Ice Like Fire

Summary: It's been a few months since King Angra of Spring has been defeated, leaving the citizens of Winter free to return to their home country after a generation of slavery. The teenaged Queen Meira is trying to reconstruct her kingdom as best she can, but she's hampered by demands from the king of Cordell, whose help was instrumental in defeating Spring. When the Winterians uncover the Magic Chasm - the source of the magic of all of the kingdom's conduits - the Cordellen king sees it as a source of power, and his son, Prince Theron, sees it as a chance to bring about peace throughout Primoria through magical means, but Meira fears the evil Decay that would arise from so much free use of magic. Theron and Meera take a journey show more throughout the other Primorian kingdoms - Theron looking for clues to open the chasm, Meera looking for ways to keep it shut - and for allies to help her take her kingdom back from it's Cordellen "protectors".

Review: A lot of the things I really enjoyed about Snow Like Ashes were present in this book as well. The writing is smooth (and the modernisms that bothered me in the first book were either gone or at least not as noticable this time around.) There's a complex plot that's not a typical good-vs-evil quest, and which contains plenty of action and a few number of twists and turns (several of which I saw coming, but oh well.) Kate Rudd's narration is once again spot-on. But most notably, I really like Meira as a character, and I really like that she's complex and believable and that her primary motivation is something aspirational (doing right by her kingdom and her people while staying true to what she believes in). It's refreshing to have a YA main character who thinks about boys and relationships as being of secondary importance relative to her main goals, not because of any trauma or damage, but just because she's got other, more important things to worry about.

The primary downside to this book was that it seemed like Meira did start worrying about boys. Quite a lot, unfortunately. The love triangle aspect was even more to the forefront, and Theron, who I had rather a crush on by the end of the first book, starts being kind of annoying in this one. Annoying for understandable reasons, but annoying nevertheless. So it looks like Raasch is steering Meira back towards Mather, who I *also* find annoying, albeit also understandably so. Meira spends a lot of the book (while she and Theron are out visiting the other countries, looking for clues) thinking about how to manage Theron's reactions. And while this was okay from a political standpoint (he is the son of the Cordellan king, after all), it did kind of bother me when it started shading into her worrying about it from a romantic standpoint.

But, on the whole, I did quite enjoy this book - it feels very original, it's got a quick-moving plot, and its main character is strong and interesting and believable and likable. I'll be looking forward to the next (last?) book in the series. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Raasch does a pretty good job of reminding readers what happened in the first book, but I'd still recommend starting with the first one first. If you like YA fantasy in the vein of Graceling or Finnikin of the Rock, this series should be right up your alley as well. show less

I enjoyed the first book a little more, I think because it was action packed from start to finish.
This one seemed to drag a bit, there wasn't enough excitement for me and sometimes the story was very predictable.
The characters are still very likable, but going in different directions. Theron was fighting for magic, Mather was fighting for freedom and Queen Meira was fighting for everyone.
Sara Raasch did a great job of writing the story and the descriptions were awesome. I could almost visualize the grand palaces as they visited them on their journey.
The last 100 pages finished with a flurry and contained few surprises. I will be looking forward to the final book when it comes out later this year.

You can also read the review here https://jethplain.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/80

" I will fix this, I promise them. Whatever it takes. Whoever I have to be. I will not let this world fall " - Meira

What???? NO!!!!...Damn Cliff Hanger!!! How could you leave me like this? September 2016 feels soooo faaaar awaaaaay!


Meltdown over. The second instalment of Snow Like Ashes series focuses on rebuilding and healing Winter after they regained their freedom from Spring. Meira learns to navigate the world of politics, intrigues and lies. Winter's mines have been opened to help it's economy. The entrance to the magic chasm has been rediscovered but Meira doesn't want it to be opened. She journeys to Summer, Yakim and Vintalli searching for the keys show more to the entrance before Theron can . Internally, She's torn apart between to being the wild orphan soldier girl who saved Winter, to being the cautious Queen of Winter who must be thoughtful of her actions because her people depends on her. Aside from dealing with issues on identity, Meira also deals with another threat to Winter's newly acquired and fragile freedom. This book has a more mature tone to it. It shows the effects of war and slavery. The Winterians try their best to heal, some opt to ignore the hurt and the past while others try to face it.

