Photo taken from @beautifulbookland on Instagram

Rating – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It seems like I’ve taken ages to finish Snow Like Ashes, and not in a “I’m savouring every moment of this book” kind of way. I liked the beginning, but I was sort of bored in the middle – and then the ending happened. There were quite a few times during the ending where I got full body chills; and that alone is worth at least a star.

The Plot

The kingdom of Winter, one of the four Seasonal kingdoms, is ruined, sacked by Spring. Only a handful of Winterians survived, while the rest are sent to work in slave camps. Among those survivors are Meira, an orphan girl who longs to matter to her kingdom, and Mather, the heir to the female-blooded Winter throne. Leading their camp is Sir, who teaches and trains them both, preparing them for their fight to find Winter’s magic conduit, and restore their kingdom.

If my rating was just purely based on the plot, I think I would give Snow Like Ashes 5 stars. The world building was intricate, yet easy to understand; I never got lost off with the countries (perhaps because 4 out of the 8 are named after seasons, and My simple mind can actually differentiate between Spring and Winter).

The Characters

*deep breath* The characters are the main reason I’m not giving this book 5 stars, and it pains me to say it. Because while I liked Meira enough, I didn’t fall head over heels in love with her. I could appreciate her bravery and her wit, but I didn’t feel it with the whole of my heart, you know?

Because when I fall for a character, I fall hard. Like, tattooing Aelin Galathynius’s name on my forehead hard.

So while Meira was okay, I literally didn’t feel anything for any of the other characters. There’s a love triangle in this book, and I usually fucking hate love triangles but this one? I didn’t care because I didn’t care about either of the potential love interests.

I am happy to report, though, that Meira doesn’t spend all of her time daydreaming about boys; she actually does have her priorities straight, and is determined to help Winter in whatever way she can.

(She does initially have a tantrum when she finds out she’s going into an arranged marriage to help Winter; she then, however, calls herself out on her shit and recognised that her fellow countrymen are in labour camps.)

Verdict

I liked Snow Like Ashes. It didn’t blow my socks off or anything, but it was good, and the writing at the end was incredibly powerful.

Will I continue the series? I don’t know yet. I’m going to give it a few days and, if I’m still thinking about this book, I’ll order the second one. So we shall see.