Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

2.99/5.00

Published: October 2014

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads

If I had never read any fantasy or YA books before, I would have enjoyed Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch more. From an objective standpoint, Eragon is not an impressive book, but as my first fantasy read, I am partial towards it.

Snow Like Ashes is a fantasy story told from the first person perspective of Meira, a refugee of the Winter kingdom. Eight kingdoms—four Rhythms and four Seasons (as in Winter, Autumn, Spring, Summer)—divide the land. After the Winter kingdom is destroyed by Spring, taking its queen and magic, a group of survivors avoid enslavement and are determined to retrieve the halves of their conduit, hoping it will bring back magic in the hands of the lone male heir—Mather.

Predictable is how I would describe this book if given only one word. I guessed the end "twist" less than a quarter of the way through the book. Though I liked the characters, nothing they did shocked me.

Meira simply did not interest me that much. Again, this is the result of having read too many books before this one. She's a strong heroine, yes. She's badass, yes. She's likable, yes. But to me, she was too predictable. Nothing makes her stand out in the crowd. The I'm-not-a-lady-and-I-hate-dresses sentiment expressed multiple times is common in almost every female-lead YA story I've read. Amy Dune from Gone Girl is strong, complex, and disturbing. Adelina from The Young Elites is strong, complex, and morally ambiguous. Meira is strong but predictable. I felt no connection to her.

Also, there's a love triangle. It isn't as painful as most. Instead of dominating the storyline, it appears more as a side-note, something easier to swallow. Neither Mather the soldier nor Theron the poetic prince (yet another cliche) are assholes. I did cringe at one ridiculous dick-measuring contest between the two, but I guess it was necessary to pit the two against each other eventually.

Noam and Angra struck me as cartoonish antagonists. I tried to see them as more than just the greedy, ostentatious king and the mad king bent on genocide for no clear reason, but every attempt felt like a stretch.

The side characters (the other Winter refugees, the Winterians imprisoned in Spring, the two women Angra assigned to serve Meira) struck me as forgettable.

So far, this review has been negative (maybe even harsh?), but the book isn't exactly bad. Raasch's world is beautiful and interesting. Action, blood, and gore find their way on the page frequently. Snow Like Ashes is not a bad story; it's just one I've heard a hundred times. 

If given a choice, I would elect to join Autumn.

I would recommend reading Eon by Alison Goodman or The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman for a better fantasy read.

The other two books in the trilogy--Ice Like Fire and Frost Like Night--are already published. Currently, Sara Raasch is working on a new series--Stream Raiders--involving pirates and drawing inspiration from the Spanish Inquisition. It's scheduled to be published in fall 2017.

SPOILER WARNING

Below, I mention a few specific instances in the book, ones that may spoil it for you. As far as unspoiled goes, this review is finished. If you plan to read this book and do not wish to be spoiled, this is your fair warning to turn back now.

Another issue I had with the book was Sir’s “death.” I’ve seen the same line occur in several stories, where some character appears to die but is either revived somehow or turns out not to have died. It’s like the writer is smiling and saying, “Just a joke, a trick; did I fool you?” It feels cheap, wasted, and contrived. Does anyone else find this fake-out tactic irritating?