*ARC received from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review* 
 (Again I'm still going gif crazy. Don't judge me.) 
 I must say that in the beginning I was less than impressed. After Ruby is discovered as a fireblood and arrested, there was a real lag in the action. You knew she had a mission, but the details were sketchy. She was supposed to be oh so powerful, but it seemed like her power was severely overrated. I was confused. 
 Then sometimes Ruby was just really immature and I was sighing and shaking my head a lot at her temper. 
 But then there was Arcus. He was an impatient brute, but boy did I love him. You knew without him having to say that he had a tragic backstory (and the scars to match). I was so happy when him and Ruby finally expressed they had some type of feelings for each other. Let's just say they had some searing kisses. And I was jumping for joy. 
 Thennnnnnn we hit the halfway point and the action went from 2 to 10 quick. Ruby is captured and brought to the King. Oh, the King. 
 He was a freaking evil psycho. He was cruel with no rhyme or reason. I loved him (not like I loved Arcus). I just loved him for his unforgiving evilness. He was dark, so hey enough said. 
 Ruby has many, many enemies, and some who say they're on her side, but you don't know who to trust or believe. 
 Ruby is tossed into the arena to fight for her life again and again against seasoned warriors. Here is where Ruby really finds her strength and realizes shes might just have a chance at defeating the frostbloods. But every freaking time she was headed to arena (or dinner with the King for that matter) I was so scared for her. 
 The ending was MOST unexpected. I didn't see the surprise coming at all. But boy was I glad for it because things were looking pretty grim. 
 Overall, a great read. Whatever the beginning was lacking, the rest of the story more than made up for. Not much of a cliffhanger, but looking forward to the next part of this story.