This was a bit of an odd one to go into. Not that the book is odd or anything, just my beforehand thoughts. I was sent an ARC of this book by the publisher (thank you!), and while I’d heard of the title SO many times, I didn’t actually know that much about the story itself. So I was very intrigued to see what all the fuss was about.

I did actually want to read this awhile ago, since I received it in June, but the book isn’t released until January next year. I always upload my ARC reviews about a month beforehand, so I didn’t want it sitting in the “scheduled” section for half a year.

But here we are today, at last!

So let’s talk about Frostblood!

Title: Frostblood

Author: Elly Blake

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Series Status: The 1st book in the Frostblood series

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Number of Pages: Approx 384 pages (according to Goodreads)

Release Date: January 12th 2017

Having read the book, I personally think the synopsis on Goodreads gives too much away, so I’ll try my best to write my own. Of course, it’s only my opinion though, so I’ll leave the Goodreads one below it too. You decide which to read.

In a world ruled by Frostbloods after years of feud with the Firebloods, no Fireblood is safe from the King’s demands of wiping them out. As Ruby knows only too well.

Practicing control of her powers as carefully as possible wasn’t enough, and soon the King’s soldiers raid Ruby’s village, killing  her mother and causing a mess of destruction in their path.

Ruby is imprisoned, tormented, and barely alive. The only thing keeping her going? A burning anger and want for revenge – directly aimed at the Frost King.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

In a land governed by the cruel Frostblood ruling class, seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has spent most of her life hiding her ability to manipulate heat and light – until the day the soldiers come to raid her village and kill her mother. Ruby vows revenge on the tyrannous Frost King responsible for the massacre of her people.

But Ruby’s powers are unpredictable…and so are the feelings she has for Arcus, the scarred, mysterious Frostblood warrior who shares her goal to kill the Frost King, albeit for his own reasons. When Ruby is captured by the Frost King’s men, she’s taken right into the heart of the enemy. Now she only has one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who took everything from her – and in doing so, she must unleash the powers she’s spent her whole life withholding.

*Thank you to the publishers for sending me an ARC of this book

Hmmmm…

You know when you try to summon thoughts about a book, but there’s just a jumble and you can’t actually figure out what you felt about it?

THAT.

It was an enjoyable book. It’s fair to say that.

The world itself was probably the most interesting thing to me. New fantasy worlds always fascinate me somewhat anyway, but with this one there seems to be a great history, the sort where you never quite know if they’re real stories or legend. And that sort of backstory laying, where you gradually find out how the world got to the place it’s at now while you’re reading, is my favourite way of discovering a new world. So thumbs up to that. 

I also really liked the main character, Ruby. She was strong but in the way that she just kept going. She lived through everything that was thrown at her, even if to everyone else she looked like the weakest person alive. She didn’t get ridiculously great at every skill after a week of practicing – though granted, the “special snowflake” moment was definitely there. But hey, it’s a trope I like reading about so why not?

But all the way through, there was something bothering me that I just couldn’t get past. And for once, I actually know what it was.

This book had SO MUCH in common with the Throne of Glass series.

At first, I couldn’t decide if this was a good or bad thing. I mean, that series is one of my favourites of all time. Why would I not like something similar? Well, because if I read a different book, I want a different story.

Off the top of my head, I can think of five pretty major things it had in common. As a person who forgets details from books pretty easily about a week after reading, that’s saying something. And while it wasn’t necessarily bad, it did stop my enjoyment slightly. Instead of thinking “oh I didn’t see that coming!” or “That’s so clever, what?!?” every time I thought “oh – that’s like Throne of Glass”.

It was still interesting to see how everything worked though. I’d have liked a few more details actually, it was that intriguing. I want to know what makes someone a Frostblood or a Fireblood – is it inherited? Are the powers based on personality? Is it literally their average natural body temperature enhanced one way or the other? And when it came to the side characters, I’d have loved full backstories to them. But maybe I’m asking too much from a first book of a series.

So this was definitely an entertaining read. Action packed and full of intriguing stories from the past, I can see how it’s a page turner. The main sort of plot twist succeeded in shocking me, and I felt like the pace picked up considerably halfway through. And though the similarities to Throne of Glass underwhelmed me slightly, I feel like SO many people are going to love this book. Especially judging by the Goodreads ratings it already has.

Rated 3/5 stars

Amazon

Share your thoughts!

Have you read this book? What did you think?

Are you looking forward to its release?

Have you preordered it, or plan on buying it?

Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

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