" We're all-he paused, rotating the snowflake-wildfower carving to show the script on the back-"the Children of the Thaw. Our own hybrid of the past and future. " - Mather show less

The sequel to Snow Like Ashes starts soon where the first book left off, with Meira and her allies rebuilding Winter and opening the mines in accordance with their agreement with Cordell. When the source of magic is discovered, Meira and Theron go on a journey to the other Season and Rhythm kingdoms to make alliances - but with opposing goals. Theron wants to free the magic for everyone to use equally, while Meira wants to lock it up and make sure no one can use it, and add to the Decay.

I have such mixed feelings about this series. The author weaves in details from the first book in a natural way that reminded me what had already happened. I enjoyed the worldbuilding in the first book, but in this one I felt like some of that was torn show more down or turned on its head in order to add twists to this story, and I'd really rather that the rules stayed the same, you know? Meira's indecision annoyed me at times, especially with the whole Theron (prince of Cordell) and Mather (Meira's oldest friend) triangle. But the main thing was having to read fast and turn my inner editor off. It was mostly word choice, if I had to put my finger on it, times when I read a sentence and thought to myself that there must be a better way to put it: "Summer's only redeemable trait is Ceridwen" (can a person be a trait? p. 248) or earlier on the same page when she said she "took it on herself" and I'd much rather she'd taken it upon herself. Some of this is, I'm sure, a stylistic choice and I'm definitely one to prefer a direct and short description over a wordy one. I did like Mather's story in this one, and thought it was interesting getting his perspective mixed in (though oddly it's third person while Meira's is first). Not without flaws, but check it out if it interests you. show less

A decent follow-up to Snow Like Ashes. It look me a while to get into this book, but it did finish strong, with a few good (if a little predictable) plot twists. I would have appreciated more development in Meira's relationships, but as she spends most of this book traveling and meeting new people, I supposed there's only so much that could be expected.

At long last, rebel fighter Meira has succeeded in regaining her country of Winter from the oppressive hold of Angra, the King of Spring. However, given the stranglehold her ally Cordellan King Noam has on the struggling country, it seems Meira - Queen Meira - has no choice but to watch her beloved kingdom fall again beneath another tyrant.

Overwhelmed with doubts as to her identity, wary of her magic, and all too uncertain of who to trust, Meira heads a desperate mission to find answers and allies in other kingdoms. While his Queen navigates the political territory, Mather finds his own purpose remaining amongst the commoners in Winter.

If it's been a while since you've read the first book, I highly recommend at least a brief refresher show more of the side characters. The supporting cast didn't seem quite up to par in Snow Like Ashes. They seemed more like convenient props than distinct personalities. Of course, part of this may be due to my initial confusion: "who's this again? *skims Ice Like Fire * oh right."

Meira's internal doubts were the main focus of the book, as her band wound its way across the continent. It just was not compelling. In a way, it brings to mind the first section of Mockingjay: a bit of moping, isolation, and weariness of personal relationships. However, as this is the second book, hopefully Meira will hold onto what conviction she finds for the final installment.

Interestingly, Mather and Theron flip roles in a way for this book, compared to the first. No, this is not a reference to the romantic tension. At first, we watched Mather slide from confident heir to lost soldier, stripped of his main identity in the midst of turmoil. Compared to his clear cut character, Theron was introduced as a warming presence, lovable for his conviction, intriguing due to his wavering political affiliations. Now, imagine this reversed. Theron becomes a reactive character, following the plot obediently. Oh, he definitely has his share of secrets and trouble, but overall his actions are reasonable. Explainable. On the other hand, Mather becomes the transformative personality. Alongside his homeland, the Once King must rebuild his confidence, rekindle a sense of purpose, and reconcile as best he can with his parents and political betters.

Final verdict: it's manageable, but hopefully the concluding book will be more like the first. show less

Oh my. Where do I even begin?

Sara Raasch continues to leave me in awe! Her ability to build such an amazing world is nothing short of mind blowing. The new lands that we get to explore and the new characters that we get to meet in Ice Like Fire are so VIBRANT, I can't even. . .Just. Wow.

The only reason this book didn't receive all of the stars (like its predecessor) is because I kept oscillating between completely sympathizing with the characters to being completely annoyed by them, and back again. The war between the two emotions was not unlike that of a very lively tennis match. . .and I'm sooooo not a fan of tennis.

That ending, though --- SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!! I didn't see, like, half of that coming! To say that I'm dying for Book show more 3 would be an understatement of epic proportions ;) show less