Review: Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1) by Elly Blake

Title: Frostblood

Series: Frostblood Saga #1
Author: Elly Blake
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 10, 2017
Pages: 378
Genres: Young adult, Fantasy
Source: ARC

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The frost king will burn.

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.

Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king’s tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love. 

MY REVIEW

This review MAY contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. This does not affect my opinion of the book.

So this book was good. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. It rests right in the middle of the totem pole. Although, I do have to mention how incredible the cover of this book is. It's simply gorgeous!

This is a classic case of giving into the hype and letting your expectations run a little too high. I keep asking myself why I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. I mean, it has everything that other similar books in this genre have. Other similar books that I love. So why didn't I love this one? And I come right back to my previous thought - it has everything that other similar books have. And that is where the problem lies. Not in what it has, but what it doesn't have. It doesn't have something that sets it apart from all the rest of the genre. At least, not enough of it.

There were so many tropes and clichés, which is usually fine when the writing and the story or plot make up for it or make it interesting. That didn't happen here. The tropes and clichés were there and they were written well enough, but there wasn't that extra oomph added in to make it stand out. To make me not think about that tropes.

The writing was okay, but it wasn't anything special. I liked the dialogue between the main characters. The witty remarks and the banter. The plot was typical but amusing nonetheless. The book was very predictable though, which I didn't fancy. I like to be surprised and this book sadly didn't leave much to the imagination or have much shock value. 

The characters were rounded and had a purpose. However, I did not feel an overly huge connection to them. I definitely had interest, but I didn't feel them in my core. I think that there could have been more world building and more character growth. I was initially concerned that the novel was under 400 pages. I like my fantasy to be prevalent with details about the world and characters. This one felt rushed. 

I know it seems like I am totally ragging on this book. I know it sounds like I didn't like it one bit, but that's not true. I enjoyed it. It just didn't wow me. It wasn't a favorite, but I wasn't disappointed either. The "negative" aspects I mentioned aren't because the book is bad, but things that could make it better. But that is just what would make it better for me. Some people like a nice breezy read. Something fast-paced and simple. Something that won't stress them out or involve too much thinking. But not me. There is a difference between a book that glows and one that shines. And there is nothing wrong with glowing. I do expect to read the next books in the series, and I would recommend this read to others. Especially if you are a fan of fast-paced YA fantasy and don't like a lot of strings attached. 

This book has an absolutely gorgeous cover! One of my favorites of 2017. Do you like this book cover? What are some of your favorite book covers of 2017? (Or ever.)