Book Review: Frostblood by Elly Blake
Title: Frostblood
Author: Elly Blake
Series: Frostblood #1
Published: January 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown
Pages: 376
From: Barnes and Noble
Rating: 8/10
I started Frostblood by Elly Blake on a whim one night, mostly because I just wanted something light, airy, easy and fun, and boy did I get what I asked for.
Frostblood follows the story of Ruby Otrera, a young woman who, after watching her mother die during a horrible incident, is imprisoned for her ability to create fire. The country she lives in is a world of ice and cold, a place Ruby doesn’t feel she fits in. Soon, though, she is freed from the horrible prison and taken to an abbey, where she learns more than she could ever have dreamed of in the forms of fighting, knowledge, control and humanity.
I have to say, Frostblood felt almost too easy at first, but the more I read it, the more interested and invested I became. It’s one of those novels where, if you’re not careful, you’ll get bored easily; however, I think because I really paid attention and haven’t read too many similar books, I found it entertaining and not repetitive in the least. I had read some reviews online by bloggers stating they got bored because it was the same story you’d find in any given YA fantasy novel nowadays, and, while that holds quite possibly true, it doesn’t negate the fact that this is an entertaining book.
Sometimes I find books to be dense, ones that make you think with each sentence because each individual sentence has something to say. However, and this is not necessarily a bad thing, I don’t consider Frostblood to be one of those novels. The idea of passing along a story because it is entertaining to read and an enticing story is just as powerful as the novel that takes the entire mind to understand.
After reading this novel, the third in the trilogy appeared on my doorstep, and I was more than thrilled to see its shining, metallic dust jacket. I plan to continue the series soon, after a quick break from it delving into another fantastical YA world.
Frostblood and its sequels, Fireblood and Nightblood, the debut of young author Elly Blake, can be found in stores such as Barnes and Noble and online.