Currently Reading: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

As a disclaimer: This isn’t a review per se, but more or less my thoughts as pertains to where I am in the story.

Currently, I am on Chapter 20 of this 31 chapter novel. It’s about the 64% mark according to my kindle.

The Characters

The book features a girl named Meira who is in love with a boy named Mather, but she can’t have him. Why? Well, because he’s the king and she’s a lowly peasant girl. Even though Mather loves her, he must marry for politics.

Raasch does a pretty good job at world building. The main plot of the book features her and her kingdom, Winter, against Angra, the leader of the Spring kingdom. Many years ago, Spring destroyed Winter, enslaving most of its people. Only a few refugees, Meira and Company, are free to fight against him.

Later on, Raasch introduces Cordell, a Rhythm kingdom. The king’s name is Noam. He is rather annoying, in my opinion. His son, Theron, is an all-around really great guy. He becomes part of the classic love triangle for Meira.

The Magic System

There is a measure of magic in the book, or at least it’s there in lore. I have yet to see any of it work.

Magic is found through conduits. These are random items, Winter’s happens to be a locket, that only the kings or queens can use. It gets more complicated in that only queens can use magic in 4 of the countries and men in the other 4.

Winter happens to be a matriarchal country. But there’s a problem. Mather is a man, and the only surviving heir. Their locket is in possession of Angra right now, but even if they recovered it, Mather can’t use magic anyway.

My Thoughts

This leads me to believe, and this is purely speculation at this point, that Meira is somehow tied into this. It should seem obvious, I guess. Meira is the first person narrator. She is the main character. And she is having dreams that Mather’s mother is speaking to her.

However, 20 chapters in and Raasch has not revealed any huge twists or reveals. I highly doubt that Mather and Meira are brother and sister. I have read too many online reviews about this book talking about Meria’s romantic prospects with Mather in book 3. If they were revealed to be brother and sister, that just wouldn’t work.

I will be honest. This lack of knowledge and absence of anything magical is frustrating me in the book so far. It is interesting. Do not misunderstand me. But I want answers, and there’s not even a hint. That doesn’t mean I don’t want surprises. It just means that I, as a reader, wish Raasch would have left at least a trickle of information to keep me from starving, but still hungry for me.

What about you?

Have you read Snow Like Ashes? Are you currently reading it? What are your thoughts on the book or about Meira in general?

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