Synopsis: A
heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and
its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the
Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape,
and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and
rebuild the kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has
lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir.
Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and
future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power
again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient
locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself.
Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom
just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned,
and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous
politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has
been, her own.
Rating: 4/5
stars
Genres: Young
Adult, Fantasy
My thoughts:
Did I ever mention how much I love YA high fantasy? Because
I do. Love it, I mean. I REALLY LOVE IT. But you know what I love even more
than the genre itself? Finding a YA high fantasy book that I also enjoy,
because those are so rare and precious. Well, fellow bookish people, I am happy
to announce that I found another bejeweled novel that fits the bill perfectly
-- Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch.
Let the fangirling commence. *jumps up
and down excitedly*
First of all, I gotta say Snow Like Ashes not only has a glorious title, but that its cover
is real awesomeness. Just look at that pretty thing! Don't you wanna pet it?
Second of all, this book resembled on some level the Throne of Glass series and I got serious
The Winner's Crime vibes. But besides
those deja-vu sensations, I have to say Snow
Like Ashes had a bit of everything from the tales we've come to love: the
burden of a young monarch that has to rebuild a crushed kingdom, too many vile
kings to keep count, a touch of magic and a gloriously fierce heroine you
cannot help than cheer for.
The story centers on eight Winterians, the last people of
the Winter kingdom, one of the eight kingdoms ruling the world of Primoria.
Sixteen years ago, Winter was shattered by an attack made by Spring, one that left
in its wake only ruins, slaves and the feeble hope that those survivors will
somehow manage to get back the kingdom's conduit -- the land's source of magic
-- and rebuilt their long lost home. Among these eight survivors are two
fateful figures: Mather, the future king of Winter, and Meira, a warrior girl
through and through that also happens to be our heroine.
“Someday we will be more than
words in the dark.”
Of course, that was the plot summarized in a few words but
there are bits and pieces that proved to be a tad more complicated and will
surely become a delight once you read them. The journey was full of imaginative
turns, although I have to admit I was able to predict some of the bigger
surprises. Regardless, the plot itself had a lot of ramifications that readers
couldn't anticipate because the world presented to us was still yet unknown, so
that was a source of constant eagerness and thrilling fascination.
I loved Meira. I'd describe her as a mix of Celaena and
Kestrel, but with a big dose of childishness in her. Not necessarily an
immature teenager, but definitely quite independent (a trait that has a
tendency to turn into infuriating stubbornness) and impulsive. Thank gods she's
clever. Couple that with the fact that she's fierce and stubbornly witty and
you got yourself a new Elsa with a vengeance streak and protective behavior. I
reveled in her character-development, because by the end of the book she became
an incredibly brave young woman that finally realized the important matters at
hand. Plus, I love a girl who knows how to humor her way into conflicts and
what-nots.
You know what's next, don't you? The juicy part, the
sigh-inducing element, the key aspect of a great read for fangirls everywhere
-- the romance. And I'm telling you, start hyperventilating cause we have a
serious case of drooling bound to begin upon reading Snow Like Ashes.
There's Mather, the one that Meira is basically smitten
about since she knows herself. Then there's Theron, a new guy that had me at
hello. Yeah, I wasn't really Mather's fan because I kept imagining Tommen from Game of Thrones as the incapable kings
they both are, but I guess he does have some lovable qualities, such as having
a gorgeous body and all. Plus, he's royalty -- that has to count up for
something, doesn't it?
But it doesn't matter because Theron is crown prince, so
potato potato. And this guy, lemme just tell you, practically waltzed straight
into my heart and into Meira's with his bookish personality (Dorian alarm,
srsly), warrior skills, snark-filled banter tendency and unconditional devotion.
All that and a handsome face and an even more gorgeous body. IS HE FOR REAL? I LOVE HIM. *drools*
“I want to be someone worthy of
my kingdom. I want to be someone worthy of you.”
No, Andreea, he
actually isn't. <-- that was a sad afterthought.
