Bookish Reviews

Frostblood by: Elly Blake

Frostblood by Elly Blake

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Expected Publication Date: by January 10th, 2017

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance

Pages: 384

Series: Frostblood Saga - Book One

Format: ARC

Source: Requested by publisher, Hachette Book Group

Summary from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a fireblood who must hide her powers of heat and flame from the cruel frostblood ruling class that wants to destroy all that are left of her kind. So when her mother is killed for protecting her and rebel frostbloods demand her help to kill their rampaging king, she agrees. But Ruby's powers are unpredictable, and she's not sure she's willing to let the rebels and an infuriating (yet irresistible) young man called Arcus use her as their weapon.

All she wants is revenge, but before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to take part in the king's tournaments that pit fireblood prisoners against frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her and from the icy young man she has come to love.

Fast-paced and compelling, Frostblood is the first in a page-turning new young adult three-book series about a world where flame and ice are mortal enemies—but together create a power that could change everything.

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Indigo

Review:

Hmmmm...

When the King's men discover seventeen-year-old Ruby, a fireblood, they kill her mother for protecting her and destroy the village she has come to call home. After being taken by the King's men, she is locked in a prison cell for months until she receives help from rebel frostbloods.

I have been highly aticipating the release of Frostblood for a while and when I was approved for the ARC I was nothing less than ecstatic. Even though it didn't seem to offer anything necessarily new, on the whole fire and ice concept of the novel, I was nonetheless excited to begin reading it. Unfortunately, it wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be.

"There is always light in darkness. It may only be a pinpoint, but it is there. Follow it and you will find your free."

The whole novel was a bit too slow for my liking and there was definitely some info dumping that I could have done without. Yes, there was fantasy; yes, there was action; and yes, there was romance. But unfortunately, these things did not excite me or captivate my attention in any way. I kept on questioning why I was still reading the novel and making myself suffer through it. The only thing that kept me reading this novel had to be Arkus.

Arkus was an intriguing character to read. He was both brooding and intense at times but nonetheless a loveable character to read. The romance between Ruby and Arkus was alright though I would have loved to have seen more passion.

In the end, it was an okay book to read but I definitely won't be reading the next book in the saga.

Rating:

★★

About The Author:

Elly Blake loves fairy tales, old houses, and owls. After earning a BA in English literature, she held a series of seemingly random jobs, including project manager, customs clerk, graphic designer, reporter for a local business magazine, and library assistant. She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and a Siberian Husky mix who definitely shows Frostblood tendencies.