This review was first posted on Ruby's Reads. 
 Being familiar with this series, it doesn't surprise me that Gwen and Logan's first date ends up so disastrously. What does bother me is that I started this book with high hopes. I really enjoyed the first book in the Mythos Academy series, but by book two, Gwen's love interest, Logan, was beginning to lose his allure. Book three appeared to put things back on the right track-Gwen and Logan had finally got past their holding pattern and had made tentative (yet firm) steps toward each other. Which is why Crimson Frost came as something of a disappointment for me. 
 Of course, the Mythos Academy books are not just about Gwen and Logan. Their romance is a big part of the series' storyline, but the larger arc is Gwen & Co.'s quest to defeat Loki and the Reapers. Since I prefer my romance with a healthy dose of plot, I appreciate that there's more going on than Gwen and Logan's will they/won't they relationship. However. When an author makes moves to take the main couple out of their holding pattern only to return them to it in the next book, I call shenanigans. 
 Which is all to say that Crimson Frost is shenaniganolicious. There are a few revelations that get Gwen a little closer to defeating Loki, but mostly the book read as though it was written to separate her from Logan again. The whole book, honestly, felt like a step back for the series. It was a disappointing read. Not bad enough to keep me from reading the next installment, but frustrating enough that I'm grateful that I'll have the time I need before Midnight Frost is released. Hopefully Estep will be ready to allow Gwen at least one small breakthrough. I'm counting on it.