Nightblood by Elly Blake (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: Fireblood
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on August 21st 2018
Genres: Action & Adventure, Epic, Fantasy, Prejudice & Racism, Romance, Social Themes, Survival Stories, Violence, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 448
Ruby's world has changed more than she ever could have imagined. She's in love with a powerful Frost King. She's the heir to the Fire Throne. And she may be a Nightblood--the spawn of a vengeful deity hellbent on releasing his wraithlike Minax from their prison. Once freed, these beasts will roam the earth, devouring every last person until he or she is nothing but an empty husk. But Ruby is able to control the Minax to a degree, and now she, her beloved Arcus, and her friend Kai must find a way to bring Frostbloods and Firebloods--sworn enemies--together to make a stand against a foe more deadly than any they've faced.
In this heart-pounding finale of Elly Blake's gorgeously written and action-packed Frostblood Saga, the fate of Frostbloods, Firebloods, and all of humanity is at stake.
Nightblood is the final book in the Frostblood series by Elly Blake and I have been waiting to get this book in my hands since I turned the last page of the second book. If you haven’t started this series, now is a great time for you to pick it up since it is finished, and you won’t have to have an agonizing wait between books. No spoilers here for this book but I can’t promise anything for the first two.
Nightblood picks up shortly after Fireblood finishes and Ruby, Arcus, and Kai are headed back to Tempesia to see Brother Thistle as well as meet with Arcus’ court. He needs the court’s agreement to partner with Sudesia and the Queen’s forces to go after Eurus and stop him from opening the Gate of Light.
Ruby has grown quite a bit since book one and now that she is carrying the Minax around inside of her, she is also fighting against the darkness and feelings that the Minax loves and thrives on, so her level of self-control gets tested throughout this book. I thought Blake did a fantastic job of reflecting the struggle that Ruby has trying to maintain who she is and not give over control. Ruby does her best to hide just how much the Minax is affecting her, but she isn’t always successful, and her friendships / relationship suffers because of this.
Arcus is still swoony…in case you were wondering. All he wants to do is protect his people and keep Ruby safe. Unfortunately, he has little control over what happens with Ruby and more often than not, he is trying to figure out what is going on with her because she isn’t telling him everything. Ruby’s situation forces him to face the fact that he can’t always control everything, and he has to trust her. Add to this, the fact that Kai still has feelings for Ruby and isn’t necessarily hiding it, he is continually trying to balance his jealousy with the fact that he knows Ruby loves him.
If you know me at all, you know I like my fantasy with a bit of romance and this series definitely comes through.  The relationship between Arcus and Ruby was lovely and swoony and I loved that they weren’t afraid to talk to each other about everything.
Outside of the relationship stuff, Ruby and Arcus are working to bring the frost court and fire court together in the fight against Eurus. The only way to stop him is to get to the Gate of Light and keep him from releasing the darkness inside. Along the way they find out key things that put their lives at risk and because of who Ruby is, she is the only one who can prevent the disaster from happening if Eurus were successful.
This installment brings back some characters from previous books as well as introduces ones we haven’t officially met before. I thought Blake did a good job of bringing all the secondary characters into the main story and giving them a purpose. There were some twists throughout the story which is always a plus.
A LOT happens in this book with regard to the fight with Eurus but I can’t tell you anything for fear of ruining any bit of the story. Just know that I had lots of feelings about everything and I wasn’t sure how Blake was going to wrap this up. I was worried…okay?
Overall, I really enjoyed this series and thought Blake did a fantastic job of creating the world, developing the characters, and writing a story that kept me turning the pages. If you are looking for a fantasy series to start, I highly recommend this one. There is magic, danger, and plenty of swoony bits to land this one in my favorites list. I look forward to checking out whatever Blake writes next.
About Elly Blake
Elly Blake loves fairy tales, old houses, and owls. After earning a degree in English literature, she held a series of seemingly random jobs, including project manager, customs clerk, graphic designer, and reporter for a local business magazine before finally landing on her current job as a library assistant. She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids, and a Siberian Husky mix that definitely shows frostblood tendencies.
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