Title: Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes #1)
Author: Sara Raasch
Published: 13 October 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Balzer + Bray via edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: ****
My Review:
After the events at the end of Ice Like Fire, I couldn't wait to revisit the world of Primoria and see what happened next to Meira and her Winterians and I was not disappointed.
It's a few months after the events of Abril and the return the Jannuari but things are not as rosy as Meira would like. Noam and Cordell have strengthened their hold over Winter and Mather isn't speaking to Meira, dealing with his own issues, and Meira finds that despite having freed her people from Angra and Spring, they are still not truly free nor can she find any conclusive proof that Angra is truly gone.
In this book, Ms Raasch starts to flesh out the world of Primoria more and we start to learn more about the other countries and the people. I think this world building definitely helps with the story as we start to get a feel of the challenges that Meira is facing in saving her people and bringing about peace.
Ms Raasch does not give Meira an easy time of it and much of the story we see her struggling to find her identity and reconcile the wild soldier girl with the queen she feels she needs to be. We also see Mather struggling with all the issues that have come out of the revelation that he is not in fact the King of Winter and reconciling himself and his relationships, in particular with Alyson and William in light of finding out they were his parents all along.
I really like the way Ms Raasch shows us the inner struggles of these characters and explores what is below the surface, the idea that not everything is automatically okay just because they are now free from Spring
This story moved along well and I was in the story from beginning to end though like Snow like Ashes, this is a bit of a slow burn at the beginning with second bringing about the bulk of the action and twists. That being said however their is tension all the way through be it between the characters or as Ms Raasch builds on the intrigue as the story progresses and we meet the rulers of the other countries and visit the cities they rule.
I really enjoyed this next instalment feeling that it really advances the story and builds on the world and I cannot wait to see what will happen in book 3.
I give this story 4 stars
About The Book:
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Balzer + Bray via edelweiss in exchange for an honest review
Reviewed: Sapphired Dragon
Rating: ****
My Review:
After the events at the end of Ice Like Fire, I couldn't wait to revisit the world of Primoria and see what happened next to Meira and her Winterians and I was not disappointed.
It's a few months after the events of Abril and the return the Jannuari but things are not as rosy as Meira would like. Noam and Cordell have strengthened their hold over Winter and Mather isn't speaking to Meira, dealing with his own issues, and Meira finds that despite having freed her people from Angra and Spring, they are still not truly free nor can she find any conclusive proof that Angra is truly gone.
In this book, Ms Raasch starts to flesh out the world of Primoria more and we start to learn more about the other countries and the people. I think this world building definitely helps with the story as we start to get a feel of the challenges that Meira is facing in saving her people and bringing about peace.
Ms Raasch does not give Meira an easy time of it and much of the story we see her struggling to find her identity and reconcile the wild soldier girl with the queen she feels she needs to be. We also see Mather struggling with all the issues that have come out of the revelation that he is not in fact the King of Winter and reconciling himself and his relationships, in particular with Alyson and William in light of finding out they were his parents all along.
I really like the way Ms Raasch shows us the inner struggles of these characters and explores what is below the surface, the idea that not everything is automatically okay just because they are now free from Spring
This story moved along well and I was in the story from beginning to end though like Snow like Ashes, this is a bit of a slow burn at the beginning with second bringing about the bulk of the action and twists. That being said however their is tension all the way through be it between the characters or as Ms Raasch builds on the intrigue as the story progresses and we meet the rulers of the other countries and visit the cities they rule.
I really enjoyed this next instalment feeling that it really advances the story and builds on the world and I cannot wait to see what will happen in book 3.
I give this story 4 stars
Sapphired Dragon xx
About The Book:
Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes #2) by Sara Raasch
It’s been three months since the Winterians were freed and Spring’s king, Angra, disappeared—thanks largely to the help of Cordell.
Meira just wants her people to be safe. When Cordellan debt forces the Winterians to dig their mines for payment, they unearth something powerful and possibly dangerous: Primoria’s lost chasm of magic. Theron sees this find as an opportunity—with this much magic, the world can finally stand against threats like Angra. But Meira fears the danger the chasm poses—the last time the world had access to so much magic, it spawned the Decay. So when the king of Cordell orders the two on a mission across the kingdoms of Primoria to discover the chasm’s secrets, Meira plans to use the trip to garner support to keep the chasm shut and Winter safe—even if it means clashing with Theron. But can she do so without endangering the people she loves?
Mather just wants to be free. The horrors inflicted on the Winterians hang fresh and raw in Januari—leaving Winter vulnerable to Cordell’s growing oppression. When Meira leaves to search for allies, he decides to take Winter’s security into his own hands. Can he rebuild his broken kingdom and protect them from new threats?
As the web of power and deception weaves tighter, Theron fights for magic, Mather fights for freedom—and Meira starts to wonder if she should be fighting not just for Winter, but for the world.
