Book Review: Fireblood by Elly Blake

Release Date: September 12th, 2017
Read: August 22nd-23rd, 2017
Publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: Frostblood Saga, #2
Format: ARC, 416 pages
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Description from GoodReads:

   All hail the Fire Queen.

   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 Fire 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, Ruby no longer knows whom to trust. The fates of two kingdoms are now in her hands.

Review:

 
   The last thing I want is to smother you

   I didn't adore Frostblood, the first book in the series, that much is known if you read my review. But in the end I requested the ARC since the author is Canadian and I wanted to give her another chance. 

   All the problems that occurred in Frostblood that I did not enjoy, reoccurred in Fireblood. Everything from the similarity to Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, to the book being a walking cliche of everything Young Adult. The Deja Vu factor had returned in full force.

   In complete honesty, the cliche factor was a deal breaker for me. I thought I could get over the fact, but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy really anything about Fireblood. Especially not when the only memory I still have of the novel is me groaning every five minutes. 

   Although, saying all of this, I do still believe that anyone just starting to read YA books should give the Frostblood saga a chance. If you haven't read a ton of YA yet, then I could certainly see Fireblood as an interesting and fun read. Because of that fact, I would still recommend it to people. 

   Fireblood was a walking "ugh" for me, so I probably won't pick up Nightblood, the final book in the series, unless someone shoves it in my face. 

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"You’re quite amusing when you’re not lashing me with that sharp tongue."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Old Time YA Books

January Wrap Up 2017!

   January was good, January was really good. In the last months, I'd been on hiatus because of the stress of my University classes. This month I started a new bunch of classes, with a lighter load, as well as classes that actually interest me. It's safe to say that this course load is just what I needed.

   I said I'd do two things last month, one was try to get motivated to blog again, and the other was to start a TBR pile for the month, and try to get through them all. One of the two was successful, unfortunately it wasn't the blogging part. I ended up being able to read practically all of the books I had added to my TBR but, in the end I just couldn't review them. I'm still going to work on that, especially when it comes to other blog posts too. For now I'm just going to keep up with all all the reading I've been doing, and hope that I can stick with that as well!

   In the last month I was able to participate in two bookish events, one being my Winnipeg Blogger Groups' Secret Santa party, and the other being an IndigoTeen Hangout. Both were amazing, but I mean, I got to hang out with the same set of friends both times, so they were bound to be great. My Secret Santa, Sarah from Just Another Story, was SUPER AMAZING and got me an ARC of Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, and The Throne of Glass Covering Book, so you can tell that I am over the moon excited. Then at the IndigoTeen Hangout I was lucky enough to have won an ARC of 100 Hours by Rachel Vincent, and Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee. Both events were fantastic, and so much fun, from bookish trivia to just discussing books. I love my group of bookish ladies, and can't wait to see them again next month!

   Outside of the bookish world, my friends and I did a fancy dinner night at one of my favourite restaurants. We all dressed up in some of our nicest outfits, and literally just went out for dinner. It was a lot of fun just dressing up, and going out. I can't wait to do it again sometime in the future.  (Please enjoy our lovely selfie.)

   And finally, the last two weeks, and still going, I've been sick. Everyone has been getting sick recently, and I guess it was just my turn. This time around has been a bit worse than usual, especially since my asthma kicks in whenever I get a cold, but I've been slowly getting better, so hopefully that goes away soon. 

   That was my January 2017! I'd say that it was a good start off to the year, if you completely ignore the fact that Trump is the president of the United States anyway. Anyways, here are the stats for this month!

   

   P.S. You guys have to go see A Dogs Purpose, it was such a beautiful movie, and I honestly can't stop tearing up when I think about the movie. It was also actually filmed maybe 15 minutes away from my home, the diner that the characters go to is actually a favourite place for me to go eat in the summer! So definitely make time to go see it!

Books Read:

Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Frostblood by Elly Blake 

History is All Your Left Me by Adam Silvera (DNF'd)

Hunted by Meagan Spooner

Book Haul:

Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys (Hardcover)

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova (Hardcover)

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman (Hardcover)

Mirrored by Alex Flinn (ARC)

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (Paperback)

Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee (ARC)

Night World by L.J. Smith (Hardcover)

Roseblood by A.G. Howard (Hardcover)

Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin (Hardcover)

The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst (Hardcover)

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (Paperback)

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton (ARC)
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (ARC)
The Throne of Glass Colouring Book by Sarah J. Maas (Paperback)

100 Hours by Rachel Vincent (ARC)

A huge thank you to IndigoTeen, OwlCrate, Lauren @ The Autumn Bookshelf, Sarah @ Just Another Story,  and Sabrina @ Beyond the Book Reviews

Books Reviewed:

Spindle by E.K. Johnson

You Don't Know My Name by Kristen Orlando (Blog Tour)

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton 

Frostblood by Elly Blake 

February Releases That I'm Excited For:

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones ( 7th)

King's Cage by Victoria Averyard (7th)

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza (7th)

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham (21st)

Long May She Reign by Rhiannon Thomas (21st)

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (28th)

   That was the month! February is usually a super busy month for my family and I, so we'll have to see what's in store for us. I know that I've already got a bunch of things planned, like our late Staff Christmas Party, a Book Signing, and my 19th Birthday Party! So already, I know that'll be a lot of fun, until next time!

Book Review: Frostblood by Elly Blake

Release Date: January 10th, 2017
Read: January 17-18th, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: Frostblood Saga, #1
Format: ARC, 371 pages
Source: BEA 2016

Description from GoodReads:

   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.

Review:

Contains Minor Spoilers:

   Die, Fireblood, die!

   I hadn't heard of Frostblood until BEA 2016, when I picked it up randomly at a game hosted by Hachette Company. At the time, I was super excited to read it. The 'last' person in the land with the power of fire, in a fight against people with the power of frost. Combined with the fact that the author is Canadian, you bet I was excited.
   Frostblood felt like a bunch of YA books thrown together to make one book. In particular, I found myself repeatedly comparing it to Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. From discovering the powers, and being trained by someone you consider a new family figure and a guy who is already the master of his powers to having to fight champions to become the evil king's pet. For someone who has read a lot of YA books, it was not for me, but to people who haven't read a lot of them, I'd definitely recommend it.
   Besides getting deja vu from the book, I did have a few things that I did enjoy. One of those being Arcus, unlike most YA books, he isn't your typical love interest. After being attacked by a fire blood, he is left scarred. I found that that changed things up from your regular YA romance, instead of falling for a gorgeous guy with no flaws, Ruby, our protagonist, fell for Arcus because of who he was and not that he looked like. It showed us that it's what on the inside that counts.
   Although it did feel like Deja Vu, I did still feel the pull to continue the book. So when Fireblood, the sequel to Frostblood releases, I'll definitely consider picking it up!

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"The fire was its own master and would not be ruled."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Fire, Ice, Darkness

January TBR Pile

   Hi all! 

   Starting this month, I'm going to (try and), start a new monthly feature! I'm going to start creating a monthly tbr post. Each month I'm going to pick a pile of books to read, or at least pick through to read. I know for the most part, that I won't finish the pile each month, especially with School starting again in a few days, but I will have a small pile to choose my next read from. Without further ado, my January TBR pile. 

January TBR Pile

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (Paperback)

Windwitch by Susan Dennard (ARC)

Dead Girls Society by Michelle Krys (Hardcover)

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (ARC)

Frostblood by Elly Blake (ARC)

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman (ARC)

Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin (ARC)

Hunted by Megan Spooner (ARC)

   That's my TBR for the month! Let's hope that I can finish at least half of it!