The Frost Blood Saga by Elly Blake: Are you bored? Then, this series might be for you. Let me start by saying I read this series during quarantine. If I wasn’t home bound and my local library was open, the odds of me reading the entire series is slim. But with the right circumstances (my extreme level of boredom coupled with my local library lending ebooks only), the Frost Blood series by Elly Blake was my only option. With that caveat out of the way, let me tell you about this series.
The Long Gist – Beware of Spoilers!
Book #1: Frostblood, the normal young adult trope
- A young, poor girl with a special gift seeks revenge and ends up falling in love. Sounds relatively familiar, doesn’t it?
- Ruby, our main heroine, is a Fireblood in a kingdom of frost. Forced to hide her gift, she is discovered and captured by the kingdom’s Frostblood king. After being starved and tortured, she’s rescued and taken to a monastery by our hero, Arcus, to kill the Frostblood king.
- A betrayal in the monastery leads to Ruby’s capture and her one chance to destroy the bloodthirsty king.
Book #2: Fireblood, the beginning of a love triangle
- The novel starts with the shaky rebuilding of the Frostblood kingdom after Ruby’s successful ending of a maniacal reign.
- After a rebel group tries to assassinate her and Arcus, she decides to leave Tempesia with Prince Kai to learn the ways of Sudesia, become a Fireblood master, and determine a way to kill the Minax.
- A few twists and turns later, Ruby, Arcus, Kai, and the gang have a big battle and find out Eurus, god of the East wind, is trying to take over the world.
Book #3: Nightblood, the anticlimactic finish
- The last book in the saga picks up right where the second ends. The whole gang sails back to Tempesia to find out how to find the Isle of Light and determine a way to keep the Minax trapped behind the Gate of Light.
- After a very anticlimactic trip where Ruby begins to lose her grip on the Minax, they find the island, have another big battle with Eurus and company, and eventually win the day.
The Review
Overall, I thought the series was meh. As I was writing the synopsis, I thought, “How was this book not more exciting?!” And honestly, I’m not really sure. I just didn’t feel like there was much depth to this story. The characters, other than Prince Kai, aren’t extremely likeable so even though you’re pulling for Ruby and Arcus you don’t have much invested. As a reader, I yearned for character growth that you never get.
There are some series you get sucked into and never want to put down; and once the last book ends, you end up feeling regretful to leave this magical world the author created, these characters you’ve grown to love, this story you wish would go on and on. This was not one of those series. I could have stopped reading after the first book and been completely content not to finish.
Why did I read the series, you ask? Well, the story was relatively interesting and I enjoyed the overarching myths. I also had nothing else to read (thanks COVID) and was in the mood for a quick young adult series. The books did satisfy that craving but overall, I was a bit bored. If you’re looking for something to read, this series isn’t bad but don’t expect to be wowed.
Alyssa Flores
Alyssa reads hundreds of books a year and is on a never-ending quest to find the perfect book.
