Abi’s books are amongst my favourites, mostly for their incredible adventures and characters but also because they give you some food for thought and hidden gems of wisdom dotted throughout.

This is our second adventure with Ember and Arno, friends who are Apprentice Vets to Magical Creatures with Rusty Fizzbang. In the past few months they have met some wondrous creatures and helped to thwart a plot to steal magical creatures by a nasty man, Jasper.

While Ember and Arno are enjoying their half term, they are startled by the arrival of what appears to be a seagull….which they later discover is a frost phoenix and it has come for Ember’s help. She is sought by creatures in need of help and the phoenix is no different. They must help and in order to do so a trip to the Arctic is necessary!

Rusty’s magical bathtub is readied for the trip and Mrs Rickety-Knees is on the case to provide reasons to be away and protection of Rusty’s cave and resident magical creatures.

Their adventure is never short of thrills, near spills and some fantastic scenes. Ember and Arno have this lovely bond and Ember’s bond with the creatures she meets is extraordinary and adds such a heartwarming element to the story.

When the trio along with Dazzle, the phoenix, are placed in real danger, it is down to Ember to fight- not be rescued! Arno re-discovers the power of fairy tales and they lead a band of creatures into battle against one who wants to collect and sell the creatures.

It is a glorious story full of Abi’s trademark style and unbelievably perfect character names!

Ember and Arno are sitting in Ember's kitchen eating pizza one October evening when a bird flies in through the window and causes chaos. At first, they believe it's a seagull but upon closer inspection, Ember knows it's a magical creature, she just doesn't know what. The following day, they head to Rusty's cave where they discover it's a frost phoenix, a very rare and special creature as there is only ever one in existence. The phoenix (Dazzle) soon lets them know that he needs to journey back to his homeland in the Arctic and, with the help of Mrs Rickety-Knees, Ember, Arno and Rusty jump in the bath tub and follow. However, things aren't straightforward and Jasper Hornswaggle is in hot pursuit. With danger lurking everywhere they turn, can Ember and Arno protect Dazzle and save themselves from Jasper's evil clutches.
There is something rather magical and special about Abi Elphinstone's books and I never fail to get lost amongst their pages. When I first met Ember Spark last year (you can read my review of Ember Spark and the Thunder of Dragons here), I fell in love with everything about the book, not least the names of the characters, so it filled my heart to discover that I could get a sneaky early read.

Ember and Arno make the perfect pairing, with Ember's gutsy heroic attitude to everything she does contrasting against Arno's reluctance for adventure - he prefers the idea of a quiet life baking as opposed to charging across continents in a bathtub. But they have one thing in common: their love of magical creatures, and this is what drives them both. With the help of Rusty and Mrs Rickety-Knees (possibly the best name in literature ever!), the pair will stop at nothing to help those creatures in need.

Ember Spark and the Frost Phoenix takes our heroes to the Arctic where danger lurks from the second they arrive. Jasper will stop at nothing to get what he wants and the action ramps up in a gripping and heart-stopping adventure. I couldn't put it down!

Publishing on the 24th October, this book is an utter joy to read and is guaranteed to warm the frostiest heart; it's like a hug in paper format and the perfect antidote to the cold and dark nights that are closing in. Written in a way that only Abi can, the magic oozes from the pages and seeps into your soul. With wonderful illustrations by Kristina Kister that perfectly compliment the story (the last one in particular melted my heart), Ember Spark and the Frost Phoenix is the perfect prescription to banish the wet-weather blues. Now ... only 6 months to wait for book 3! I'm already counting the days!

An absolutely brilliant and beautiful adventure. It is funny, imaginative, full of emotion and fantastic characters. I love Ember and her friends, Forty Winks and Dazzle. The villains are marvellously frightening too. Ember Spark and the Frost Phoenix dazzles from the very first page to the last.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this.

