Review: Fireblood by Elly Blake

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CW’s: Possession, Panic Attacks

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 flame, eternal, like the spirits of the Fireblood people. Crush us, beat us, cut us down. We will not be extinguished. We live in the embers and rise again to consume our enemies.”

I really liked where Ruby’s journey took her 🔥 I always had a soft spot for her temper and fierceness from the very beginning and thought that the second book did a great job finally having her connect to others with her power. She needed to undertake this journey to her homeplace Sudesia, as she was so miserable in the Frost Court. She is constantly fighting against the prejudice and hasn’t found her place there yet. Ruby needed to get out of there to truly thrive and discover more of her powers. The crucial training that she missed could only be undertaken in the home of the Firebloods as she was always so alone and isolated among the Frostblood. She needed to come ‘home’ and finally feel accepted and not like an outcast, it opened her up for some great growth, especially getting more confident in her abilities. I liked that the book also addressed her trauma from the past book, as Ruby is shown to have panic attacks. I feel like fantasy often glosses over the traumatic events happening to the main character and liked that Fireblood took a different path, showing Ruby’s struggles with her fear and trauma. The book showed that it’s needed to address your emotions and don’t shut them out.

I never like a love triangle, but Kai grew on me 🔥 My least favorite trope ever is a second love interest suddenly being introduced in book 2, but it wasn’t as bad as I feared. If you don’t have my grudge against love triangles, I think that you could really like the dynamic between Ruby and Kai. I have to give the book some credit because it handled the trope remarkably well, even though I’ll never enjoy it personally. I liked that there was no insta love between them, instead their attraction was based on their similarities. I could kind of understand Ruby: she meets a fellow Fireblood and finally gets to know her birth place. Having someone around that understands her power and shares her experiences as well as her temper can be so freeing after being scorned in the Frost Court for such a long time. In a way their relationship made sense and you could tell that Ruby was still thinking about Arcus and holding back. In the beginning I was also annoyed with Kai as he’s very arrogant and cocky, but as we got to know him more, he showed a lot of great characteristics as well. I loved how he handled Ruby’s panic attacks, he was so supportive and  reminded her that it’s totally okay to show your emotions. In the end, he turned out to be respectful. I also really appreciate that the love triangle isn’t going to be dragged out as in the end Ruby has made her choice.

Arcus wasn’t present as much, but I still loved seeing him 🔥 He wasn’t the focus of the book as it’s about Ruby’s journey to Sudesia, however we see him in a few scenes and he’s never far from Ruby’s thoughts. Of course, I still adore Arcus and will always ship him with Ruby, even when things get difficult between them. It’s hard because he just became king and his court isn’t fond of Ruby at all, as she’s a Fireblood. Arcus is trying to balance his new duties with his love for Ruby, as you can clearly tell how much he cares about her 🥰 As hard as it was for me, I think them getting separated for a while was necessary for Ruby’s development, as she felt so restricted in the court and both needed to reflect on their relationship. Still the best star-crossed lovers!

It was great seeing Sudesia and learning more about the world 🔥 I LOVED seeing Ruby’s birthplace and exploring the traditions of the Fireblood, as we had mostly gotten to know the Frostblood culture in the first book. Finally, we were meeting more Firebloods besides Ruby, because she was the only one left in Tempesia. It was great to see the Fireblood school and Ruby training to become a Fireblood master. She also finally got to know and reconnect to her roots and got a taste of what she could have had.  I would have loved to learn even more about the country though, as it had so much potential and was much different from Tempesia!

The plotline was better than in the first book 🔥 I like Frostblood a lot for all the Ruby and Arcus moments, but Fireblood had the better plotline. It managed to converge several plotlines and let us explore Sudesia. I thought that there were more stake and suspense and all plot points seemed more connected and intentional than in the first book. Once I started reading, I was easily sucked into the story and wanted to know what happened next. I definitely have high hopes for the conclusion of the Trilogy now, as the author has shown great improvement in the stability and flow of her plot! I have to admit that the plot was a bit tropey, making Ruby this super special character, but I didn’t mind because she was actually very skeptical about it and never become arrogant.

Did you like Fireblood? Would you like to be a Frostblood or a Fireblood? 🔥

 

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