ARC Review: Frostblood

Title: Frostblood 
Author: Elly Blake 
Published: 12th January 2017
My Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Synopsis:

The first in a page-turning young adult fantasy series perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard's Red Queen and Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series.

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.

Frostblood is set in world where flame and ice are mortal enemies - but together create a power that could change everything.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review,

OMG!!! First of all thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for letting me read this book. I have been hearing a LOT about this book for the last couple of months so the EXCITEMENT was real!

OMGOMGOMG!!! *runs around screaming* where do I even start with this book???

SO I can't hold out any longer, I need to state how much I loved ARCUS like freaking so much, he puts the word 'love' in to a different perspective. Now he was a very surprising character, I knew I was going to love Ruby as soon as I read the synopsis. But Arcus? Damn Elly I did not expect him to be so brave, loyal, sensitive, compassion, such a know it all, moody, rude oh I could go on but he fits so well in to the role of a tortured badass character. I didn't expect him to be afraid of fire when were told why my heart broke in to a million pieces, poor little thing. I didn't realise that would be one of the reasons he would hide about himself (I honestly thought he had other reasons).  But his character does show evolvement, not drastically and thank god for that but small steps. 

Ruby is a class of her own, she is so frightened, temperamental and ferocious at the same time it reminded me of when we are faced with our own problems where we have no choice but to face our demons head on in the battlefield (can you tell the plot is getting to me? Yeah I think the Minax might have consumed me a little). It was the same situation for Ruby, because she feels guilty of her mothers death as a result of her gift and always being told to suppress it, Ruby struggles with controlling her power. But Arcus and Brother Thistle are hiding secrets they haven't been fully honest with Ruby. How will she find out? Can Ruby really trust these Frostblood's?

The storyline actually reminded a few other books I have read where the plot is similar, Snow Like Ashes and The Last Year also share similar outlines, the whole Fire against Ice. But I also think, each of the stories are different in their own unique way.

Ruby wants to murder Rasmus, because of him there is so much evil spread throughout the land. There aren't many of her kind if any left at all. However, one fateful day she gets captured by the solider's and her mum is killed right before her very eyes. Ruby vows to take vengeance on Rasmus but eventually gets locked up. Help comes in the most unusual way, two Frostblood who exchange an agreement with Ruby, she needs to help them overthrow the King. 

Although there isn't much romance in the book, I am happy that there is some! I really love the chemistry between Arcus and Ruby, I could hear it crackling on my iPhone. I also loved the banter between these two, if you love banter like me between the two protagonist then this is the story for you.

I think the pacing was okay, but I didn't really understand why it was split in to two parts? Did it need that? I mean if a certain time has passed then maybe but the chapter just continues straight where it left off so I was confused about that....

The battling scenes, brutally killing one another, the vivid description that was one thing I could not handle. Well I suppose I got through it, even when I read Flawed by Cecila Ahern it was one of the most hardest books I have ever read in 2016. This was really hard to take in, I am just lucky that Blake didn't elaborate too much on it, not even enough to create visuals for me but then again when I was reading about the darkness I felt like I could feel the power swirling inside of my room!

Let's talk: Have you read this book yet? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

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