Snow Like Ashes

Snow Like Ashes

Sara Raasch

(more like 3.5)

Another book where I really only enjoyed half. The ending redeemed the story for me, other than that it was pretty much the same as any other YA fantasy with magic. I felt like it was a mix between Sarah Maas and The Selection, which didn't really do it for me (details below)

Let me start by talking about the world, because I wasn't too impressed. There are 8 regions/realms whatever they call them, four rhythms and four seasons (sound familiar)? Meira, our main character, is one of the very few refugees who made it out of Winter alive when Spring attacked. Each ruler has a 'conduit' which is bound to magic that only they can use (four men and four women). Meira's best friend is Mather, the future king of winter.

Meira is a soldier trying to prove her worth to her commander and region. He decides to marry her off to one of the rhythm regions in an attempt to form an alliance, so this 'soldier' basically has to act like a queen (go to etiquette classes and wear fancy dresses), sound familiar?


SPOILERS:
One thing I did really appreciate was how the author included Meira getting captured and put into the camp with the other Winters being tortured and broken. I felt like this really built Meira's character and gave us a look into the horrible lives of the people.

From there, it gets a bit more complicated but it takes a while to diverge from the generic YA plot, which also includes a love triangle. I feel like this could develop into something a lot more interesting, but the first book just didn't capture me due to it's similarity to every other YA fantasy I feel like I've read 20 times before. I have high hopes for the next one.