Quick Facts
My Rating: 4 stars
Series: Snow Like Ashes, Book 1
Date Read: May 15, 2015
Source: Purchased audiobook
Publication Date: October 14, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genres: Young adult, fantasy, romance
Review
Meira was left an orphan after her kingdom, Winter, was conquered. She is one of the eight survivors now left, and is training to be a warrior. If Winter can only get the locket back, the one that holds the kingdom's magic, they might finally be able to restore their kingdom.
Though her memories of the place are few, Meira has always wanted to do more for Winter - more than she is currently allowed. So when she has a chance to go after half of the locket, she takes it, no matter the risk.
This starts a whole flow of events that Meira couldn't have planned for. Magic is a mysterious thing, and the kingdom of Winter has some secrets itself.
I thought this was a solid start to the series. The writing was excellent, and I enjoyed hearing about the different kingdoms. The magic system also worked really well, and might have been my favorite aspect of the story.
Throughout the book there were twists, but I found most of them predictable. That's not to say I didn't enjoy them and the story - but I did see a lot of things coming, sometimes way before they actually happened. In that aspect, the story wasn't super original.
There was definitely romance here - a love triangle, actually - but it did not take over the story. Since there were so many more important things for Meira to focus on, it was great to see that she wasn't too caught up in potential love interests.
And Meira did have a lot to focus on. She grew so much, and I found myself cheering her on and feeling proud as she did what was needed for her kingdom. From beginning to end, she definitely matured and found her place, and I felt so happy for her. The story arc was really great, and Meira felt believable all the way through - her doubts, her impulsive attitude, her confusion and realizations. It felt very natural and believable.
Lastly, the ending seemed to wrap things up perfectly. There were definitely enough loose ends to leave room for a sequel, but things came together well enough to make this book satisfying on it's own. (And there wasn't a huge cliffhanger, which is a relief when you have to wait for the next book to be released!)
Throughout the book there were twists, but I found most of them predictable. That's not to say I didn't enjoy them and the story - but I did see a lot of things coming, sometimes way before they actually happened. In that aspect, the story wasn't super original.
There was definitely romance here - a love triangle, actually - but it did not take over the story. Since there were so many more important things for Meira to focus on, it was great to see that she wasn't too caught up in potential love interests.
And Meira did have a lot to focus on. She grew so much, and I found myself cheering her on and feeling proud as she did what was needed for her kingdom. From beginning to end, she definitely matured and found her place, and I felt so happy for her. The story arc was really great, and Meira felt believable all the way through - her doubts, her impulsive attitude, her confusion and realizations. It felt very natural and believable.
Lastly, the ending seemed to wrap things up perfectly. There were definitely enough loose ends to leave room for a sequel, but things came together well enough to make this book satisfying on it's own. (And there wasn't a huge cliffhanger, which is a relief when you have to wait for the next book to be released!)
Great review. I just reviewed this for my blog as well and I loved it. I was dreading the love triangle, but I was so glad it didn't take center stage. I am so excited for the sequel.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it as well :)
DeleteI really want to try this one for myself! I have a copy of book 2 so I should really get my hands on the first one if I can xD Love the covers, the premise and it seems like it was well done.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my book haul: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2015/06/book-haul-5-part-1-i-think-i-won-world.html
I hope you can get it soon! It was really good :)
DeleteOoh, I've seen this book everywhere and I've been interested in looking into it. Despite how it's kinda predictable, it at least sounds like a lot of fun. How was the audio? Was the narrator good? I just started using Audible two months ago and I'm looking for good ones to look into downloading. ^-^
ReplyDeleteBrittany @ http://www.spacebetweenthespines.com/
I liked the narrator, but I'm not too especially picky about them either! But from my experience I can definitely recommend the audiobook, haha :)
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