Mundie Moms

Monday, January 30, 2017

FROST BLOOD by Elly Blake / Blog Tour: Book Review & Giveaway #FrostBlood


Welcome to the next stop for the FROST BLOOD blog tour. I am so thrilled to share my review for this book. IT IS SOOO GOOD!! Check out my review below and be sure to enter to the giveaway at the end of this post. 

ABOUT THE BOOK




By: Elly Blake
Published by: Little Brown
Released on: January 10th, 2017
Series: Frost Blood Saga #1
Purchase from AmazonBarnes & NobleiBooks
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 5 Stars - I LOVED It
An arc was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review

The frost king will burn.

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a Fireblood who has concealed her powers of heat and flame from the cruel Frostblood ruling class her entire life. But when her mother is killed trying to protect her, and rebel Frostbloods demand her help to overthrow their bloodthirsty king, she agrees to come out of hiding, desperate to have her revenge.

Despite her unpredictable abilities, Ruby trains with the rebels and the infuriating—yet irresistible—Arcus, who seems to think of her as nothing more than a weapon. But before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to compete in the king’s tournaments that pit Fireblood prisoners against Frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her—and from the icy young man she has come to love.


A fantastic first book in what promises to be a must read series. This has been on my most anticipated list for this year's releases. This fast paced read did not disappoint. I enjoyed it so much, I read this book in one sitting. 


It's been awhile since I lost sleep over reading a book, and this was one I couldn't put down. Frost Blood has all the things I love about a YA fantasy. Strong, unforgettable characters, who are flawed, and yet harness a strength they sometimes don't see they have. A romance that you don't see coming. A well paced plot line, and awesome world building. And of course, an ending that makes me wish I already had the next book in hand. 


I loved the characters in this book. They each of the perfect balance of strength and weaknesses. Ruby is by far my favorite. She's such a stubborn, headstrong girl who once she puts her mind to doing something, she does it. She lives for revenge of those who killed her mom, and have robbed her of truly harnessing her power. In a land of Frostblood, Firebloods don't stand a chance. What Ruby at first lacks when it comes to her powers, she learns from Arcus, and a few other characters. All of whom I enjoyed getting to know. They teach her how to control, and use her ability. There's a reason why these Frostbloods want this Fireblood's help. Make no mistake, Ruby is one strong heroine who I loved getting to know.

Arcus is the perfect balance for Ruby. Where she is what you see is what you get, and dives head first into things, Arcus 
seems more hesitant, and secretive. Really he's smart, and calculating. There's good reason for why you don't get to know everything about him up front. He has an air of authority, knowledge, and many hidden secrets. There's something about him that makes him so infuriating and intriguing all at the same time. I loved getting to know him much as I loved getting to know Ruby. There's much more to him than what you first see.  I'll be honest, it took me longer than normal to figure out what that was. I loved how his story unraveled.  


My favorite kind of romances are the ones that are slow burning, and unexpected. These two definitely have that. I love the way these two get under each other's skin. As they learn to trust each other, and in each other's ability, they get to know each other more. I loved the process of getting to know them, and watching them fall for each other. Together, they make sense. 


I am a huge YA fantasy reader/fan, and this book lived up to the hype! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure there are some standard YA troupes in this book, but I love that Blake takes those and makes them her own thing in this story. They work. This book is definitely sitting among other favorites on my shelf. I can't wait to read this book's sequel. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR




Elly Blake loves fairy tales, old houses, and owls. After earning a BA in English literature, she held a series of seemingly random jobs, including project manager, customs clerk, graphic designer, reporter for a local business magazine, and library assistant. She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and a Siberian Husky mix who definitely shows Frostblood tendencies.

Her work is represented by Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media.

ENTER TO WIN

3 winners will receive a finished copy of FROSTBLOOD, US Only.


FOLLOW THE TOUR
1/23/2017- Adventures of a Book JunkieInterview
1/24/2017- Good Choice ReadingReview
1/25/2017-Page Turners BlogGuest Post
1/26/2017- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Review
1/27/2017- Two Chicks on BooksInterview
1/30/2017- Mundie MomsReview
1/31/2017- Novel NoviceGuest Post
2/1/2017- Book BriefsReview
2/2/2017- The Young FolksInterview
2/3/2017- YA Books CentralReview

ShadowhuntersTV Season 2; Episode 4 DAY OF WRATH / Review / Mundane Monday #300 #shadowhunters



Happy Mundane Monday Shadowhunters! Who's ready for tonight's episode? The end of last week's episode left us feeling hopeful. We can't wait to see what happens tonight. Check out our thoughts on last week's episode 4: DAY OF WRATH.


