Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


" I will fix this, I promise them. Whatever it takes. Whoever I have to be. I will not let this world fall " - Meira

What???? NO!!!!...Damn Cliff Hanger!!! How could you leave me like this? September 2016 feels soooo faaaar awaaaaay!


Meltdown over. The second instalment of Snow Like Ashes series focuses on rebuilding and healing Winter after they regained their freedom from Spring. Meira learns to navigate the world of politics, intrigues and lies. She's torn apart between to being the wild orphan soldier girl who saved Winter to being the cautious Queen of Winter who must be thoughtful of her actions because her people depends on her. Aside from dealing with issues on identity, Meira also deals with another threat to Winter's newly acquired and fragile freedom. This book has a more mature tone to it. It shows the after effects of war and slavery. The Winterians try their best to heal, some opt to ignore the hurt and the past while others try to face it.

" We're all-he paused, rotating the snowflake-wildfower carving to show the script on the back-"the Children of the Thaw. Our own hybrid of the past and future. " - Mather




View all my reviews

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

I saw this book way back and I remember not picking it up because it might be just another case of your usual YA where the world revolves around two teens in love or a love triangle etc. But after giving this a try, I know realized I was wrong.

Setting: set in a world where there are 8 Kingdoms; 4 of them called Seasons whose land as the name imply are in perpetual Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The other 4 are the Rhythms. Cordell, Ventralli , Paisly and Yakim who experience all four seasons (thus rhythm because they cycle through the normal rhythms of nature.)

Story: the story is told in Meira's point of view and orphan girl and soldier in training. Trying to prove her worth to Sir ( the man who's as close to a father as she has ever known) and trying to figure out her place in this mission to save their people, their home and their kingdom which she has no memory of .

Love Triangle: Yes. But not the usual "girl is in love with good/sensitive guy and bad/reckless/dangerous boy type".

Characters

Meira: Tough as nails but still a believable character who has insecurities and doubts. I love the part where she throws rocks at Sir and Mather out of anger and I like how Sarah Raasch doesn't focus or emphasize on looks, like how beautiful Meira is. The characters looks are described and there are mentions of beauty but it's the type where you choke on it because it's empahsized in every chapter.


Mather: Meira's childhood friend and "future king" of Winter. Mather is really good in hiding his emotions in a mask which frustrates Meira since she can't really be sure what Mather is thinking or feeling.


Sir: The man who raised and trained Mather and Meira. He hopes to raise Winter from destruction and free the Winterians who are now slaves. He almost never lets Meira go onto missions except for scouting for food, which frustrates Meira.


Prince Theron: Prince of Cordell one of the Rhythm kingdoms. He stands in the shadow of his father and would rather be a writer than a king. He often disagrees with his father on how to he treats the Winterians and his plans.


Angra: King of Spring. He destroyed Winter and enslaved its people except for 25 Winterians who escaped



Winter


Appearance:
white hair, pale skin, and striking blue eyes.



Spring


Appearance
blond hair, green eyes, and skin a few shades darker than Winterians.


Summer


Appearance:
Red Hair ,liquid brown eyes and tan skin


Autumn


Appearance:
hair hung in tendrils as dark as the night sky,coppery brown skin and dark colored eyes


P.S That's the closest pictures I could find to show how I imagine they would look like

View all my reviews