ark99's review against another edition
4.0
This was really good! I predicted what was going to happen, which took away a lil bit of the story to me, but honestly I'm the kind of person that seeks out spoilers so I was chill with it lol
taramel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
shamma93's review
5.0
Slow at the beginning. However, the twist at the end omg ! I loved it highly recommended.
roseybot's review
2.0
Oh my god who let this get published in the state it is in? This book took me days to finish as I struggled with an unlikable narrator who was way too focused on romance and four or five of the worst fantasy cliches you can think of, piled on top of one another without care. There were so many plot holes.
I guess some of the world building was fine but seriously? Everyone is white? Apart from the "exotic" autumnians? Who were ambiguously brown. Ugh hard pass.
I basically spent a lot of time rolling my eyes, grinding my teeth and all around not caring what was happening. In addition I would be constantly startled and the. Irritated by her weird descriptions of literally everything. Terrible word choice all around.
I guess some of the world building was fine but seriously? Everyone is white? Apart from the "exotic" autumnians? Who were ambiguously brown. Ugh hard pass.
I basically spent a lot of time rolling my eyes, grinding my teeth and all around not caring what was happening. In addition I would be constantly startled and the. Irritated by her weird descriptions of literally everything. Terrible word choice all around.
oliviaillustrations's review
slow-paced
3.0
i could see every plot twist in this book coming from a mile away.
I will never understand why authors write girls so mediocre at fighting but then making them always crave battle? like homegirl…are you not self aware? if you know you’re bad at fighting, know you’re weaknesses, why are you trying to fight so much? are you not afraid you’ll lose? idk i don’t get it. And then somehow when it really matters they suddenly become expert fighters.
anyways, this book was mid. this is the kinda book that is a middle schoolers dream if only because the kingdoms follow the four seasons and middle school girls eat that shit up
I will never understand why authors write girls so mediocre at fighting but then making them always crave battle? like homegirl…are you not self aware? if you know you’re bad at fighting, know you’re weaknesses, why are you trying to fight so much? are you not afraid you’ll lose? idk i don’t get it. And then somehow when it really matters they suddenly become expert fighters.
anyways, this book was mid. this is the kinda book that is a middle schoolers dream if only because the kingdoms follow the four seasons and middle school girls eat that shit up
bigbear73's review
5.0
I really liked this one. I wasn't really in the mood for it (I needed some dragons, dammit!), and the app I was using to listen to makes me curse more often than normal. But before the book was over, all I cared about was finding out what happened next.
Sara does a great job of building a unique new world with likable characters. The way she uses the seasons is clever, and I kept appreciating the logical ways they interwove, and how it made sense the way the world worked. Meira, in particular, was very relatable to me, and I was very quickly just cheering for her, no matter the circumstance. I also appreciate how Sara fleshed out characters how Meira related to them instead of bouncing all over everyone's POV like a lot of books can do.
To sum up this one has a great story built in a very interesting world, and the characters are awesome. Throw in some unique magic and a full serving of feels, and you've got yourself a book that anyone interested in fantasy needs to read.
Sara does a great job of building a unique new world with likable characters. The way she uses the seasons is clever, and I kept appreciating the logical ways they interwove, and how it made sense the way the world worked. Meira, in particular, was very relatable to me, and I was very quickly just cheering for her, no matter the circumstance. I also appreciate how Sara fleshed out characters how Meira related to them instead of bouncing all over everyone's POV like a lot of books can do.
To sum up this one has a great story built in a very interesting world, and the characters are awesome. Throw in some unique magic and a full serving of feels, and you've got yourself a book that anyone interested in fantasy needs to read.
a_book_addict's review
4.0
I was not expecting that plot twist at the end! Putting this one on my shelf and starting on the second one instantly!
erinarkin20's review
5.0
Loved this one!
Snow Like Ashes is the first in a new fantasy series by Sara Raasch and I have to admit, I am looking forward to more from Raasch. I was approved to read this a little while ago and kept seeing others reading but made myself wait. Mostly because I knew that I would have to wait extra-long for the next book in this series if I read it super early. This book had everything I was hoping for – action, amazing world building, solid character building, and swoony bits! Now, please forgive me if my review gets a bit rambly as that tends to happen to me when I write about books I love. Be warned though, I am not going to spoil anything so apologies if anything sounds a bit vague.
Meira is from the Kingdom of Winter. When Winter was attacked sixteen years ago, she was protected by Sir and 24 other survivors. Their group is now down to eight and they continue to hunt down the magical conduit (a locket) that Queen Hannah lost when she lost her life.
I love Meira as a character. She is tough and really wants to add more to their cause than just hunting down food. She continues to train so that she can prove to Sir that she can handle herself in battle and when she gets the chance to go on a mission (Thanks to Mather) she comes face to face with Herod, the right hand man of Angra, the King of Spring. Things don’t necessarily go perfectly but Meira happens to be pretty smart and figures a way out of the mess she is in and from there, things move forward.
It is hard to talk about this story without giving anything away. What I can say is that this book is full of action and danger…most of it surrounding Meira. We find out there are plenty of secrets and they are all pretty big ones. Don’t hate me for that…seriously.
