationship development. I liked how the bond between Rose and Lissa continued to be explored. it was interesting that Mead presented the developments in such a way that Rose’s absorbing Lissa’s spirit darkness was obvious to the reader long before the characters themselves worked it out. That is a technique used rather a lot by Mead. Another example would be Adrian’s use of alcohol and drugs to counter spirit magic’s unwelcome side effects. For me that worked well, although some readers may be rather irritated by the characters’ blindness to these developments. I also liked Rose’s realisation that killing Strigoi is not as glorious as it sounds in…