Frostblood by Elly Blake

I've pretty much been wanting to read Frostblood since I caught sight of it in Waterstones and immediately brought it. But it waited until my current to read pile and then I placed it near to the bottom due to the size. After speaking to Elly Blake in a chat about the next book I needed to read it even more and I'm so glad I finally have. Oh boy, I'm glad.

Frostblood is a YA fantasy novel and was Elly Blake's debut novel. In many ways, it seems very much the stereotypical fantasy book and I've seen that put some readers off. Don't let that put you off though as though it may seem a little typical in places, there's enough twists and turns within the beautiful writing to make this book stand out.

What I Liked

Ruby was an excellent main character. She was temperamental but that led to her being out of control, she wanted to heal so that meant she couldn't fight well and when she's overwhelmed by negativity, it isn't easy for her to come out. She's not a perfect character and there are times you doubt that she can do what she needs to but because she's truly good, you want to believe in her. The romance with Arkus I wasn't really a fan of until it was happening and that was mostly down to his attitude previously. You, later on, understand why he was the way he was and I liked him by then anyway. But it does mean it wasn't the perfect romance. Since this is only book 1 though, I can easily forgive that.

With other characters, I liked that your attitudes towards them are constantly changing. I liked the monks and I liked Braka so I'm interested to see what happens there. I also liked where Ruby considered her new home to be and that she wasn't immediately on planning on staying with her love forever just yet.

The final and one of the most important things that are great about this book was the world building. People wise it was possibly a little too white but the mythos, the magic and the description of the actual world I really loved and it helped suck me in.

What I Didn't Like

My main complaint about this novel is that it could stand to be a little more diverse. It was really enjoyable but I'm hoping with book 2 and the new cultures, we'll get some more diversity.

Other than that, I only really don't like Marella. I really can't go into detail without spoiling a lot but I expected her to be something she wasn't. And now I'm sat here, still a little unsettled and unsure if I can trust her.

Overall this was a really great book and god damn, now I need Fireblood now!

5/5 Stars