ARC: Fireblood by Elly Blake

Oh man, I literally had to make myself sleep before I wrote this review after garbling something for GoodReads because otherwise, I'd just be rambling incoherently about how much I loved this book. I was lucky enough to get a copy of this book through NetGalley.

Fireblood is the second book in Elly Blake's Frostblood trilogy and takes place a few months after the end of the first book. Ruby is struggling to fit in with the Frost Court and with visions from the Minax haunting her, everything seems to be going wrong. Arcus is the only light of her life but she feels like she's causing him trouble. When a stranger from Sudesia turns up and invites her to come back with him, Ruby agrees in the hope of learning to master her magic and to find a way to defeat the Frost Minax. Kai and the other Firebloods don't out to be what she expect though and she has to battle both her own emotions and the Queen to figure things out.



What I Liked

The great thing about this book was that it took what myself and others loved about the first book and then expanded on it. Everyone loves court intrigue in fantasy novels and there was more of that. Maybe aspects of it were a little predictable but that wasn't really a problem. Another thing is that one of the strengths of this series is the mythos and world building. The world and the gods are all so interesting and you get to read more of the stories, you get to see more of these gods and you get to see more of what the Minax can do. None of this information is forced upon you and none of it feels like an info dump which many fantasy authors sometimes struggle with.

The best part of the book though? Kai. I've seen a lot of people have been worried about the addition of him. They didn't want anyone to interrupt their ship but honestly? I was never a huge fan of Arcus anyway. He'd grown on me by the end of Frostblood but he was always too cold for me. Kai, on the other hand, is fun, flirty and loves his clothes. He's understanding, sweet and puts Ruby's happiness first. I fell for him hard. He's not always honest about his intentions but when he does lie, you understand why he did so. I found myself shipping Kai and Ruby so hard and I look forward to seeing where their relationship goes next, even if it's probably not endgame.

Finally, I'd like to say my feelings for Marella from book one? Looks like I might have been right after all...

What I Didn't Like

The only thing I didn't really like in this book was Arcus and I imagine that's going to be an unpopular opinion. He behaves stupidly at times and is quick to believe Ruby feels or has done something she hasn't. Okay, he drops it when she tells him it isn't true but the fact is, he should have known her better and trusted that what was happening, was happening for a reason. I'm tired of him shutting everyone out when he's upset, it's tiresome and just blah.

I really don't care about him anymore.

Final Thoughts

The series on the other-hand? I care a lot more about now. Fireblood is firmly one of the favourite books I've read this year and I'm going to be thinking about Kai for some time to come. I just need the book to come out now so I can get Kai merch and fangirl with others over him.

If you've read Frostblood, even if you didn't like it, you need to get your hands on Fireblood as soon as possible. It's one of those rare sequels that's better than the first book and is definitely a chance. Then you can join me in impatiently waiting for Nightblood!

5/5 stars