Nightblood

Initial Thoughts: “Elly Blake’s Frostblood series ended with a bang. I adored this series from the start, and I was eagerly anticipating the finale because I had no idea how it was going to end. Suffice it to say, Nightblood is everything I wanted in the series ending and more. Guys, it made me shed real tears. That almost never happens when I read, so books that do so always hold a special place in my heart. The story itself is pretty much perfection. The story goes to some very dark places, and there is plenty of violence to match that. Ruby faces the ultimate test in her powers and beliefs, and while she has grown and matured throughout the series, we still see glimpses of her initial awkwardness and charming ineptitude from the show more first book. The romance does not come easy, and any happy endings that occur are hard-won. I loved every minute of it.”

Now: I am still obsessing over the fact that Ms. Blake brought me to literal tears. I always get excited over excellent stories, but I rarely become so emotional that is causes a physical response like crying. The list of books that caused me to cry is so short that I can list them all without pause. In other words, it takes a lot to get me to cry, and yet there I was, weeping while reading as my heart tore during a particular scene towards the end of the novel. The pain and longing in that scene are so real that I forgot the scene was fictional. That is the hallmark of fantastic writing.

That one scene is the culmination of the rest of the series, and it highlights how stellar the rest of the story and series is. Ms. Blake does not just tie up loose ends, but she makes her heroes continue to fight and grow until the bitter end. They have to work for any happy ending they receive, which makes those endings so much sweeter for the victory they embody. Each story in the series develops into the other to the point where, while it would be possible to read each as a standalone novel, you lose so much if you did so. It is much more satisfying to see Ruby grow as much as she does, experience her journey, and cheer her on through all of the difficult decisions and impossible situations she faces. Ms. Blake’s Frostblood series is so impressive and satisfying that she is now on my must-read list, and I eagerly look forward to any future novels she might publish. show less

I realise I'm vastly in the minority here, but this needs to be said to preserve balance. I hated this book; I didn't even make it to the end of the first chapter, which is something of a record for me. (The author lost me at "His bare chest rose and fell with harsh breaths, the lantern light painting his lean muscles with loving attention to detail." This from someone who's possessed by the fire Minax.) Though I had reservations about Ruby's voice and the predictability of the plot while reading the second instalment, Fireblood, I was invested enough in the characters and in the storyline to want to find out how the saga ends.

First, there is something about Ruby's narration that I found incredibly irritating, and this old cynic found show more the romance angle completely overdone and sickeningly sweet – eurgh! Second, by spot-reading through the rest of the book to find out whether the read could be salvaged I discovered that it ends perfectly predictably, but even I hadn't reckoned on the appearance of gods to intervene in Ruby's fate and to bring Arcus back from the dead – pur-lease!

I applaud any author who realises their dream and pens a story to make it available to the wider public instead of hiding it away, but I won't be reading any more by Elly Blake. show less

This was the third and final book in the Frostblood Saga and was a beautiful conclusion to this YA fantasy. This was my favorite book in the series so far and I really enjoyed it, it was very engaging! I zipped through this book quickly is was an easy, fun, and compelling read :-)

Ruby is desperately trying to keep the power of the Minax in check but they need to find the Gate quickly in order to prevent more Minax from coming through into this world. Ruby and Arcus, along with their friends, must figure out a way to close the rift in the Gate forever and keep the Minax trapped on the other side of it once and for all.

As time goes by Ruby struggles grow greater and greater. Can they destroy the Gate before the Minax destroys Ruby? Will show more Ruby be able to resist the vengeful deity that created her and wants her for his Nightblood throne?

This book went at breakneck speed and never slowed down. The writing is beautifully done and I had a really hard time putting this book down. The world created here is amazing and all of the characters (even the side characters) have a lot of depth to them, making them very intriguing.

The story was a good ole fantasy story and I enjoyed it immensely. There are some politics, some adventure, and of course an evil magic to subdue. I loved how everything finally came together between the different races of this world and the history of the Gods of this world.

The story is tied up perfectly and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending; the whole thing left me feeling very hopeful and pleased.

Overall this was an amazing conclusion to this series. I really loved it a lot. I would recommend this whole series to those who enjoy a straightforward YA adventure fantasy romance with a lot of magic. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for what Elly Blake writes next. show less

I LOVE the way that this trilogy was brought to an end. Too often, happy endings feel contrived, but that isn't the case here. It's believable, the struggles faced along the way are realistic, and I was really engaged with the characters. It's one of those series carefully planned so as to not jump the shark, and I have a feeling that's part of the reason it was designed as a trilogy, because that was just the right amount of story. Overall, I definitely recommend the series as a whole, for those who haven't read it yet.

4.5 stars...

One of the things I appreciate about this series is that all three books were equally good and this final book was wrapped up nicely.

Besides Ruby, Kai was my favorite character so I was really glad that everything worked out for the both of them in the end.

I must say it did take me awhile to read this book. But damn I am glad I did. Right from the get go it had me sucked right in. . . Amazing, now I'm sad that it is over.

I reviewed this on my blog at Musings of an Arthritic Artist