Snow Like Ashes

I wanted to give this book 5 stars, I really did. But I honestly cannot since I figured out the thing half way through the book. I also am not a fan of the continued love triangle throughout the book. I guarantee it will heat up even more in the second book. Other than those two issues though, this book was amazing.

There was so much world building and history to the world and I enjoyed every second of it. Sara Raasch did an amazing job immersing us into her world and the characters' lives. It was fascinating to learn the history of the different kingdoms and how everything came to be the way it was.

I also really loved the characters in this book. Meira, Mather, and Theron were each unique and struggling with what the world handed them and I really liked getting to know them and how they dealt with everything in their own way.

This book was a great mix of world building and action all woven into this great fantasy world. I devoured this book reading it basically in one setting. And I cannot wait to continue on with the series in Ice Like Fire.

The world-building in this book is fascinating. At first, it seems like yet another YA novel about displaced royals trying to win back their kingdom, but this royal is in much more dire straits than most. Meira is a refugee living on the run with seven others, one of them her rightful King. All the rest of their people have been enslaved by the conquering country, and their kingdom's link to the magic inherent in the land has been broken.

A little backdrop is needed. In Meira's land, there are eight countries. The Rhythm countries, where seasons proceed as normal, and the Seasons - 4 countries locked in one season each. The rulers of each country have a magic conduit that lets them feed magic to their people - but the conduits are gender-locked. In four of the countries, only women can use the conduit; in the other four, only men. Meira and her little band are all that's left of the free people of Winter. Spring invaded sixteen years ago, killed Winter's queen, broke the locket that was their magic conduit (each ruler has one) and enslaved their people. Because the queen only had a son, he can't wield Winter's magic anyway. They're still trying to find the two pieces of the locket so when he has a daughter, she can wield it. You'd think at this point, since he's of age, he should be trying to get as many women pregnant as possible to up the odds of getting a royal heir who can wield the magic, but that...doesn't come up.

The book does delve into the country's people being oppressed, used as slaves, and being incredibly abused by the conquering country, and this is where I ran into a quandary. The Season's people reflect their countries: Autumn's people have copper skin, Spring's citizens are blond-haired and green-eyed - and Winter's people are white. Pale skin, snow-white hair, blue eyes. Writing white people as the oppressed people just rubs me the wrong way. (In that false “help I'm being oppressed because other people want equal rights!” kind of way.) Yes, this is fantasy, yes, it has nothing to do with our world's politics - but it bothers me. It's at least not white-savioring, as Meira's trying to save her own people, but I don't know. Is it better or worse to write white people as the oppressed protagonists?

That question aside, this was a well-written novel of fighting against an oppressor. There is definitely still work to be done at the end of the book, and there are two more books, as well as two short stories. While I am a little curious what ultimately happens, I don't know if the series has earned more time on my reading list.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

4/5 to Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Honestly, I loved this book. In every way.
It was interesting. It was fantasy. It had magic. It had battles and wars. It even had love, but not love that came in the way of the plot but furthered the plot, even helped it.
Some things I did not (and still don't) understand are:
- chakras. I think I missed the explanation for this kind of weapon
- the magic the kingdom uses is in or comes from a mountain??
- hannah can talk through magic but isnt she.. dead?
But I read the last 100-200 pages rather quickly - too quick perhaps so maybe i've rushed past the connection.
The writing style in the book is pleasant and simple (not sure if it's really the words) and reads nicely.
Meira is also a character I love though most characters in this book were absolutely loveable.
For the romance,
my vote is absolutely on Theron and I hope it will stay that way actually.
Also if you're a tad smarter than me the twist can be guessed from early on in the book (especially after a certain point) but I personally think there's nothing wrong with that

Let's see how winter does in ice like fire :)

so uh. i hated this book.
multiple reasons really but you know, they're all spoilers
-it was really obvious who Meira really was tbh
-i didn't connect or care about any of the characters
-the author writes like an elementary/middle school author and frankly its basic
-author breezes past terms and info dumps later on

oh and also, i really hate these kinds of books now.
Spoiler
like really make the main heroine the missing fucking princess and make her fall in love but say its forbidden like thats so stupid and cliche
what is with YA nowadays? I'm all for strong characters, strong female and male characters, kicking ass and falling in love but this is just taking it too far. also it was so so so so obvious. so obvious. sooo obvious. i'm done reading these kinds of books. no more please.
oh and sorry Raasch, but try harder on your next set of books. you're just like the rest and you don't really stand out.


kkkdkjfkdjkfjdkfj
dnf
will never go back to it

My first book in English!
I really really loved it! I really enjoyed reading it! I really liked the story, the world, the magic, and also characters were great, I mean protagonists, because antagonists were awful af! I especially liked the trio Meira, Theron and Mather ♡ The writing was great as well.
The book can totaly be as a stand-alone. I give it 4,5/5 ★ because of some violent details, that I hate observing in general. Nevertheless, this book is going to be in my top favourites! ♡♡♡

4.5
There wasn't anything drastically different from most YA fantasy books, but the author managed to make the story enjoyable and exciting to the end.

