About the book. 

Book: Snow Like Ashes
Author: Sarah Raasch
Pages: 416
Publisher: Blazer + Bray
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Synopsis: 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. 

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Recommended for: Young Adult readers however can be read by anyone 13+. Fans of the Throne Of Glass will enjoy!

My thoughts.

SUMMARY

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch is a fantasy novel about the fight for freedom. Part of the world had been divided into four separate kingdoms – the seasons. Meira, an orphaned girl from the Winter Kingdom is one of the weight survivors that managed to escape when the Winterians were enslaved. She must fight for the freedom of her people. She must help her kingdom rise to power.

The book is a blend of romance, action and magic

IDEA

So when I first heard of the book, I knew I had to read it! It sounded so good. I love the idea of the four season kingdoms and what happens when one kingdom got conquered by another. The blurb and the idea really had me intrigued.

After reading it, my opinion remains unchanged. The idea for the book isn’t extremely new but it has been written in a new way that made it interesting and me desperate to find out what would happen next.

PLOT

Okay, so let me start of by saying I got quite confused in the book. I feel like the story line had too much to it and all of which was quite confusing. There was too much going on and it wasn’t explained well. I spent a lot of time at the beginning re-reading sections and flipping to the map at the front of the book and then again reading the passage. It was also quite unclear what had originally happened in the book and not because it was supposed to be a mystery.

The story line was also at some points too fast paced. Raasch dumped the readers straight into the middle of the action which is good but made it very difficult to understand the situations the characters were in. Too much was covered in the book and because of that, every event didn’t occur in detail. It was slightly rushed.

In saying all that, the plot was quite interesting. I read the book in 2 days because I found it quite hard to put down. The plot was quite different from the other dystopian and fantasy young adult novels I’ve read. The action scenes were well written and the plot was constantly twisting and turning which I loved.

There is nothing better than an unpredictable book, am I right?

CHARACTERS

Onto the good stuff. Meira is a fairly well written character. She’s headstrong, brave and strong. Her love for her people, friends and family made her a force to be reckoned with. Throughout the entire book, she is looking for a way to free her people and finally create a life for herself. However, Meira’s character didn’t shine. I don’t feel like her personality bounced off the pages. I didn’t really love her.

Mather, the love interest in the story on the other hand, I quite liked. He was cool and calm and collected. I liked how he hid behind a mask because it seemed more realistic given his situation. I also liked how he was caring and thoughtful. But like Meira, his character didn’t seem layered and life like.

The characters in the book are decent. They are generally well written. You can see what kind of people they are without being outright told. However, I didn’t feel any connection to them. I didn’t fall in love with them or feel as if I knew them.

FINALLY…

Snow Like Ashes is a good read. It is enjoyable and I look forward to read Ice Like Fire, the next book in the series. But I can’t lie and say it is one of my favourite books. I didn’t feel the connection to the characters and got confused and lost in the plot.

But for a debut novel by Sara Raasch, it’s quite nice.