Orphaned as an infant during Winter's defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee. Training to be a warrior - and desperately in love with her best friend and future king, Mather - she would do anything to help Winter rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore their magic, Meira decides to go after it, only to find herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics - and to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.
Published: 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy Fiction.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch is the first of three glowing gems that make up this brilliant trilogy of books. I stumbled upon them quite by chance a couple of years ago when doing research into this genre for my own writing, and am so thankful that I did!
As much as I would love to review the series as a whole, I don't want to risk too many spoilers, and so I'll begin with Book One and elude a little along the way...
Published in 2014, Snow Like Ashes is by no means a recent publication. However, I find myself recommending it over and over again to friends, family and strangers alike, and so I shall rhapsodise over it on a public forum in hopes of recommending it more thoroughly.
It was the intricacy of the world creation that struck me most about these books.
Their setting, the land of Primoria, is composed of eight kingdoms divided into Rhythms and Seasons. Cordell, Yakim, Ventralli and Paisley are the four Rhythm kingdoms, all sporting normal seasonal rotations, and described with such stunning clarity that I almost felt I could push through the pages and walk amongst them; whereas, Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn, the four Season kingdoms, have perpetual seasons that do not change. These seasons are mirrored in the distinct appearance of their residents, noting them instantly as belonging to their respective kingdoms.
For example, the Winterian's are white haired, pale skinned and resilient to the cold.
The wonderful main character, Meira, is a Winterian.
All the kingdoms play their part in the story as it unfolds, but none so much as Winter and Spring.
Spring, lovely in nothing but name, is ruled by a powerful dictator, who's responsible for the enslavement of the Winterians. The reigning monarch of each kingdom has access to magic via a conduit, but Winter's is lost.
It's down to Meira and the seven other survivors who escaped Winter's enslavement to find it and restore Winter's magic.
The story is told from the perspective of Meira, who is everything you'd expect in a heroine and more. She's strong and resilient, but she's imperfect, being so young and inexperienced in combat despite having been taught to fight. It's when her chakram is wielded that she becomes a dangerous force to be reckoned with.
She's a multi-layered character, which helps give believable complexity to her relationships, particularly with Mather and Sir.
Mather is her best friend and initial love interest. Owing to Mather being Winter's only surviving heir, they've been told they cannot be together, but that doesn't stop the heart from wanting. Their bond is a deep one founded on shared experience. They're the youngest of Winter's survivors, and as such have few solid memories of Winter beyond the stories they've been told. Both have trained to be warriors, fighting for a kingdom they have no bond with, and yet are still bound to by responsibility.
You can feel their longing for it; a longing to belong to a place they have only imagined for years living as refugees.
Sir was a character I particularly enjoyed. As a former general of Winter, he is the indisputable leader of the Winterian refugees, and a father figure and mentor to Meira. She refers to him as Sir rather than William owing to the way he reacted on the singular occasion she made the mistake of calling him father.
Meira's eagerness for his approval, and how unattainable it feels to her is sure to be something many readers can empathise with.
The characters are all so diverse and well sculpted, but there's something relatable in each of them, regardless of age, gender or otherwise - which to me is a sign of brilliant writing.
I've read comparisons between Snow Like Ashes and the Game of Thrones series in feel and content. I disagree. Having read both, I can see where comparisons have been drawn in terms of theme: both are well structured fantasy fictions, darkened by political intrigue and magical elements, but that is where the comparison ends.
Snow Like Ashes is the first in an admirably written YA fantasy trilogy that stands on it's own and needs no comparison. It features romance, politics, magic and more. I hope many of your have already been exposed to it's brilliance, and to Sara Raasch's amazing writing.
There are some beautiful quotes to be extracted from these books, my favourite being:
It the perfect mixture of hope and nostalgia, and I think it's beautiful.
And on that contemplative note, I leave you. To say more would be to taint your own impressions of the series. But I hope you'll heed my recommendations. These books are incredible and I rate them 5 stars.
