Review: Fireblood by Elly Blake

Title: Fireblood

Author: Elly Blake

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 12th 2017

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: 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.

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My Thoughts

Warning: There may be spoilers for Frostblood. If you have not read this book and do not wish to be spoiled, please don’t read this! Thank you.

I really liked Frostblood and was excited for the sequel. However, Fireblood didn’t really live up to my expectations. Ruby has destroyed the throne and restored power to Arcus, the Frostblood King. Now, in Tempesia, with her powers out in the open, she must work towards creating peace as much as she can. However, the court is not as willing to accept her as Arcus might hope, and several make an attempt on her life. To prevent war and to stop a greater evil from coming, Ruby travels to Sudesia, the land of the Firebloods, to meet their queen. In order to prove herself, she must face the trials and earn the title of master. But as her journey continues, she learns that not everything is what it seems and you need to fight for what you want.

I think trilogies tend to have certain trends in each of their books. The first one introduces the story to the reader and in most cases develops the love interest and romance between the main character and that person. The second one usually has a rival that the main character starts to get interested in. I am always bothered by this. I really don’t like love triangles. Sometimes I do, when the characters are developed and they are there for more than the romance. Here, it was just frustrating and seemed very unnecessary. Kai was an interesting character himself, but sometimes the interactions between him and Ruby seemed forced. Which I really disliked, because they had good moments together! But the romance… it was annoying at some points.

Ruby deals with PTSD a lot here after the events she suffered in King Rasmus’s arena. However, I didn’t think this was addressed as it should have been. Rather than seen as a reaction to the trauma Ruby endured, it was treated as a reaction to the Minax and the connection she has with it. To me, it seemed to downplay how the arena affected her. Maybe I’m looking at this too much, but this had a lot of opportunity for character development and a healthy discussion about PTSD, and it seemed to come short of what I wanted.

I won’t go into it, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I didn’t like some of what Ruby discovered about herself. It was predictable and really bothered me. Sometimes I just wanted to ask why this needed to be the case.

Sometimes I found myself needing more of an explanation concerning characters or events that might have happened previously. It might be better to read the first book soon before starting this one if you haven’t remembered a great deal of this story. I still really enjoyed the stories of how things came to be and the mythology, but some stories I didn’t understand why they were being told. I think Ruby kept on reiterating why she wanted to be a master, in so many different ways, but I was still confused on other parts.

Also she says she wants to be a master in order to destroy the Minax, then says it’s for herself, then says she needs to become one to make things right and not focus on her own wants. Which is it, Ruby?!

The plot is fast-paced, so you’re definitely kept on your toes. But sometimes I just wanted to take a break from reading with the roller coaster of emotions.

I’m still interested in Ruby’s journey and her development as she learns more about herself and her powers. But this book had a lot more cliches than the last one did and kind of seemed to drag at some points, which frustrated me. I’m hoping the final book of the trilogy has less romance and more fighting.

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