Blog Tour: Frostblood by Elly Blake

Hello book lovers. Today I am delighted to be on the frosty blog tour for Frostblood. I have a thrilling extract and my review to share with you. Don't forget to stop by the fiery blog tour stop too!

The girl chose the origin story, how the Frostbloods and Firebloods came to be. With her hands in her lap, the old woman seemed to grow taller and statelier in the dancing orange light. All faces leaned toward her, their excitement palpable as they listened.

   “In the early days,” said the storyteller in her low, melodious voice, “people had no frost or fire. They lived with the animals, wearing the skins of those they hunted, and were barely more than animals themselves. The gods of the four winds lived in the sky, each keeping to their own kingdoms, isolated but equal.

   “Only Fors, the god of the north wind, was lonely. He wanted there to be someone like him, someone who reveled in blistering cold and biting ice.” Her hands moved like white birds among the flickering shadows. “So he swept his hand to the glacier at the top of the world and gathered the coldest pieces. Then he shrank himself into human form and watched the human tribes as they warred with one another, endlessly killing and being killed.”

   “How were they killed, Magra?” asked a girl in a fascinated whisper.

   “Kaitryn!” said her mother. “Don’t ask such morbid questions.”

   Magra smiled and leaned close, as if she was familiar with the girl’s thirst for gory details. “Any way you can think of. By their own hands, by stones and swords and axes.”

   “I bet it was terrible,” the girl said with delight.

   The storyteller nodded. “Fors said to the woman who ruled the tribes of the North, ‘Here, take my ice and use it to freeze your enemies. Then no one will be able to defeat you.’ He put the shard of ice into her wrist, and the vein turned blue. The woman’s body became cold and her eyes turned pale. She raised her hand and smote the enemy tribesmen with deadly showers of frost and snow until everyone who was left ran from her in terror.” The girl clapped her hands, and some boys inched forward on the ground, their eyes bright in the firelight. Even the adults were still and silent, their gazes rapt.

   “But Sud,” said Magra with a stern look, “the goddess of the south wind, had loved a warrior of the defeated tribe, and it pierced her heart to watch him die. She saw how formidable the icy warrior woman had become and was afraid that she would kill all the other tribes.”

Frostblood was pretty blooming epic and a fantastic start to a new book series. Ruby is a Fireblood, but she must keep her powers hidden from the ruling Frostbloods, otherwise she will be killed like her Fireblood descendants. However things change drastically for Ruby when soldiers come to destroy her village and Ruby vows she will seek revenge on the Frost King.  I actually loved every second of this book. It was full of action, suspense and just the right amount of romance too. Elly is fantastic at world-building and I became completely immersed in Ruby's story. It became one of those books that I just couldn't wait to get back to.  Initially I thought Frostblood sounding quite similar to some other stories out there, but once I got into it, I found that it still managed to be different. What I liked the most was the striking difference between the Frostblood and Fireblood powers and the contrast in what Ruby could do compared to her rivals. Elly also created a believable history between the rivals and it made me want to know more. Ruby in turn was a brilliant character, one you could instantly root for and I throurougly enjoyed reading her story.
The growing tensions, the twists, the turns,  there was not a moment to draw breath. Along with the fantastic character that is Ruby, for me this was better than The Red Queen which I have seen quite a lot of comparisons drawn against.
I am now so excited for Fireblood. This is a world I am very keen to get back to find out what will happen to Ruby next!

Frostblood is out now