Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

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Title: Snow Like Ashes
Author: Sara Raasch
Page count: 416
Date published: October 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars!

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

I got this baby from my local library and it took a couple of weeks to finish. When I normally grab my hands on a book I've been anticipating for quite a while, I tend to binge-read until my eyes can no longer stay open. However, I didn't have that experience with Snow Like Ashes. A lot of that has to do with the pacing. But we'll get more into depth later on in this post. 

First, I must explain some of the world building. This book is definitely high fantasy so be prepared to see a lot of magic. The reader gets a major info dump in the first few chapters of Snow Like Ashes. It gets super confusing and hard to understand. The world building is so intricate that when the author dumped everything at once I felt that it was just too much. There are Rhythm kingdom (kingdoms with all seasons) and then there are Seasons kingdoms (kingdoms with just one season each.. hence Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn). Each kingdom, whether Rhythm or Season, has its own unique characteristics that make each different from the other. All of them have their own unique powers, however.  

Meira is a Winterian. White hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes - the picture perfect look of Winter, right? Meira is constantly on the run from Spring and its tyrannical ruler, the evil man who conquered Winter and enslaved all of its people. As a baby, Meira managed to escape with her savior, Sir, and a handful of others, including Winter's future king. Since then they've been on the run. Their only hope is to put back together a magical conduit that holds all of Winter's power and strength. Without it, there is no hope to free the Winterian's from a life of slavery and death. 

Credit for this image goes to EpicReads.

Meira is just a girl. An orphan whom has spent her life running from people who wish to kill her. Life is simple. Stay on the run. Never give up hope. But Meira wants more. She wants to fight. She wants to do something for her conquered kingdom. She wants to bring her people back. All of her wishes seemed to be just dreams, however, because Sir and the rest of the escaped Winterians don't think that she's ready. It doesn't matter how many times she tries or how many times she practices her combat skills. To Meira, she's never going to be enough in the eyes of Sir. 

What I like about Meira is that she's ambitious. I love how she's desperate to save a kingdom that she doesn't even remember. Her loyalty to her people and to Winter is very deep, and I admire that. She has a sense of responsibility that is uncommon for her age. I love the voice of her character and the morals that she stands by. She believes in hope, justice, and courage. Needless to say, I really loved reading through the eyes of Meira. 

I won't give away the events that take place because of those evil little things called spoilers but I will give you a teaser: 

“No matter what happens, no matter who turns on me, no matter what pompous swine thinks he has power over me, I am still me. I will always be me.”

Can we all give a high five to Meira for being a total beast? I mean, she's killing it. I love this chick. So many problems in YA fiction come from the fact that the main character is a wimp or the total opposite of what he/she is supposed to be. The character claims to be an assassin but doesn't kill a single person? A princess with absolutely no feelings for her country? The prophesied male who will save the world but spends all of his time thinking about the love interest? For once I want a character that is strong, independent, cunning, and wise beyond their years. Meira was all of this wrapped into one. She cares about people on a deeper level and doesn't just think about herself. She loves deeply and strongly and wears her heart on her sleeve. Yet, at the same time, she knows her boundaries and trust her instincts to do the right thing.

I loved her relationships with other characters in the book. Sir is the father figure to Meira. Tough and even mean at times, he doesn't sugarcoat anything. He tells Meira how it is and doesn't try to save her feelings. Their relationship is raw and rough at times but I know that Sir loves her as his own daughter. Meira may not see it at times and it's possible that Sir doesn't want her to know at all but deep down he cares about her well-being.

Meira's relationship with Mather, the future king of Winter, and Theron, the prince of Cordell, are completely different for obvious reasons. Yes, folks, we have a love triangle. Surprisingly, it didn't bother me. Both guys respect Meira and treat her as an equal. Meira has grown up with Mather and knows him like the back of her hand. They played, fought, and protected each other for as long as she can remember. Mather is a big part of her life. Theron is new and sparks a sense of curiosity within Meira. He's courteous, smart, and has a sense of morality that is rare in this book. His loyalty to his kingdom runs deep. He truly cares for his people and Meira can relate to that. I'm not sure who Meira will want to be with but I have an idea. What I liked about this love triangle is that it doesn't take the focus of the story. The romance is just a little treat for readers.

One pretty big problem with Snow Like Ashes is the pacing. I found the first half of the book boring. This is kind of odd because events do take place and things happen that should have kept my interest but I just couldn't do a binge-read fest with this one. The pacing just felt off. I felt like the stakes weren't high enough. I wanted tension, action, and intense relationships that had me biting my fingernails until there weren't any left. I just didn't get that feeling through the first half of the book. The second half is a different story! The last 150 pages of Snow Like Ashes is everything that I wanted when I first heard about this book. It's thrilling, entertaining, and gripping. I wanted more right away.

Speaking of wanting more... the ending was breathtaking. My heart was pounding. My eyes were flying across the sentences faster than lightning. I couldn't take my eyes off the pages. Sara Raasch writes beautifully and I could feel the passion within the last chapters of Snow Like Ashes. It was a flawless ending. 

Overall: if you enjoy high fantasy with a strong female lead and lots of world building then this one might be for you. There is a love triangle but it is not the focus of the plot and that made it okay in my eyes. The pacing is slow but give it a shot because the last 150 pages are AMAZING. Just started book two and can't wait to see what happens!

I'll leave you with this example of how beautiful Raasch writes. It gives me chill bumps.

I take no credit for this image.

Until next time,