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hereforethebooks's review
I AM SO SADD!!!
I had so much hope for this book in the beginning, i was just coming off a dnf and i was like wow this is such a good premise and i love all the magic elements we’re getting. Then nothing, scenes are just of ruby and arcus being annoyed at eachother or her crying about missing him and pining after him and honestly they really werent doing it for me for romance or enemies to lovers. I also felt like we kept skipping so much time and then it was like a training scene then 5 scenes of nothing and bam 2 months later and she can do all these cools things with her magic and its like that is the shit i would like to see please???
Anyways i nearly continued bc someones review said theirs a tournament and i love a good tournament but im like 45% through this book and nothings happened so im tapping out!
I had so much hope for this book in the beginning, i was just coming off a dnf and i was like wow this is such a good premise and i love all the magic elements we’re getting. Then nothing, scenes are just of ruby and arcus being annoyed at eachother or her crying about missing him and pining after him and honestly they really werent doing it for me for romance or enemies to lovers. I also felt like we kept skipping so much time and then it was like a training scene then 5 scenes of nothing and bam 2 months later and she can do all these cools things with her magic and its like that is the shit i would like to see please???
Anyways i nearly continued bc someones review said theirs a tournament and i love a good tournament but im like 45% through this book and nothings happened so im tapping out!
cmitchell2781's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this. I've been in a bit of a reading slump, but this book was easy to pick up and slip right into. I have mixed feelings about the main character Ruby. I almost wanted her to be stronger in the face of everything that goes wrong, but I suppose her struggle makes her more relatable. The writing was well done, and the story itself held my attention easily. I'm excited to move on and read the next book.
danielled75's review against another edition
4.0
Ruby is the kind of girl I can root for, even with her self-doubts about being a fireblood, she still finds strength to fight for what she believes in. Growing up she was trying to learn how to use her abilities with her grandmother, but after her grandmother died her mother forbid her from ever using her abilities again. Being the only fireblood in a kingdom of ice was pretty much an instant death sentence.
Ruby is outted by a local village boy, and she is taken prisoner, in the dungeons she is treated horribly. Oddly enough she is saved by some frostbloods and taken to a hidden
monastery, where while there she is trained to use her fire abilities. While there, she is told of a prophecy that she may be a part of.
While under the care of the monks at the monastery, Ruby has a love/hate relationship with the very jaded and on guard young man Arcus. He pushes her buttons to get her to use her fire abilities, but shows a kind side on rare occasions. The relationship between Ruby and Arcus drove me nuts at first, but as the story progressed it made more sense by the end of the book I was cheering for them.
I found the history of the firebloods and frostbloods very interesting and I’m hoping there will be more of this in the next two books. There is Fire and Ice along with Light and Dark, all seem to be major factors of a world that has been thrown into unbalance, and Ruby may be a part of putting it back into balance.
I’m curious to see where Ruby and Arucs are headed in Fireblood the next book in the series.
Ruby is outted by a local village boy, and she is taken prisoner, in the dungeons she is treated horribly. Oddly enough she is saved by some frostbloods and taken to a hidden
monastery, where while there she is trained to use her fire abilities. While there, she is told of a prophecy that she may be a part of.
While under the care of the monks at the monastery, Ruby has a love/hate relationship with the very jaded and on guard young man Arcus. He pushes her buttons to get her to use her fire abilities, but shows a kind side on rare occasions. The relationship between Ruby and Arcus drove me nuts at first, but as the story progressed it made more sense by the end of the book I was cheering for them.
I found the history of the firebloods and frostbloods very interesting and I’m hoping there will be more of this in the next two books. There is Fire and Ice along with Light and Dark, all seem to be major factors of a world that has been thrown into unbalance, and Ruby may be a part of putting it back into balance.
I’m curious to see where Ruby and Arucs are headed in Fireblood the next book in the series.
elvia_a's review against another edition
3.0
Would make an entertaining movie. Overall I enjoyed the plot and characters (though I felt many were undeveloped) and I found the twists predictable but I wasn’t like “ugh, lame”, I was like “uh huh! What’s coming next?”
Rasmus could rival with Maven in terms of psychoticness
I am suspicious of Marella...
The ending was nice, can’t wait to see where the next book leads!
Rasmus could rival with Maven in terms of psychoticness
I am suspicious of Marella...
The ending was nice, can’t wait to see where the next book leads!
astheplotthickens24's review against another edition
3.0
Reasons to Read this Book:
•There's a King Joffrey Baratheon Jr. here
•A total badass Gladiator themed tournament
•Sassy protagonist
•Endless supply of hypothermia
There were only a handful of things that are original in this book. It's either I read it somewhere or knew what was going to happen next. But, it was surprisingly a good combination of all the YA Novels that I read before. I don't see perfection but I see potential in this book. It was a promising start to a new series.