Coming back to the romance aspect, I was afraid it would
turn into an annoying and tiring love-triangle when obviously there was no need
for it. BUT IT DIDN'T. *happy dance* I
was so goddamn excited to see a mature choice unfolding for once (hear me,
Leigh Bardugo?), to finally let the sappy, childhood romance dissolve so that
the real love can take its course, even though it was unexpected. This created
a sweet relationship between Theron and Meira that had me giggling and smiling
with my whole face. The whole situation better stay like this (Team Theron all
the way), because otherwise Sara Raasch will have a furious shipper here.
“He
drops his grin into a pout, puckering his lips and pulling his eyebrows tight
over his nose.
I
glare.
He
pouts harder.
“You’re
impossible,” I growl, and rip open the book.
Theron laughs and scoots a little
closer to me. “Impossible, endearing. Synonyms, really.”
Some secondary characters were more developed than others
and, of course, I loved those more. Sir William Loren was hands-down the
father-figure and everyone is sure to love his wise, brave and loyal self. There's
even a chance to drop a few tears at some point, courtesy of Sir. I especially
liked the relationship between him and Meira, the girl's unwavering respect for
him. Then there's Hannah, which was honestly an equivalent for Elena from ToG,
whom I tolerated even though she could've been more straight-forward for the
sake of the rest of the characters. And I liked Nessa, Rose and Mona, so
fingers crossed we'll be spending more time with them. Noam is an egotistical,
vain douche-bag, Herod the sick monster (=Cain) and Angra the power-hungry
lunatic. Ah, well, there should be some leeches, I guess.
The world-building was one of my favorite parts of the whole
book. The idea of having four Rhythm kingdoms (ones that transcended the 4
seasons annually) and four Season kingdoms (ones that kept their defining
season all year long) instantly grabbed my attention. I kept going back to the
notion of Season Courts from Fae inspired books (ACoTaR reminiscence), but this
time the concept was expanded on a bigger level. I loved the people, the
traditions, the different ideologies and perhaps most of all the sense of
patriotism that connected all characters. Hopefully, we'll get to see the rest
of the kingdoms in the following installments, seeing that every one of them is
equally entrancing and crazy in their own way. BRING ON THE AWESOMENESS (AND
THE SHIRTLESS SOLDIERS) BECAUSE I AM READY.
Snow Like Ashes
ended on a cheerful and (temporarily) peaceful note. All is not right in the
world, but it's getting there one step at a time. The last image caught on my
retina is a gorgeously winter wonderland that brought out all the heartwarming
feelings my brain could muster that ensured that I'll close the book with a big
idiotic grin, satisfied (no cliffy yay), yet demanding for the sequel at the
same time (a girl wants to know what happens next).
My only complaint would be the somewhat fast pace. I am a
fan of action-packed stories, but I felt that, if given more pages and maybe
even split into half afterwards, the story up until this point could've been
given so much more substance. In one second this happened and then this
happened and then that and now this -- these events honestly could've spanned
the plot of more books without it feeling a bit rushed. Maybe I just needed the
respiro times between the big deals to be more developed or perhaps more
details on key-elements, such as the Cordell kingdom. But the thing is that I
still needed something. The story was a golden mine of potential and Sara
Raasch delivered a captivating tale, but there was room for complexity, for
grandness, for more.
Sara Raasch -- I'm officially a fan of hers. I knew I would
like her and this book from the dedication in the beginning of the novel,
because if that's not an example of determination and ambition, I don't know
what is. Her writing style was quite curious since it seemed to blend a high
fantasy atmosphere with daily language -- surprisingly, the combo worked.
So, book lovers everywhere. I've seen lots of so-and-so
reviews for this title, but I honestly say that I'm with the bunch that
tremendously enjoyed Snow Like Ashes
and I urge you to give it a try. I read it cover-to-cover and I was kept at the
edge of my seat, my toes curling at the sweet romance and my heart going all
battlecry mode while cheering for the spunky heroine and her lot of fearless
Winterians.
“Even the strongest blizzard
starts with a single snowflake.”
Now, October, please come quicker so I can have more Theron
in my life. I won't mind if you kill the rest of the characters as long as you
keep him safe, but I guess he'd be a bit upset so whatever. Gimme Ice Like Fire (I'm not below begging,
Edelweiss)!
ENJOY! <3
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