Frostblood (Frostblood Saga, #1)

by Elly Blake

I wish I could say I loved this. I also wish I could say that I hated it. Honestly, here's how it goes - hated part 1, really enjoyed part 2.

In all honesty, I almost DNF-ed. Nothing was grabbing me. First, the cliches: Fireblood = fiery personality (all that was missing was the red hair....), Frostblood guy who is a cold-hearted butt towards her but actually has a *personality of gold* hidden under all that ice, chosen one (though kind of turned on it's head so that's nice), etc.

However, I could handle cliche story lines but the characters! Ugh, I didn't really connect with either Ruby or Arcus. Ruby was.....fierce? Special? Couldn't actually do anything? Temperamental? *cough* cliches *cough*. But nothing really redeemed her or made me go OMG I MUST PROTECT HER AND SHE IS SO AMAZING. She was just....there. Then Arcus. I admit I like a hate-turned-love relationship, but this had problems. One, he was a total butt towards her a some points and the story just doesn't do a good job of making it okay/redeemable. But, more than that, the romance between them just didn't feel like it came to fruition naturally. One moment they hate each other and then all of a sudden, OOOOOO ARCUS I UNDERSTAND YOU AND HAVE FEEEEEEEELINGS TOWARDS YOU and *bleh*. Problem was, I didn't feel like I understood why. Convince me why these two all of a sudden love each other. It didn't feel gradual or natural. Also, totally saw that thing w/ Arkus coming btw (which is normally not me soooooo). However, A for witty banter. I am ALWAYS game for that.

And then part 2 happened. And here is where it *finally* gets good (well, enjoyable). We finally have plot movement and things that aren't cliche (that were hinted at in part 1 but fleshed out in 2). We even have somewhat of a twist! Woo! And yes, I'm kind of a sucker for gladiatorial type fights/settings (Gladiator is one of my favorite movies and solidified my love of Russel Crow). Also, I love a good villain that tries to seduce the MC. Now, this isn't like the Darkling from The Grisha Trilogy who you secretly (or not so secretly) are attracted to and kind of want to redeem, but I love it anyways.

All in all, I'm weirdly glad I didn't DNF. However, this book certainly isn't one of my favorites by any means. Flesh out part 1, keep part 2, and you'd have had a better book. I'll still probably read the second book only because I'm now more interested in the plot, even if I don't love the characters (though they have grown on me in Pt. 2....).