Snow Like Ashes- Review

Title: Snow Like Ashes

Author: Sara Raasch

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 416

My rating: 4.5/5

Goodreads Link

Mini Synopsis:

A heartbroken girl.

A fierce warrior.

A hero in the making.

Can Meira save a world she’s never truly known?

General opinion:

Snow Like Ashes is Sara’s debut fantasy novel and I have to give her props for not only writing one of the best debut novels, but also one of the best fantasy books I have read. Sara has crafted such a magnificent and engaging storyline and the world she brought to life on paper is simply breathtaking. The main characters are all so lovable and I found myself quickly attached to them. I had the same passion for the villains, except the emotion I felt towards them was pure hatred (which I think is very important for the author to do). The plot progresses very nicely, and there was rarely a time when I was bored. There are many twists and turns and they make the novel very captivating and hard to put down.

Someday we will be more than words in the dark.

The world:

The world in this book is completely and utterly gorgeous. I cannot get over it! Seriously. The world in the novel is called Primoria and it is divided into 8 kingdoms. Four kingdoms have eternal seasons and are called Season Kingdoms: Summer, Autumn, Winer and Spring. And the other 4 kingdoms, that have normal 4 seasons per year and are referred to as Rhythms Kingdoms, are: Cordell, Paisly, Ventralli and Yakim. Just learning about the world, the history of the kingdoms and the traditions they have is to me so fascinating and brilliant. Also learning how the kingdoms gained magic and how conflict and dispute began among them was so enticing. (I’m a big history dork, so even if it’s a fictional place I’m gonna take it seriously, haha)

Main characters:

The main female protagonist, Meira (do you prounounce it May-ruh or Me-ruh?Hmmm), is simply amazing. I liked her since page 1, and my love for her continued to grow as the novel went along. She is very strong willed, passionate about her aspirations and doesn’t whine about unnecessary things.I found her very easy to relate to and I became attached to her rather quickly. Her weapon of choice is a chakram and she’s such a badass when she uses it.

“Holding on to some part of your past even if it means also holding on to the pain of never again having it. That pain is less horrible than the pain of forgetting.”

Romance in this book is not the main focus and makes only few appearances throughout the book. There is a developing love triangle, but…it’s not annoying! Impossible, you might say. Well, I thought so too, but trust me, it’s not (well at least not in this first book).

The 2 male love interests are Mather and Theron. Mather and Meira have known each other since they were children and we are introduced to him fist. I liked Mather just fine, he wasn’t annoying, but actually quite charming. I also really enjoyed the friendship between those two. Theron comes a bit later in the book and is the Prince of Cordell (one of the 8 kingdoms). I immediately grew fond of Theron because he’s very endearing, kind, brave and much like Meira, passionate about his goals.

They make decisions; they mold your future. The trick is to find a way to still be you through it all.

So I’m hoping Theron and Meira end up together!

Overall:

All in all I really enjoyed this novel and I would recommend to anyone who likes YA fantasy to give it a try!  It’s compelling, full of action and very emotional. I cannot wait to get the sequel, Ice Like Fire, when I comes out later this year.

Hope you all had a lovely day and I’ll see you in my next post ♥