As for the other characters in this book – I really enjoyed them and thought they all added to the story. Mather is the King of Winter and will take the throne when they get the conduit back and can take back the Kingdom. He is also the boy that Meira has grown up with. We quickly find out that Meira has “more than friends” feelings toward Mather but she has also been warned by Sir that Mather is meant for bigger things – as a King he will need to marry and produce heirs…and not with someone who is not Royal. Mather also has feelings for Meira and he is determined to figure something out.
Sir is the father figure of the story and he does the best he can. He is also the character who appears to know everything and does his best to keep everyone safe.
Prince Theron is the son of Noam, the King of one of one of the Rhythm Kingdoms, Cordell. I loved Theron as he is in a situation where he fully understands what Meira is going through. He grew up being trained as a soldier which was not his choice and despite that, he continues to explore his love of art and writing. He is good for Meira because he helps her see that even though she is in the situation she is in, she can still be who she wants to be as well as what Winter needs. I freely admit that Theron is one of my favorite characters and the banter between him and Meira is wonderful. He definitely makes my favorite swoony boys list.
There are plenty of other characters in this book. The bad guys are definitely bad but I am looking forward to finding out more about Angra as I have feeling his motivation may be about more than just power. Yes, that appears to be what he wants the most but I have a feeling there is more to it than that.
As the story moves forward, so many things happen that I can’t even go into it all. As I mentioned earlier, there is plenty of action and don’t forget all the magic and secrets. I feel like I haven’t even been able to tell you anything…mostly because I can’t without giving anything away. Something I will tell you is that I love the world that Raasch created here and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. I will be waiting for the next book in this series and encouraging everyone who likes high fantasy to check this one out. I can’t wait to have this on my shelves and high five to Sara Raasch on the beginning of what I expect to be a great series.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for the review copy.
Snow Like Ashes is the first in a new fantasy series by Sara Raasch and I have to admit, I am looking forward to more from Raasch. I was approved to read this a little while ago and kept seeing others reading but made myself wait. Mostly because I knew that I would have to wait extra-long for the next book in this series if I read it super early. This book had everything I was hoping for – action, amazing world building, solid character building, and swoony bits! Now, please forgive me if my review gets a bit rambly as that tends to happen to me when I write about books I love. Be warned though, I am not going to spoil anything so apologies if anything sounds a bit vague.
Meira is from the Kingdom of Winter. When Winter was attacked sixteen years ago, she was protected by Sir and 24 other survivors. Their group is now down to eight and they continue to hunt down the magical conduit (a locket) that Queen Hannah lost when she lost her life.
I love Meira as a character. She is tough and really wants to add more to their cause than just hunting down food. She continues to train so that she can prove to Sir that she can handle herself in battle and when she gets the chance to go on a mission (Thanks to Mather) she comes face to face with Herod, the right hand man of Angra, the King of Spring. Things don’t necessarily go perfectly but Meira happens to be pretty smart and figures a way out of the mess she is in and from there, things move forward.
It is hard to talk about this story without giving anything away. What I can say is that this book is full of action and danger…most of it surrounding Meira. We find out there are plenty of secrets and they are all pretty big ones. Don’t hate me for that…seriously.
As for the other characters in this book – I really enjoyed them and thought they all added to the story. Mather is the King of Winter and will take the throne when they get the conduit back and can take back the Kingdom. He is also the boy that Meira has grown up with. We quickly find out that Meira has “more than friends” feelings toward Mather but she has also been warned by Sir that Mather is meant for bigger things – as a King he will need to marry and produce heirs…and not with someone who is not Royal. Mather also has feelings for Meira and he is determined to figure something out.
Sir is the father figure of the story and he does the best he can. He is also the character who appears to know everything and does his best to keep everyone safe.
Prince Theron is the son of Noam, the King of one of one of the Rhythm Kingdoms, Cordell. I loved Theron as he is in a situation where he fully understands what Meira is going through. He grew up being trained as a soldier which was not his choice and despite that, he continues to explore his love of art and writing. He is good for Meira because he helps her see that even though she is in the situation she is in, she can still be who she wants to be as well as what Winter needs. I freely admit that Theron is one of my favorite characters and the banter between him and Meira is wonderful. He definitely makes my favorite swoony boys list.
There are plenty of other characters in this book. The bad guys are definitely bad but I am looking forward to finding out more about Angra as I have feeling his motivation may be about more than just power. Yes, that appears to be what he wants the most but I have a feeling there is more to it than that.
As the story moves forward, so many things happen that I can’t even go into it all. As I mentioned earlier, there is plenty of action and don’t forget all the magic and secrets. I feel like I haven’t even been able to tell you anything…mostly because I can’t without giving anything away. Something I will tell you is that I love the world that Raasch created here and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. I will be waiting for the next book in this series and encouraging everyone who likes high fantasy to check this one out. I can’t wait to have this on my shelves and high five to Sara Raasch on the beginning of what I expect to be a great series.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for the review copy.
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
AUDIO: I need to listen to the next one now. This narrator grew on me as the book continued and reminded me why I loved this book so much. Definitely check it out.