ARC Review ~ FireBlood

Title: FireBlood
Author: Elly Blake
Publication Date: September 12th, 2017
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Pages: 416
Format: ARC
Description: Against all odds, Ruby has defeated the villainous Frost King and melted his powerful throne. 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 Fireblood 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, how can Ruby decide whom to trust? The fate of both kingdoms is now in her hands.

FireBlood wasn’t exactly what I was expecting it to be. I had read FrostBlood, and felt a numbness towards it because of the sense that everything had been done before. I grew worried going into this book, however, I was still intrigued to find out what happened and how the plot progressed. FireBlood surprised me in a good way, I did enjoy it much more than book one and I even felt like there was less déjà vu taking place with some of the plotlines. Overall It was a better read.

My issue with book one was that it was a good introduction to the fantasy genre, but not meant for someone who had already picked their way through many fantasy reads. The plot felt familiar and the choices did too. I was surprised to find that FireBlood wasn’t exactly like the first book in this way. Though it had some of the classic clichés, I felt like some of the plot was new to me. I ended up connecting to the story and reading this book in one sitting. I liked the choices made in this book and the consequences as well. Not everything Ruby did was predictable, and I enjoyed that. Though some of Arcus choices were seen coming, I still did enjoy his part in this novel. The ending was satisfying and will leave readers wanting more, without feeling like a cliffhanger. Overall the plot felt a lot newer in this book than the first one.

I found that I enjoyed these characters a lot more in this sequel. I think Ruby really developed as a character in this book. She was faced with troublesome choices as well as some interesting plot twists. I also loved how she developed as a FireBlood in this book as well.  I still didn’t connect with Ruby as much as I would’ve liked, however, the supporting cast in this book made me enjoy the read a lot more. I love Kai, as one of the main male characters in this book, he had a different humor than our frost boy does. He was interesting to find out all his motives and keep the readers guessing. I also really loved Prince Eiko, because to me he felt like one of the better dignitaries in this novel. Overall the characters to me felt a lot stronger, and it really showed in the writing.

All in all, I did enjoy this book a lot more than I had the first book, and honestly, I am looking forward to the third in this series. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy fantasies with heavy reliance on royalty and order. I would also recommend this book to anyone who read book one, even if you didn’t enjoy it as much because it did get a lot better in this book.