The characters are quite likeable. I liked Meira's resilience and strength, she was an amazing heroine. Both Mather and Theron were good characters and it made me tolerate the love triangle despite being one of my pet peeves. Although i have to admit that Theron appeals more to me as a love interest.

The construction of the world is intriguing and the plot is constantly engaging. There were too much info dump but i didn't mind that because the world building was interesting enough to read more about.

So I picked this up as I was in the mood for some quick, exciting YA fantasy and it did not disappoint!

We follow Meira who has been brought up amongst a very small group of soldiers/refugees from a kingdom which, along with their magic, was wiped out during a war 16 years ago. The group discover a way to possibly get their magic back and Meira decides she wants to complete this task and make her mark so the story goes from there.

One of the things which really work in this book are the characters - Raasch writes insanely likeable characters and you are immediately connected to them and root for them throughout. I love Meira as a main characters, I like her strength and determination, and I also like that she did need to learn and grow and move past her insecurities as the story progressed. She wasn't just “plain Jane” one minute then a superstar the next, there was genuine growth. I also appreciated that her insecurities were about her place in the world and how she could impact the lives of those around her, rather than about image, physical appearance or men!

The setting and history of the kingdoms was enjoyable and I can already see (or I'm hoping!) that the books will build on the politics between the kingdoms, which is a theme I really like in fantasy books. Half of the kingdoms are based on the seasons, so of course I got major ACOTAR vibes from this but that is a good thing as I really love the ACOTAR series!

All in all a solid fantasy series which I'm very excited to continue with!

I really, really wanted to love this book. I loved the little prequel, [b:Icicles Like Kindling 23304663 Icicles Like Kindling (Snow Like Ashes, #0.1) Sara Raasch https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-4845f44723bc5d3a9ac322f99b110b1d.png 42859855], and I was really excited to start Snow Like Ashes because of the glimpse into Meira's early life... only to end up in disappointment.This book is by no means bad. The world, as in the setting of the story, is amazing, but the world-building itself is lackluster. I'm not sure if that makes any sense. Does that make any sense? I love the world, the land of Primoria. It has eight kingdoms. Four of them—the Season kingdoms—have only one season all year round, while the other four—the Rhythm kingdoms—have the rotating four seasons. I think it's brilliant. Each kingdom has unique traits and culture, and it really gives off the fantasy feel that I love in books or games. BUT. When it comes to the actual execution, there's not enough details to completely bring this world to life... and so the beautiful setting becomes a bit flat.Another thing that bothered me was Meira, the heroine. She's fierce and strong, true, but she's also immature, reckless, and awfully—I repeat, awfully—whiny. She often disobeys orders and throws tantrums, putting not only herself in danger but also everyone around her. What I dislike the most is how Meira often acts like this to advance the plot. At first it felt like a very convenient coincidence during her Lynia mission, but then it happened again in Cordell. In exactly the same way. I actually liked her complicated relationship with her father figure, Sir, but the tantrums she throws at him irks me most of the time. It was, however, understandable in some situations, and Meira does grow as a character as the story progresses.Actually, this book has a lot of situations that are too convenient to be true. It's made very clear right from the beginning too. Like how a councilman rambles about information he's not supposed to say, just so Meira can figure out the locket location. Or how Herod put Meira, a captive, onto her own horse and left the locket piece dangling nearby, just so she can snatch it and runs off. This isn't even all of it. Convenient. Way too convenient.Complaints aside, the plot starts picking up at around 50% through the book. That's when it finally started getting exciting for me, and I mostly enjoyed the rest of the story from that point on. There's a love triangle, but I fairly liked both of the guys. Especially Theron. Man, he's just so fascinating and has some of the best interactions with Meira. I feel that we still don't know much about him and Mather though, so I expect to see more depth in the second book. Also, there's the twist. It was predictable especially if you pay attention to Meira's dreams, but I quite liked it. The matriarchy in some of the kingdoms felt refreshing too.I love the concept and the setting.I wanted to love this book, really.But in the end, 3 stars is all I can give. ;_____;