Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch Series: Snow Like Ashes #1
Published by Balzer + Bray on October 14, 2014
Genres: Fantasy YA
Pages: 422
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought it
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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.
Friends, as you know, the first whiff I get of a new, good fantasy, I’m all over it. There’s no fantasy novel that I won’t try. When I first heard about SNOW LIKE ASHES, the debut from Sara Raasch, I was instantly really intrigued. Kingdoms based on the seasons, magic, destiny, the possibly unrequited love of a best friend–all of it sounded right up my alley, so I took a flyer on it and bought it. One of my better ideas. There were a few teeny little first book bumps, but by and large I enjoyed the CRAP out of SNOW LIKE ASHES, and am full of anticipation for book 2.
SNOW LIKE ASHES isn’t just a story about one girl, Meira. It’s the story of a destroyed kingdom, Winter. A kingdom so utterly obliterated that the only citizens left are slaves that live under horrible conditions to their conquerors, Spring, and the few citizens–including the future king, Mather–who managed to escape the night Winter fell into the plains outside their walls. Magic in this world is passed through special objects worn and mastered by each realm’s ruler, and the magic of Winter can only be wielded by women. So that’s problem number one for the future KING. Second, well, Winter’s magical talisman is missing. Well, not missing. Stolen. And in the possession of the supremely eeevil ruler of Spring. Through sheer ballsiness and determination, Meira manages to get half of it back, but there are consequences that lead the remaining refugees to seek an alliance with the sort of slimy kingdom of Cordell, where there lives a handsome prince. OOOOOOH! But, you know, manipulation, death, danger, and the cold, hard truth ensue.
So, let’s start with the bumps. Normally when I read a fantasy, the thing that needs to really be on point for me to enjoy the book is the world-building. If SNOW LIKE ASHES has a weakness, I’d say it was this. I’m giving it a pass because it’s complex, not lame, and by the time I finished I KIND OF understood what was going on. But sometimes I didn’t. Sara Raasch says in the Acknowledgments that she wrote the very first seedlings of this story when she was a child, and I can see it in the set up of things–kingdoms named after seasons and kingdoms named after rhythms, which doesn’t really fit anything, and magic. A little juvenile. But the way the magic is explained isn’t. In fact, it’s complex enough that it wasn’t always clear to me, and even though that says something about the author’s ability to explain, I always give it the benefit of the doubt that I’m just not picking up what they’re putting down. In this case, the more I read, the more I understood. Still, it’s hard to read smoothly when things don’t make sense.
Also, another little teeny bump: the SURPRISE wasn’t a surprise to me. At all. Meira has these dreams about the queen of Winter, who died the night Spring attacked the capital (the not imaginatively named Jannuari). Her dreams are prophetic, and the more of them she has, the more is revealed to her, and by the time we reach the BIG reveal, I’d known what was coming for some time. I like where it’s going, but there wasn’t really any of that jaw-dropping “OMFG”-ness.
“So, Amy,” you might say. “You just wrote almost 700 words on the things you didn’t like. Are you SURE you DID like SNOW LIKE ASHES?” I did, and it has a good bit to do with Meira. She’s determined and tough, and wants nothing more than to return to the perpetually cold kingdom of her youth. As an orphan, she was raised with the refugees on the plains, but they are all fueled by an unrelenting desire to return home. I liked Meira. She wants nothing more than to prove herself worthy of being a warrior for her king and for Winter. She’s often reckless in pursuit of that end, but it makes for good storytelling.
There’s also those boys to make things interesting. I know it seems like a triangle, but for some reason I never felt it really. I mean, it’s there in Meira’s infatuation with Mather, but he seems kind of weird about it. Theron, the prince from Cordell, is sweet and thoughtful and brave. I liked both guys, but I always felt that whatever was between Mather and Meira was not meant to be the real thing, so I didn’t read it that way. I have high hopes for Theron and Meira though, and maybe a hope for Mather and another character we meet towards the end. (There’s no sign of this whatsoever, though. Just a hope of mine!)
OH. Speaking of the end, another little bump (I swear, guys, I liked this book A LOT): There’s a THING that happens about half way through, maybe a little more, and it was sad, but I liked what it did for the story. SOMETHING happens that’s related to this, and I didn’t LOOOVE it. I would’ve liked it better if the THING had been left alone, but I think it has some pretty interesting ramifications for Meira, so that’s cool (UGH unintentional Winter pun).
I read SNOW LIKE ASHES pretty quickly, guys. The world was a little confusing, but also intriguing and I kept wanting to learn more, so I didn’t really put it down for very long. Meira is frustrating and also a badass, and I LOVED the way we left things at the end. There’s so many avenues the story can take for everyone–for Winter, for Meira, for their enemies, for the magic. The last 100 pages or so really ramped everything up for me. BRING IT ON, SARA RAASCH. Can’t wait for book 2!
I loved Snow Like Ashes! I certainly wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but I just couldn’t set it down. I can totally see what you mean about the world-building, and I do agree about not being very surprised about the twist. But overall, still such a fun fantasy read! I can’t wait to read Ice Like Fire.