Fireblood by Elly Blake

Title: Fireblood
Author: Elly Blake
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Series: Frostblood Saga # 2

Hardcover, 416 Pages
Publication: September 12, 2017 by Little Brown BFYR

Source: I received an review copy (arc) from the publisher in exchange for a honest opinion.

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All hail the Fire Queen.

Against all odds, Ruby has defeated the villainous Frost King and melted his throne of ice. But the bloodthirsty Minax that was trapped inside is now haunting her kingdom and everyone she loves. The answers to its demise may lie to the south in Sudesia, the land of the Firebloods, and a country that holds the secrets to Ruby’s powers and past…

Despite warnings from her beloved Arcus, Ruby accompanies a roguish Fireblood named Kai to Sudesia, where she must master her control of fire in a series of trials to gain the trust of the suspicious Fire Queen. Only then can she hope to access the knowledge that could defeat the rampaging Minax—which grows closer every moment. But as sparks fly in her moments alone with Kai, Ruby no longer knows whom to trust. The fates of two kingdoms are now in her hands.

I read and loved Frostblood when it came out earlier this year. I was even more excited when I found out Fireblood was coming out a few months later in the same year! In the first book, Frostblood, the majority of the novel took place in Tempesia, the land of the Frostblood; so naturally Fireblood, took place in Sudesia, Ruby’s homeland. After the events of the last book, the Minax is still on the loose and there is a lot of unrest upon King Ramus’s death. People are weary of their new king, especially because of his affection for Ruby. To help with the situation in Tempesia, Ruby travels with a mysterious Fireblood named Kai to Sudesia to broker a peace treaty with the Queen in hopes of uniting the two Kingdoms back to a time when they lived side by side.

I devoured Fireblood in a day! The Frostblood Saga is seriously like crack candy for the brain. I really enjoyed the latest installment in the trilogy, but it isn’t without flaws. So I’ll start with what I liked. I liked that we got to see where Ruby came from and the Fireblood Court. There isn’t much difference between the Fireblood and Frostblood Court though. The only difference I saw was that the Firebloods had a trials that anyone could take if they wanted to be a Fireblood Master. Which was an equivalent to being a solider/teacher because it showed how strong a Fireblood was and that they’d have to plead loyalty to the queen. I also liked how action-packed the novel was and how Blake kept me glued to the pages. I’ve gotten finicky when it comes to book. If a book doesn’t capture my attention within the first few chapters, I usually move on.But Blake certainly knows her ways with words.

While I found Fireblood engaging and enjoyable for the most part, it read like the first book and was way too predictable. For example, Ruby and Arcus training for the attack on the Frostblood King and Ruby and Kai training for the Fireblood Trials. Secondly, the closeness and attraction Ruby felt while training with both princes. Then the whole Minax trapped in the Fireblood Throne and it affecting the queen. Sound familiar? The big scene at the end felt like an identical representation from the last book with Arcus and Ruby using their ability to destroy the throne. I mean, yeah, Blake added another player into the mix, but again it bugged me how nothing truly changed from the first book. I never been so bored during one of the most (supposedly) important scene in the entire book. As predictability goes, I think the readers knew Ruby was going to crush on Kai. She kept saying over and over how she missed and longed for Arcus but that didn’t stop her from making out with Kai. Then of course, she had to be a long-lost princess and the cherry on top…she’s not only a Fireblood but something entirely special! I won’t spoil that for people that haven’t read it yet. I know the first book was full of the usual tropes, but this sequel just made everything more evident. Oh, and let’s not forget about the trials. The trials were made to sound dangerous and daunting but I gotta say, I thought they were plain ol' silly. I never felt like Ruby’s life was in danger, and the last trial test was the lamest of the three. Like really?

My review sounds like I disliked Fireblood more than I liked it, but that’s not the case at all. I enjoyed it and the point of reading any book is for a person to escape reality for a moment and be caught up in another world and experience another person’s life…and Fireblood did that for me. However, I wished I saw more character growth and plot development but Fireblood didn't deliver that. I will be reading the third and final book, Nightblood to see how everything ends…but I probably won’t run out and read it right away. I still recommend this series because like I said it candy for your brain!