Frostblood,was a combination of Throne of Glass, Red Queen and Truthwitch. The things that happened to the protagonist of this story somehow happened to Celaena, Mare and Iseult too. Albeit, I still like it despite the similarities.
I adore Ruby, she's sassy and witty and foul tempered. The endless banter between her and Arcus were the only things that kept me going from the beginning to the middle part of this book.
I like the romance between them BUT there are times that I am literally cringing from their scenes, some events were too cheesy for their own good to the point that I would tell them to STOP IT (not that they could hear me but there's no harm in trying. Lol)
The plot was good and although I suspected about Arcus' true identity. I still found myself caught a little bit off guard when it was revealed. The concept about the throne was original, the Minax and god interference too were own made.
The world building was almost the same as the Red Queen. The glass (ice) castle, the nation being divided into two bloods (Fireblood and Frostblood), Older and Younger Prince both attracted to the female protagonist, the tournament for the criminals, etc.
This was not a bad read, it was fluid and fast paced so if you're interested then you should go and read it.
•There's a King Joffrey Baratheon Jr. here
•A total badass Gladiator themed tournament
•Sassy protagonist
•Endless supply of hypothermia
“Those who can’t control themselves will find themselves under the control of others. It’s a lesson you’d do well to learn.”
There were only a handful of things that are original in this book. It's either I read it somewhere or knew what was going to happen next. But, it was surprisingly a good combination of all the YA Novels that I read before. I don't see perfection but I see potential in this book. It was a promising start to a new series.
Frostblood,was a combination of Throne of Glass, Red Queen and Truthwitch. The things that happened to the protagonist of this story somehow happened to Celaena, Mare and Iseult too. Albeit, I still like it despite the similarities.
I adore Ruby, she's sassy and witty and foul tempered. The endless banter between her and Arcus were the only things that kept me going from the beginning to the middle part of this book.
I like the romance between them BUT there are times that I am literally cringing from their scenes, some events were too cheesy for their own good to the point that I would tell them to STOP IT (not that they could hear me but there's no harm in trying. Lol)
The plot was good and although I suspected about Arcus' true identity. I still found myself caught a little bit off guard when it was revealed. The concept about the throne was original, the Minax and god interference too were own made.
The world building was almost the same as the Red Queen. The glass (ice) castle, the nation being divided into two bloods (Fireblood and Frostblood), Older and Younger Prince both attracted to the female protagonist, the tournament for the criminals, etc.
This was not a bad read, it was fluid and fast paced so if you're interested then you should go and read it.
bby_blue's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rlisaacs's review against another edition
3.0
It was hard for me to rate this one... which is ultimately why it's getting just three stars. Don't be fooled by that though. I enjoyed this book, and I have added the other two in this series to my to-read list. I will be continuing and finishing the series. I want to know what happens next, and where they all go from here.
That being said... I don't know. I think this is another case of "it's me, not the book". (I've had a few of those this year. Must be a trend it seems.) I enjoyed it. I liked it. I just wasn't over-the-top in love with it. Like, I wanted to read it and know what happened and finish it to see whether Ruby is successful or not. But putting this book down to do other things wasn't a hardship. I didn't mind interruptions, not until I was nearer the end of the book anyway. That's why it took me this long to finish it after I started it.
I like Ruby. She's an impatient Fireblood who wants to understand her powers and use them for good. She goes through a lot in this book, but somehow still manages to keep sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. I have mixed feelings about Arcus. I liked him the more we moved through the book and the closer we got to the end. I wasn't in love with him, but perhaps that will improve with the next book.
And it probably says something bad about me... but I didn't really get excited about anything that was happening until Ruby finally gets taken to the Frost Palace. That's when I feel like things really got interesting. The stuff that happened before is necessary to kind of set you up for that, and for making it believable that Ruby can survive where she's going and what she's going through. But prior to her making it to the palace... I don't know. I liked it, I just also got kind of bored with it at the same time.
I'm probably not making any sense. I truly do feel like this is a case of it being me and not the book. I enjoyed it. I want to continue and see what happens. I like the dynamic between Ruby and Arcus, as well as the Monks of the abbey. I don't like Marella. I feel like she's going to be a conniving problem-starter later on. We'll just have to wait and see.
More like 3.5 stars, with I think the potential to improve in the next book. We'll see.
