Fireblood (The Frostblood Saga, 2)

Fireblood takes us on a journey through the land of Sudesia, the land where fire bloods live under the Queen of the fire bloods. Ruby sets on to destroy the Minax she released when she destroyed the ice throne in Tempesia. It's beginning to wreak havoc on civilian life, and Ruby feels that burden as her responsibility. Her quest to destroy it leads her to traverse the lands of her people, Sudesia's lively land that is plush with warmth and grand ecosystems. Ruby has a mixed set of emotions about returning to her parent's homeland. She's eager to see where she could have grown up, learn about the people who knew her mother, but yet is very afraid to face the Fireblood Queen. Rumors state that the Queen is ruthless in her eradication of all Frostbloods, due to how her people were treated in Tempesia under the old Frost King. As Ruby begins her travels, she wonder if the Minax in the Fire Throne has also corrupted the Fireblood Queen.Arcus and Ruby stumble upon major roadblocks in their relationship in this new installment. Arcus is coming into his own as a leader of the Frostbloods in Tempesia, but he's struggling to keep some of the elites in their place. His affiliation to the fire blood, Ruby,  is making his political relationships very tenuous. Ruby isn't considered royalty and she is deemed as scum by frost bloods. This is definitely not a proper Queen to-be in their eyes.A new character by the name of Kai seems to throw everything in Ruby's world into chaos, because his appearance as an ambassador at a Tempesia ball, throws Ruby's world upside down. By the end of the night, she's forced to leave with him to Sudesia to the Fireblood Queen. Ruby finds herself excited to visit her homeland, but she's also very nervous to go after not being there for so long. She remembers nothing about her home, but she knows its a special place that was near and dear to her mother. What I loved most was the vast difference between Tempesia and Sudesia. The Fireblood world seemed so full of life, culture, and order. Most fear the Queen, yet it's a fear thats turned into a deep reverence. She's at the top because she's strong and her blood is royal, not because she's the most ruthless. However, they're some similarities between her and the previous Frostblood King, because she also exterminates any Frostbloods in here realm, with the exception of a few her do menial jobs. Ruby is thrust into the Fireblood life, and she sets out to learn it's secrets by trying to infiltrate the upper elite, which are called Fireblood Master. They are the Queen's most trusted and strongest soldiers, and if you are a part of them, you gain access to a vast amount of knowledge and access to Sudesia. Ruby must take the trials in order to become one, and she embarks on that arduous journey alongside Kai, who is also trying to become one. His story is one of redemption and loss, and he must combat all that he has experience in order to forge a new path to what he hopes is a righteous one.What I loved most about this sequel was the new roles Arcus and Ruby had to take on. Arcus is now a King and he is expected to be as such. When he is faced with decisions that go against the relationship he has with Ruby, it puts his mind into turmoil. The tension build up was superb, and I loved how devoted Arcus tried to be to Ruby. Ruby on the other hand loves him but is relentless when it comes to searching out the second Minax. She hopes to find answers that will help her destroy the Minax she released. She knows she's running out of time as the piles of bodies the Minax leaves behind begins to pile up. Blake gave her characters more depth and grounded them in emotional and dramatic events. She made them feel to the reader and you never stop rooting for them. As for the Minax, Blake has created an sinister entity that thrives on blood, hate, and savagery. Yet as sadistic as it is, it's almost like an echo to the darker side of humanity. The Minax is a representation of the human being at it's most base self, when deprived of any gratification. I'm interested to see how Blake will continue her story. She included a huge plot twist that I think readers may have been able to predict, especially at the beginning of book two.

