Snow Like Ashes

Author: Sara Raasch
Series: Snow Like Ashes #1
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Release Date: October 14, 2015
Summary: Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since. Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again. So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn't go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.
Review: I finished this novel feeling on the fence. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. My feelings are really just kind of  . . . meh.

I enjoyed the world building and the idea of the four Season kingdoms and four Rhythm kingdoms. I was a little dismayed with Meira (our main character). There were moments when she was so freaking awesome it was insane!  . . . and then others when she was so stupid and reckless I almost ripped my hair out. These inconsistencies made it very hard for me to emotionally connect with her.
Mather . . . well, he wasn't my favorite. I really wanted to like him . . . and Meira . . . together . . . but for some reason, I just wasn't feeling the romance between those two. However, I did enjoy the relationship between Prince Theron and Meira. I definitely felt some sparks flying between those two and wished that there would have been more of the two of them interacting.

I was able to put the big reveal together fairly early on and that took away from a lot of the novel and made the pacing seem slower than it actually was. Predicting what happened very early on yanked all of the fun out of the huge 'AH-HA' moment at the end as well leaving me somewhat like so:

I will admit that I don't feel I read this novel at the right time so to speak. There was a lot going on and a lot of questions left open-ended that I wasn't fully appreciating because I really just wanted to be done with it, (knowing the ending and all). I definitely plan on coming back to this one before the second novel, Ice Like Fire, is released on October 13, 2015.