YA Book Review: Fireblood by Elly Blake

Title: Fireblood

Author: Elly Blake

Series:Frostblood Saga #2

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pub Date: September 12, 2017

Pages: 416

My Copy: ARC that I Got at Book Expo America 

Warning: My Review Contains Spoilers, so be warned…

Book Summary:

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 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.

Book Review:

A great sequel that was filled with lots of surprises and twists that no one could see coming. Ruby definitely finds herself having to make choices that no one but her can make to defeat the Minax.

Ruby is someone who has new challenges in this book as she is dealing with the aftermath of the events in Frostblood. I really found that even though she defeat the evil Frost King, she is still seen by some of the Frostbloods as someone who is distracting Arcus, the new king and not a suitable girlfriend for him. Ruby definitely feels it. Not everybody at the new court likes her, even though some people regard her as a hero. They also have to deal with the chaos of the Minax which is possessing people.

Things happen one night at the court, where Ruby is attacked and saved by a mysterious person, who turns out to be Kai. Kai is a Fire Blood and helps Ruby defend herself against Frostbloods who don’t want her breathing, much less living. So of course this ends in a very interesting fight. Kai also does things during the fight that makes Ruby want to learn more about other Firebloods and she needs info on the Minax. Supposedly on the home land of the Firebloods, there is another throne that is the exact duplicate of The Frost Throne and may hold answers to what the Minax wants.  So of course, the question then becomes how does Ruby get the answers she seeks. Of course there is Kai.

She meets with Kai and Kai tells her things that may or may not be true. Ruby is definitely intrigued by what he tells her about the home of the Firebloods. There are more of her kind on the homeland. Plus it’s not just one island but a few islands and it is beautiful. The Fireblood queen is definitely curious about her according to Kai. Not to mention he tells her things that she needs to hear. Plus he tells her that he is the exception to the rules.

We also learn that Arcus is not too happy to let Ruby go to the Fireblood home, but that she will do it anyway. We learn that Ruby doesn’t respond well to orders. So of course she decides to travel to the Fireblood homeland and discovers so many things that she never expect and also that Kai wasn’t upfront with her about certain information. The Fireblood Queen is not what you thought she would be.

She is also learning to use her abilities as her powers are no where near where she needs them to be. There is a school for the Firebloods and that the masters teach the young Firebloods to control their powers. We also learn that Ruby is someone that the queen has been looking for quite a while. She suspected that Ruby is her niece, which would make Ruby a princess and heir to the Fireblood throne. So this makes things far more dangerous and complicated as the queen needs an heir because she can’t have children. This would ensure the line and Ruby becomes engaged to Kai. This leads to all sorts of complications. Then of course, she has to endure trials and tests. We also learn that there is a secret Fireblood Throne and another Minax trapped in the throne and the other Minax is trying to get them out.

We learn through the Minax after he possesses the body of someone else, he possessed Ruby’s mother while she was pregnant with her, and Ruby is far more than a Fire Blood, but rather a Night Blood. He has orchestrated all of this because he needed the Night Blood to open the portal to something that could destroy the world that both Fire Bloods and Frost Bloods. Everything goes crazy. Of course nobody is ever the same after what happens in the Fire Blood throne. People are scared. Somehow Ruby and her friends manage to kill one of the Minax, but the second one manages to survive and wants to open the gates. This is not good. So the queen wishes them in their quest to defeat the Minax.

This book was interesting in a lot of ways. I really like the conflicts, learning, discovering new things about your past. Who you are related to. What are you willing to risk to help everybody. Love the crazy twists and surprises in this book. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for Ruby and her friends. 

Rating:

4.5 Hearts