Fireblood is the second installment in Elly Blake’s epic trilogy, The Frostblood Saga! We pick up pretty much where we left off with Arcus taking his rightful place on the throne, but all is not well. Things are about to get very complicated and dangerous. Ruby and Arcus are about to be tested in more ways than one, will they be able to come out on the other side together and whole? Only time will tell!Arcus is fitting into his role as king rather well, things are going pretty great for him. Except, poor Ruby isn’t quite fitting in as she could’ve hoped. There is still a lot of animosity between the Frostbloods and Firebloods. Needless to say that the Frostbloods are not too happy that their king is choosing a Fireblood for his queen. But Arcus isn’t like his brother, he wants to change things and he wants to have peace between his kingdom and that of the Firebloods.After an attempt on Ruby’s life, she thinks it might be best if she were to leave the Frostblood kingdom for a while. She is most eager to continue her quest to find the other Minax that is rumored to be in the Fireblood Queen’s throne. She decides to accept the off of newcomer Kai, who hails from the Fireblood kingdom. He promises to help her train her Fireblood powers and in the meantime, Ruby will also look for the second throne and try to destroy it as well.And as one can expect, nothing goes according to plan.One always fears that the second book of a trilogy will fall into middle book syndrome and I am happy to say that Fireblood does not fall into this category at all! If Frostblood taught us the way of the Frostbloods, then naturally, we learn more of Firebloods in this one. We get a little more insight into the mythology/history of the Minax and the ways of the gods in this one too. Things get set into place that will lead us in to the trilogy’s epic conclusion, Nightblood, which will release next year!Now you might be wondering about this Kai, that I briefly mentioned. He’s a new character and is a Fireblood like Ruby. You can probably see where things are going. We’re entering love triangle territory here and it hurt my heart with even the idea of it. I’d like to say Arcus fans have nothing to worry about. It seems pretty clear where Ruby’s heart lies, but I cannot convince myself of this. Ruby and Kai definitely form a connection of some sort. There’s friendship between them for sure, but there are all these sparks happening between them as well. I honestly don’t know where things will go despite what the words are telling me. And especially since we have one more book to get through, I can’t say with confidence what we see here is what will be final in the last book! I am that unsure! So yes, we do have a love triangle in this one, but it feels unsteady, which could be a good thing.Which brings me to another point, I was saddened that Ruby and Arcus were separated for a greater part of the book. They have time together in the beginning and more time towards the end, but that chunk in the middle was heartrending to read for sure! I am still amazed at how much of a romantic I’ve become in these recent years! What has reading done to me?! Lol!The pacing to this one was done extraordinarily well! It’s not exactly a fast-paced book, but it’s nowhere near slow either. Ruby learns more about her Fireblood heritage more than anything in this one. Along the way of course, we learn more too, and there’s a great deal of action and adventures to be overcome in order for Ruby to reach her goal! It makes for an exciting and entertaining read that held me riveted! And all while battling a head cold!Fireblood definitely amps up the danger and excitement in the Frostblood Saga! It’s a read not to be missed whatsoever! With adventure, danger, romance, and magic, this is a read that will attract fantasy readers of all kind! Kudos for Elly not ending this with an epic cliffhanger either! The ending is just enough to entice the reader for more, but it does allow us to catch our breaths while we wait for that next book in the series! It’s truly the best way to an end a novel!Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Fire blood is the sequel to frost blood series. A Fast-paced adventure and lots of romance at every turn. I was Skeptical about this book but still had have it! The first book was good but not as exciting as I expected.The sequel quickly picks up the pace Ruby a fire blood in a kingdom of frost is trying to earn her place among her people . After distoring the Frost throne in hopes of saving her kingdom fides her self among enemies of the court elite and a target of threat. With the help of a prince in Disguise from an enemy kingdom she escapes to home of the Firebloods were she must prove her self again against the fire queen . This book is amazingly written and will keep you up at night for just one more page! If I this review is helpful please give it like!

I gotta say that Ruby and Arcus are definitely one of my all time favorite ships. I will definitely go down with this ship!Anywho, this was an amazing sequel. I loved the plot, it kept me engaged and it kept me guessing what was going to happen next. I loved getting to see Sudesia with Ruby.One of the things I really love about this series is that I am completely attached to Ruby, I feel for her. Everything that is revealed in this book, I sympathized with Ruby. I also loved getting to know the new characters. I was unsure about how I felt for Kai through most of this book, but he really grew on me by the end of this book.A lot of questions get answered in this book, which was great, but of course some new questions & problems got revealed by the end to give us something to look forward to in the next book.

Second volume in young adult fantasy trilogy 'The Frostblood saga.' All about a girl in a land where those with fire based powers and those with ice based powers are in conflict.First volume was 'Fireblood'. And it's best to read that as this isn't really a jumping on point, there not being anything much to bring new readers up to speed.This volume runs for four hundred and eight pages. And is divided into twenty nine chapters. It is not the end of the story.Following the end of book one, the Frost King has been defeated. Arcus is now ruler.But he and Ruby cant live happily ever after just yet. Arcus and Brother Thistle are pretty much her only allies in a place that is yet to accept her. And there's the evil force that she set free. It has to be stopped.The only way to do that is to go to the land the Firebloods come from. But the place that should be her home isn't as safe as she might have thought. And her relationship with Arcus is going to be tested...This is surprisingly easy to get back into, and very readable with it. The prose is decent. It can get a little bit strong on the description at times when it needs to show what people's powers can do, but at all other times it's a real page turner.I gave book one four stars, but this is a five star read. Down to two things.1: the way it opens up the world and expands on what we saw of it before. The land of the firebloods is an interesting and well drawn setting, and the Queen of said land is a magnificently three dimensional creation.2: Plotting The way everything comes together, with twists and turns and some brilliant surprises in the last third, is fabulous. Any plot that can make you gasp at a surprise is a very good one, and it had that effect to me.And the characterisation really does stand out at times as well. Ruby's relationship with Arcus is very nicely done. Her relationship with a new character also really clicks. Brother Thistle is a superb and appealing creation as well.A really good second volume. The story will finish in the upcoming 'Nightblood.' Looking forward to it.

Normally the love triangle that emerges in this book would cause me to discard the novel - I really don't enjoy reading about them, the paragraphs where the heroine examines her feelings, cliched metaphors about how she loves them both ect. But Blake has manage to weave in my pet hate in a way that isn't nauseating.Blake uses Kia to show Ruby's progression as a character - he helps her understand herself in a way that a Frostblood couldn't. Their resulting chemistry was more a symbol of the fire they wield then romantic feeling and it was always clear, to me if not to Ruby, that her love lay with the Frostblood King.This novel had everything a good middle book has - lots of character development, the final battle set up and the introduction of amazing new characters.

Loved the first book, looking forward to reading this sequel.

Really enjoying this series, it's well written and the story has some good surprises, can't wait to read the final book next

Entertaining fantasy novel. Good for some light reading and a nice, if typical, love triangle. Characters develop but kinda fall flat on some key areas of their development (the frostblood king should really really abdicate).