The Book Courier: Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes, #1)

by Sara Raasch

I saw this book for $1.99 on a daily deal. A lot of my Goodreads friends had great reviews, so I decided to pick it up.

Cover~ A+

I definitely appreciated this cover after reading the book. The circular object is actually Meira's weapon called a chakra. It acts almost like a boomerang. The different sections of the chakra represent two kingdoms in war, which is Winter vs Spring. After reading the book, the cover became 100x times more beautiful!

Plot~ A

Even the strongest blizzard starts with a single snowflake.

In this world, each kingdom has their own conduit, which enables the magic within its borders. Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered by Summer and its citizens enslaved by the ruthless Summer King. Left without magic and a leader, Winter's only hope for freedom lies in eight survivors who managed to escape and have been waiting for the opportunity to take back Winter's magic and rebuild their kingdom.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter's defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee. Raised by the remaining Winterians, she has been trained to be a warrior and defend her future king (and friend) Mather. When scouts discover the location of their lost conduit, Meira is finally able to serve her kingdom. But as she fights the enemy soldiers she discovers a world of evil magic and dangerous politics. Things are much worse than they had thought. She comes to realize that her destiny is not, and never has been, her own.

Characters~ B

Meira is an orphan, who has no memory of her parents or home. She has to use other survivor's memory to draw a picture of their home and past. She feels as though she is living on stolen memories and emotions and struggles to find her place in life and belong. She has been trained as a warrior to defend Winter.

My crossbow isn't a weapon I'm holding- it is me, and I am it, and the two of us bring down soldier after soldier like we were made to do nothing else.

Mather is the future king of Winter. I did not like him from the beginning, and that did not change at the end. He does not act the way a king should act, in my opinion, and does not seem worthy to rule because he seems immature.

Theron is the heir of Cordell, where the surviving Winterians have taken shelter. Love him! He is a strong leader, intelligent, sensitive, and a fighter.

They make decisions; they mold your future. The trick is to find a way to still be you through it all.

Writing~ A

The beginning of this novel was loaded with information to a point where it was almost overwhelming. I really struggled in the first few chapters staying engaged in the story. It got so much better once the action came into play. Then we learned more about Meira and connected with her. I did predict the major plot twist from he beginning, but the read was still very enjoyable. The world building was breath-taking.

Overall Rating~ 4 stars!

My tags: magic, high fantasy, love-triangle, adventure, warriors, survival, arranged-marriage, best-villians, best-world building, first-in-series, cover-lust, badass-female-character