Functioning Insanity Reviews: Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1)

Hello happy readers! First don’t forget to head over and check out my GIVEAWAY for a SIGNED copy of Blacksouls (Blackhearts #2) by Nicole Castroman here. It’s open for a few more days! This weekend was super busy and only mildly productive. Spent Friday doing yard work on my new place, and I reminded again how much I hate yard work. So after taking down two huge overgrown bushes each about 12ft tall and some other trimmings I was rather sore which gave me a perfect excuse to chill the rest of the weekend and marathon the new season of Orange is the New Black on Netflix and finish finally catching up on The 100. Now I’m waiting for more on both with everyone else!

Today though, I’m so excited to share with you a review of a book I read a little while back but have been eagerly anticipating the sequel, Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1) by Elly Blake. Now I received a copy for review from No BS Reviews and the original review/post can be found over at No BS along with tons of other reviews. But as I have been mentioning the sequel in my anticipated releases I wanted to share my review on here as well.

Rating: 4 Stars

I was excited to get my hands on this one. It was a new series with a cool concept. Yes, pun intended. I also love the fantasy aspect of this where the MC is forced to hide themselves and what they are. Some aspects reminded me of different parts of other series I enjoyed and while some may see this as a negative I didn’t. I mean I clearly liked the other series and as long as it has it’s own story and isn’t completely like another and keeps me entertained I’m good. I mean if you read enough of a specific genre you’re going to see something that reminds you of another book somewhere. So I was ready to dive into it.

Ruby is a Fireblood and can control heat/flame. Control might be a bit of a leap as she hasn’t learned control and mostly just has accidents. When the king and people are hunting down all the Firebloods to be killed this is a very dangerous thing to not be able to control. After being imprisoned and tortured, which made me cringe despite not being as brutal as other items I’ve read but the way it was written hit me. Also being a fireblood, cold is not her friend and I may have been a bit cold while reading and agreeing with her here. Ruby is offered a chance of escape, from frostbloods, Arcus and Brother Thistle, with the catch of helping them. Their plans to take down the king are in line with her own goals of revenge and it is a chance of escape and thus she agrees. Ruby is always thinking her options through, she doesn’t always make the best choice but she does put some thought into many of them which I liked. So of her arguments with herself are ones I could see myself having.

She was a great vessel to tell the story from with all her swirling and conflicting emotions throughout. From prisoner to alley to prisoner. When trying to do the right thing means doing something wrong. When fighting to survive means giving up a piece of your soul. Finding reasons to keep moving forward when one thing after another is taken away from you. What truly makes you a monster so many believe you to be? I really liked Ruby.

The abbey where she is taken and the brothers and sisters she meets while there show a full assortment of perspectives. Being a fireblood she is feared by many but seeing some accept her for whom she is not what she is while showing contrast between those who dislike or fear her for what she was born versus those who fear what having an enemy of the king near them could bring down on them, I liked the variations. Favorites were of course Brother Thistle and his kick ass self and healing Brother Gamut. I would have liked to get to know more of the brothers and sisters and hope to go back over time.

Sequel cover is out!

Then you have Arcus. He is rude, abrupt, and threatening but still gentle. He’s secretive and moody for sure but he also has this quality of something more. I grew to like him and enjoyed getting to know more and more of him. I wanted him to thaw to Ruby. He also has a bit of a funny side.

The world has lots of stories, tales of how people came into their powers gifts of the Gods. I like the balance aspect of it as the tales were revealed. Fire and Ice being the main focus but then discovering more about Eurus and the Minax, which were creepy as can be. I can’t wait to see how we dive more into that in the sequel. You have enough here for a complete story, one journey ends but there is clearly more story to tell. This did more than bring you into the world it told a story. I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more. Would recommend for fans of fantasy and good vs. evil stories.

Again don’t forget to head over and enter the giveaway!