Book Review: Frostblood

Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1)

By: Elly Blake

Published By: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: January 10, 2017

Page Count: 384

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: Amazon Vine Review Program

Young Adult - Fantasy

This would be a great read for anyone who loves Sarah J Maas' writing - it is GREAT fantasy! 

 Frostblood is really original, and follows Ruby, a girl with the power of fire running through her veins. She has been in hiding all her life but a silly mistake costs her her freedom and her family. She finds herself in prison, rotting away, when she is rescued by a mysterious stranger and his friend. They have frost powers and Ruby is highly distrustful of them. So starts the journey of them learning about each other, their powers, and gradually forming an alliance to work together towards one goal: removing the despot king from power. 

It's a good plot, and it certainly kept me guessing, and although I had an inkling about a possible development which did pan out, it was fun watching the story unfurl to confirm my thoughts! There was a lot to love about this story and it was really exciting; it definitely drew me back in when I wasn't reading which is a sign of a great book as far as I'm concerned. 

 The characters were believable and sometimes a little unpredictable. Ruby was pretty feisty and surprised me a few times with her outbursts. I didn't 100% warm to her as a character (I much preferred Arcus) but she developed really well and I grew to care a lot more about her. 

 As far as romantic content goes, there was a little romance but it was a light touch and nothing to worry about for younger readers.

Summary:

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.