I have seen so many mixed reviews for this book! I’m coming to the realisation that it’s either a love/hate book and there’s no in-between? I don’t know, that’s the vibe I’m getting from all of the reviews that I’ve been reading about it. And because it’s me, and I’m a very difficult person, I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t LOOOOOVVVEEEE this book, which is why I’m giving it a 4 out of 5.

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.

Ok so let’s just get the obvious out of the way first, shall we? Think of every single fantasy/YA trope you can and then put them all together in a story. There! You have now written Frostblood! So let’s have a bit of a checklist shall we?

• A “special” girl who has a power that will save the entire world ✔
• Dark, tall, mysterious young man who is also very mean sometimes and is badass ✔
• “Special” girl is chosen to fight an evil king who can only be destroyed by her (see first point) ✔
• Whilst she trains to kill the King, she is told over and over again that, what takes other years and years to accomplish, she can do in a matter of weeks *faints with surprise* ✔
• There is a prophecy that speaks of her *maybe* ✔
• The dark, tall, mysterious stranger also has a very dark and mysterious secret. DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNNNNN! ✔
• We have the “chosen one” and the dark, tall, mysterious stranger who are natural born enemies because one is a frostblood and the other is a fireblood, but OH NO! IS THAT ROMANCE I SEE ON THE HORIZON?! NO!!! THEY ARE ENEMIES! *pure sarcasm* ✔

“Ruthlessness is not power. Tyranny is not strength.”

― Elly Blake, Frostblood

Ok, I know I’m hilarious… But putting that checklist aside, I actually really really enjoyed this book, tropes an’ all. Maybe I’m a bit of a sucker for the good vs evil stereotypes? This is a very good book to read if you want to start getting into YA Fantasy, it’s a very good stepping stone because it has all of the elements of a fantasy, but it’s not HIGH fantasy. So it’s a good starting point. BUT! I’m not new to the fantasy genre and I still really liked this book. I loved the magic elements of it, I loved imagining the ice powers that Arcus has and the fire powers that Ruby has, and I loved imagining what the powers would look like in real life. I was fascinated by the magic.

I also loved the character of Ruby. Like I said before, I know that she is SUCH a stereotypical character but I did really enjoy reading from her perspective and I really enjoyed reading when she had to do the trials because we saw A DARK SIDE TO HER AND IT WAS AMAZING!

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book and I can’t wait to start reading Fireblood because I have a feeling that it’s going to be just as awesome. I mean when you put the tropes, this is a very very good book.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review