Review: Snow Like Ashes

Title: Snow Like Ashes
Author: Sara Raasch
Series: Snow Like Ashes #1
Publication Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Book Type: Hardcover (I own)
Page Count: 416
Rating: 4/5 starfish
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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, 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.

My Review:

Meira is one of only 8 Winterians left who are free.  The rest have been enslaved to Angar, the King of Spring.  For years they have been hunting for the two halves of the locket, which will hopefully restore their magic and help them rescue their people and rebuild Winter. 

This book has been sitting on my shelf (along with the other 2 books in the trilogy) for about a year now.  I read this as a buddy read with someone in one of my Goodreads groups and wish I had picked it up sooner.  I really enjoyed the story and it moved pretty quickly.  I love the idea of “seasons” for kingdoms where the atmosphere of the kingdom goes along with the name.  The characters were written very well but I could have used more in the world building area. 

When it comes to the history of how the overall magic system came to be, it was a bit overwhelming and complicated to follow. Information about the history of the kingdoms and their conduits were just thrown at us in one spot in the book.  I had to re-read it and still had a hard time placing everything and just had to move on.  However, it doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the story and I don’t’ feel that you really need to understand it as in depth as it was explained.

Meira isn’t your typical 16 year old.  She doesn’t want to be a “Lady” but a soldier who fights for her kingdom.  She spent her whole life training and is finally allowed to fight.  When she is captured, she is reunited with the enslaved Winterians but they see her as a beacon of hope.   Someone who was sent to rescue them. 

I really liked Mather’s character.  He was willing to help Meira when others just wanted to push her aside.  He is her best friend but she wants more.  I was totally shipping them until Theron came into the picture.  He is good looking and likeable right from the start.  Meira feels a connection with him and I really hope they end up as a thing!

I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series because I am curious to see how things end up with Meira and the kingdom of Winter now that the plot twist was thrown in the mix!