Frostblood by Elly Blake : frost, fire, and whole bunch of CLICHES

So, you may have gathered that this book and I did not get along, right? As that ugly 1 star indicates, of course.

 

Why didn’t I like this one? Shall I point to the cliché-fest, the predictableness, the flatness of characters, or the unremarkable writing style? Which one should I start with? You tell me. They’re all there, and they all angered me equally.

 

Or better yet, how about I start by voicing this question that has been burning in my mind since I popped this book open: How the hell was this .. this thing published in 2017?

Because, honestly, if you were to give this book to me blind and ask me to guess it pub year, I’d say, with absolute confidence, late 2014 to early 2015, maximum. Why? Because it’s too similar to releases back then, such as Victoria Aveyard’s RED QUEEN (Feb 2015, which I loathed with a burning passion) and Sara Raasch’s SNOW LIKE ASHES (Oct 2014).

 

FROSTBLOOD is not just similar; it’s the same damned story cycling again and again and AGAIN.

 

So FROSTBLOOD’s luck must be terrible as hell (ahahaha look at ‘frost’ and ‘hell’ and tell me my juxtaposition isn’t hilarious) to be born in the wrong year.

 

*deep sigh*

 

I’m more resigned than angry, honestly.

 

 

For the sake of making sure we’re all on the same page here, let me list the clichés for you. Something tells me you want to see them clear as day, so here you go.

 

– A social system stratified into just 2 groups; in this case, it’s frost vs. fire

 

– A skinny brunette girl who is ‘weak’ and ‘unremarkable’, and snarky as the lead

 

– “Don’t practice your powers, Ruby!”
“You ain’t the boss of me!”
= plot ball starts rolling

 

– Disobeys parent and causes their death (Why are parents so allergic to High Fantasy??)

 

– Mysterious dude who functions as love interest #1

 

– Oh, and that mysterious dude also has the pleasure of falling into the Pretty Boy With Tragic Past trope (look at the membership grow in that group! I’m impressed! [not] )

 

– MC cannot control her powers at all and is clumsy/uncoordinated/trained by the aforementioned Mysterious Pretty Boy

 

– Love interest is quite sexist and believes in locking the girl up to save her [<– can this trope die a tragic death, please? That is not (!!!) romantic. It’s actually quite demeaning and condescending to girls. So stop it.]

 

– OH. And there’s an Ancient Prophecy saying MC shall save the world

 

– So MC had now been elevated to Special Snowflake status

 

– There’s a makeover session in which the MC emerges gorgeous

 

– And gains another love interest (which leads to random kissing that had no place whatsoever)

 

– Also, there’s a fight-to-the-death magicky tournament

 

… need I go on? [I totally could, by the way. I haven’t even hit half of the tropes in this shindig]

 

 

 

I wholeheartedly believe that the points I have cited are sufficient in convincing you that I am very, nay, COMPLETELY AND 100% annoyed.

 

The worldbuilding was interesting enough, I guess, with the four gods and their rivalry and whatnot, but the way this was explained was quite info-dumpy and had me blinking blankly at times.

 

I mean, is there anything else that needs to be addressed? Even the writing style was bland and unimpressive. It’s not bad by any measure – in fact, the descriptions of the palace and the throne were quite pretty and well-done – but it’s just nothing new. And guys, when you read as much high fantasy as I do, you find yourself reading the same-old same-old every so often, but I’ve honestly never seen something as bad as this.

 

 

Will I be reading the sequel? It depends on whether I’m caught up with all the things I actually WANT to read, honestly. Especially as I’m hearing quite negative things about the 2nd book (a love triangle? A love triangle!) and lately, I’ve just grown used to reading snappy duologies rather than the traditional trilogy with middle-book syndrome and all that fun stuff that makes me want to scream into the void.

 

Do I recommend this? Yes, if this is your very 1st YA high fantasy book. If you’ve even read 1 and a half, then you’ll find this incredibly cliché.

 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to build a time machine and transport FROSTBLOOD back into 2015 where it belongs with the rest of its outdated family.

 

 

 

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