That being said... I don't know. I think this is another case of "it's me, not the book". (I've had a few of those this year. Must be a trend it seems.) I enjoyed it. I liked it. I just wasn't over-the-top in love with it. Like, I wanted to read it and know what happened and finish it to see whether Ruby is successful or not. But putting this book down to do other things wasn't a hardship. I didn't mind interruptions, not until I was nearer the end of the book anyway. That's why it took me this long to finish it after I started it.
I like Ruby. She's an impatient Fireblood who wants to understand her powers and use them for good. She goes through a lot in this book, but somehow still manages to keep sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. I have mixed feelings about Arcus. I liked him the more we moved through the book and the closer we got to the end. I wasn't in love with him, but perhaps that will improve with the next book.
And it probably says something bad about me... but I didn't really get excited about anything that was happening until Ruby finally gets taken to the Frost Palace. That's when I feel like things really got interesting. The stuff that happened before is necessary to kind of set you up for that, and for making it believable that Ruby can survive where she's going and what she's going through. But prior to her making it to the palace... I don't know. I liked it, I just also got kind of bored with it at the same time.
I'm probably not making any sense. I truly do feel like this is a case of it being me and not the book. I enjoyed it. I want to continue and see what happens. I like the dynamic between Ruby and Arcus, as well as the Monks of the abbey. I don't like Marella. I feel like she's going to be a conniving problem-starter later on. We'll just have to wait and see.
More like 3.5 stars, with I think the potential to improve in the next book. We'll see.
bethyj218's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sdloomer's review against another edition
2.0
--1.75/5 stars--
I really wanted to like this. Really. Really really. And I did. But it just wasn't enough.
Let me start by saying that the concept was intriguing. I've wanted to read a YA book about something to do with wielding the four classical elements (huge Avatar nerd incoming) and when I read the blurb for this, I immediately thought, "Yes. This is what I've been waiting for." But unfortunately, I was left hanging.
For one, the plot meanders around way too much, and some scenes seem like afterthoughts, or just seem to stick out strangely. Nothing really clamps down until the last fourth of the book, where we finally get an overall motive for the entire trilogy, but until then, the characters just seem to dance prettily around each other, waiting for something to happen.
Second, Ruby and Arcus. I didn't exactly like either of them: Ruby is a little too malleable--her attitude toward Arcus, Brother Thistle, the Frost King, the other women of the novel, everyone, seems a little too nonchalant, especially considering the pain most of them have put her through. She just didn't seem there, kind of like a wisp of cloud being blown one way or the other. And Arcus was just a rock. I understand he has his past, but he was just so one-dimensional that he could have been cut from the story and it still would have held.
And finally, although I feel that the story has potential in its sequels, there just needs to be more. More feeling, more conflict, more difficult choices, more moral questioning, more complexity. This almost feels like a heavily edited third or fourth draft of a novel: where's the meat of the story? Where's all the headiness that comes with the burden of wielding Frost and Fire?
I'm not sure I'll be reading the next book, as I wasn't completely impressed with this series starter, but if Ms. Blake can up her game in her sophomore book, I'll give it a chance.
I really wanted to like this. Really. Really really. And I did. But it just wasn't enough.
Let me start by saying that the concept was intriguing. I've wanted to read a YA book about something to do with wielding the four classical elements (huge Avatar nerd incoming) and when I read the blurb for this, I immediately thought, "Yes. This is what I've been waiting for." But unfortunately, I was left hanging.
For one, the plot meanders around way too much, and some scenes seem like afterthoughts, or just seem to stick out strangely. Nothing really clamps down until the last fourth of the book, where we finally get an overall motive for the entire trilogy, but until then, the characters just seem to dance prettily around each other, waiting for something to happen.
Second, Ruby and Arcus. I didn't exactly like either of them: Ruby is a little too malleable--her attitude toward Arcus, Brother Thistle, the Frost King, the other women of the novel, everyone, seems a little too nonchalant, especially considering the pain most of them have put her through. She just didn't seem there, kind of like a wisp of cloud being blown one way or the other. And Arcus was just a rock. I understand he has his past, but he was just so one-dimensional that he could have been cut from the story and it still would have held.
And finally, although I feel that the story has potential in its sequels, there just needs to be more. More feeling, more conflict, more difficult choices, more moral questioning, more complexity. This almost feels like a heavily edited third or fourth draft of a novel: where's the meat of the story? Where's all the headiness that comes with the burden of wielding Frost and Fire?
I'm not sure I'll be reading the next book, as I wasn't completely impressed with this series starter, but if Ms. Blake can up her game in her sophomore book, I'll give it a chance.