SOPHIE'S THOUGHTS


Clary - I'm not afraid. We'll fight him off together.

Jace -There's no together for you and me, Clary. There never can be.

HALLELUJAH!!!!! Let the choir of angels sing out!

Okay, it's not the way it was in the book, BUT the scene with Jace and Clary gave me hope. Yes, Jace is Valentine's weapon (nice pivot from all those Chernobyl scenes from last season, and NO, I will never stop talking about that dumb location). The desperation between the two of them. That slight touch of hands and then the pull away! It is everything I wanted to see between them. Huge props to both actors for making it seem so sad instead of melodramatic. I may just bask in the glory of this scene for a bit.

Also, the City of Bones looking mighty cool and creepy. Thank you to the director/showrunner/producer for getting rid of the Optimus Prime voice-over with the Silent Brothers. Speaking of which, HODGE shows up! And you know what?!? The scene with him is important.

OMGOSH! Alec's awkwardness in thanking Magnus is so freakin' adorable. The two of them are so cute. "You got battle your demons. I'll go battle mine." Love Magnus, especially now that he is leas twitchy.

And hooray, we find out what is inside that stupid puzzle box Simon found in Camille's place. Guess what, Dorothy? You had the power to summon Camille all along using her grave dirt inside the box. I actually am grateful for this because this subplot was full of dumb. Of course, someone between the Downworlders and Shadowhunters could find Camille. I am grateful that this new showrunner is wrapping up the dumb parts. Onward!

But, it wouldn't be an epi of Shadowhunters without some WTFudge moments. The entire possessed Alec/Izzy/death of Jocelyn was weird. WEIRD. The best part was Simon holding Clary and Jace helping Alec and Izzy while looking back at how Simon was holding Clary. I even liked the emo song that played.

I have some hope, at last, Mundie Mamas!


The scene in the City of Bones



EMM'S THOUGHTS

Spoilers, but I’m guessing if you are reading this, you have watched the episode!

I don’t think I’m convinced yet that this is going to improve much, but you know me, I keep watching like its a train wreck

What was going on with the demon possession thing? It looks so much like one of those subplots that TV shows have, where there is a problem to solve that gets wrapped up at the end of every episode. We were thinking the demon was a bit Supernatural TV show instead, but oh well, it was killed in the end. But not before killing our favourite Shadowhunter Mother!!! The TV show seems to being doing a good job of not making us like Jocelyn so much, and that we can’t trust her. But book Jocelyn is a mother to all of the characters and super protective of Clary, no matter what the Clave says. So her death isn’t as devastating in the show maybe, but in the books it would be a huge blow.  Not sure where this story line is going but our household is not happy with this change in direction.

I did really like the City of Bones and the truth sword interrogation was very well done. The scenes between Clary and Jace were so much better, and the dream sequence gave us a glimpse into the angst that Jace & Clary feel for each other now they think they are brother and sister. We haven’t seen a lot of screen time with the two of them together this series, so it introduces their new relationship and how that doesn’t really work. And finally Jace proves to the Inquisitor that he is one of the good guys, and we get him back in the Institute

I can see the writers again are trying to fix/wrap up story lines that were taking to long. We found Camille and Simon can stop being harassed by Raphael because of it. I do like the interactions between Simon, Raphael and Magnus. These three are part of the bits that keep me watching.

After watching 90% of this episode some of the best 5 min of the series arrived, finally.  All of a sudden we see Clary, mourning her mother, Jace about to comfort her, and then Simon making it to her first. Yay finally we might see a bit more Clary/Simon love, now that Jace cannot be her boyfriend, and with that more Jace/Clary angst. The first of these kinds of scenes in the show that haven’t been cheesy, this one actually had heart.



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Did you watch last week's episode? If so, what were your thoughts on it? That ending gave us HOPE! What are your predictions for tonight's episode? Missed an episode? Watch them here. Keep up with all things Shadowhunters by visiting Shadowhunterstv.com

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