Ember Spark’s lovely morning with Arno is thrown into disarray when the legendary, rare Frost Phoenix lands on the kitchen table. Only Frost Phoenix’s are so rare even magical beast vet Rusty Fizzbang doesn’t know everything about them. So, when the Frost Phoenix wants Ember to follow it, she’s left with a choice. Stay at home in the safety of her home or follow the Frost Phoenix uncertain whether she’s being led to treasure… or trouble…

Ember Spark and the Frost Phoenix by Abi Elphinstone is released by Simon and Schuster on 24th October.

As previously stated this week in review of fellow Simon and Schuster novel Skandar and the Skeleton Curse, the task of releasing two books within a year will always be a feat that amazes me. Therefore, I want to start off this review by congratulating Abi Elphinstone on accomplishing the release of this novel and Ember Spark and the Thunder of Dragons within six months. Yet again, Simon and Schuster have put their faith in the author correctly because Elphinstone hasn’t sacrificed quality for quantity and instead Ember Spark and the Frost Phoenix perfectly captures the beauty of its predecessor perfectly.

Ember, Arno, Rusty and Rickety-Knees are a group I absolute adore and adore the fact we return to them for this second adventure. Not only do the elder characters provide a guardianship and guidance for the younger duo, but they also add a dollop of that elderly quirkiness we all know and love. From Rickety-Knees baking goodies with fish flakes atop to Rusty wrestling a magical beast in the sky, there’s an argument to be made that this duo is as important to the series as their younger counterparts. I, for one, would love to see a prequel series of Rusty and Rickety-Knees tending to magical beast in their youth.

As an avid animal lover, this series will always pluck at my heartstrings whenever there’s the introduction of a new animal. Example A: When a frost phoenix smashes in through a kitchen window, a lot of people would find themselves saying ‘Oh no! The window!’. My head immediately went ‘Oooo cute baby phoenix!’. Yet again, Elphinstone has introduced us to new, and more of the familiar, characters and her writing and characterisation of animals will always be some of my highlights. As the heart of the novel, and embedded in the heart of the protagonist, this series would be nothing withing its magical beasts and Elphinstone has shown that we’re at the tip of the iceberg with what we can expect throughout this series.

The antagonist, Jasper Hornswoggle, is someone else I want to take a second for. Not only is he simply just a bad person, but the metaphor also he represents about the current state of the world (if someone discovers a thing of beauty in nature, it’s harvested and sold for profit) is brilliantly showcase. Without spoilers, the reveal at the end of this novel about him and his operations has got me extremely excited to see where the series goes next.

Ember Spark and the Frost Phoenix is the perfect read for young ones over the upcoming half term, and ideal for those that love animals with a strong sense of adventure. While I wait for the sequel, I’m off to Scotland to see if I can find any caves filled with magical beasts…

EMBER SPARK AND THE FROST PHOENIX is another great tale for younger MG readers full of magical creatures in the arctic!

As you'd hope from a book with "frost" in the title, it's got a snowy setting. It's the magical side of winter, with magical narwhales, northern lights, and plenty of snowy mountains. It also lets the book have a very different feel to the previous - EMBER SPARK AND THE THUNDER OF DRAGONS.

It's a really nice story about continuing to fight for what's right even when everything looks set against you. Ember has a great rallying speech to the magical creatures that helps turn the day in the big final set piece fight. The characters face so many obstacles and the problems get worse and worse, but they stick together and find new ways to continue to protect others throughout.

I also really liked how the power of stories was brought into this. It both gives some lore to the world - how do magical creatures come about and what sustains them - but also is used as a powerful tool to fight the villain. Imagination is so powerful, and I loved that Arno got to use it to help others.

Kristina Kisser illustrates again, and I really liked her drawings of the frost phoenix. Usually I associate phoenixes with fire so it was interesting to see how that would happen with ice. It felt like she'd taken inspiration from peacocks, which was pretty.

There is another book coming in Spring next year, so not long to wait until the next adventure with Ember, Arno, and the magical crew!