Snow Like Ashes. published 2014
Ice Like Fire. published 2015
Frost Like Night. published 2016
Zuzu 🖋
Find me in between blogs @zuzuspages on Instagram Facebook Twitter
As much as I would love to review the series as a whole, I don't want to risk too many spoilers, and so I'll begin with Book One and elude a little along the way...
"Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake."
Published in 2014, Snow Like Ashes is by no means a recent publication. However, I find myself recommending it over and over again to friends, family and strangers alike, and so I shall rhapsodise over it on a public forum in hopes of recommending it more thoroughly.
It was the intricacy of the world creation that struck me most about these books.
Their setting, the land of Primoria, is composed of eight kingdoms divided into Rhythms and Seasons. Cordell, Yakim, Ventralli and Paisley are the four Rhythm kingdoms, all sporting normal seasonal rotations, and described with such stunning clarity that I almost felt I could push through the pages and walk amongst them; whereas, Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn, the four Season kingdoms, have perpetual seasons that do not change. These seasons are mirrored in the distinct appearance of their residents, noting them instantly as belonging to their respective kingdoms.
For example, the Winterian's are white haired, pale skinned and resilient to the cold.
The wonderful main character, Meira, is a Winterian.
All the kingdoms play their part in the story as it unfolds, but none so much as Winter and Spring.
Spring, lovely in nothing but name, is ruled by a powerful dictator, who's responsible for the enslavement of the Winterians. The reigning monarch of each kingdom has access to magic via a conduit, but Winter's is lost.
It's down to Meira and the seven other survivors who escaped Winter's enslavement to find it and restore Winter's magic.
The story is told from the perspective of Meira, who is everything you'd expect in a heroine and more. She's strong and resilient, but she's imperfect, being so young and inexperienced in combat despite having been taught to fight. It's when her chakram is wielded that she becomes a dangerous force to be reckoned with.
She's a multi-layered character, which helps give believable complexity to her relationships, particularly with Mather and Sir.
Mather is her best friend and initial love interest. Owing to Mather being Winter's only surviving heir, they've been told they cannot be together, but that doesn't stop the heart from wanting. Their bond is a deep one founded on shared experience. They're the youngest of Winter's survivors, and as such have few solid memories of Winter beyond the stories they've been told. Both have trained to be warriors, fighting for a kingdom they have no bond with, and yet are still bound to by responsibility.
You can feel their longing for it; a longing to belong to a place they have only imagined for years living as refugees.
Sir was a character I particularly enjoyed. As a former general of Winter, he is the indisputable leader of the Winterian refugees, and a father figure and mentor to Meira. She refers to him as Sir rather than William owing to the way he reacted on the singular occasion she made the mistake of calling him father.
Meira's eagerness for his approval, and how unattainable it feels to her is sure to be something many readers can empathise with.
The characters are all so diverse and well sculpted, but there's something relatable in each of them, regardless of age, gender or otherwise - which to me is a sign of brilliant writing.
I've read comparisons between Snow Like Ashes and the Game of Thrones series in feel and content. I disagree. Having read both, I can see where comparisons have been drawn in terms of theme: both are well structured fantasy fictions, darkened by political intrigue and magical elements, but that is where the comparison ends.
Snow Like Ashes is the first in an admirably written YA fantasy trilogy that stands on it's own and needs no comparison. It features romance, politics, magic and more. I hope many of your have already been exposed to it's brilliance, and to Sara Raasch's amazing writing.
There are some beautiful quotes to be extracted from these books, my favourite being:
"Someday we will be more than words in the dark."
It the perfect mixture of hope and nostalgia, and I think it's beautiful.
And on that contemplative note, I leave you. To say more would be to taint your own impressions of the series. But I hope you'll heed my recommendations. These books are incredible and I rate them 5 stars.
Snow Like Ashes. published 2014
Ice Like Fire. published 2015
Frost Like Night. published 2016
Zuzu 🖋
Find me in between blogs @zuzuspages on Instagram Facebook Twitter
I absolutely loved this trilogy too and reading your review reminded me of so many lovely aspects of the story. Great review, thank you x
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