Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch

GoodReads Review:
Angra is alive, his Decay is spreading—and no one is safe.
Meira will do anything to save her world. With Angra trying to break through her mental defenses, she desperately needs to learn to control her own magic—so when the leader of a mysterious Order from Paisly offers to teach her, she jumps at the chance. But the true solution to stopping the Decay lies in a labyrinth deep beneath the Season Kingdoms. To defeat Angra, Meira will have to enter the labyrinth, destroy the very magic she’s learning to control—and make the biggest sacrifice of all.
Mather will do anything to save his queen. He needs to rally the Children of the Thaw, find Meira—and finally tell her how he really feels. But with a plan of attack that leaves no kingdom unscathed and a major betrayal within their ranks, winning the war—and protecting Meira—slips farther and farther out of reach.
Ceridwen will do anything to save her people. Angra had her brother killed, stole her kingdom, and made her a prisoner. But when she’s freed by an unexpected ally who reveals a shocking truth behind Summer’s slave trade, Ceridwen must take action to save her true love and her kingdom, even if it costs her what little she has left.
As Angra unleashes the Decay on the world, Meira, Mather, and Ceridwen must bring the kingdoms of Primoria together…or lose everything.
Review:
This finale was incredible. It was for sure my favorite book in the series. Meira has lost and gained much. She trains and learns about herself. But loses many that she loves. Raasch really took “kill your babies” to a whole new level. There are not many fantasy books that can make me cry but this one did. This series was so well done all around. We get to see a bit of autumn and paisley. The two final places we haven’t seen much of. I liked the world-building. Each of the seasons and rhythms had their own customs and things that they valued. I thought that made each new place really interesting.
We also learn more about magic, though the end goal is to rid the world of magic. I thought the magic was really well explained and limits made clear.
I don’t want to say too much about the romance because spoilers. But like if you haven’t read this series or the first two books, maybe don’t read any further. I was so happy about the two characters that I shipped finally coming together. I’m always a sucker for childhood friends to lovers and this gave me everything I wanted.
Overall, I loved this series. And you will too. If you want angsty romance, a bit of a love triangle (but like a good one), interesting magic, and great world-building this series is one you need to read.
Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

 

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

GoodReads Review:
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.
Review:
Meira is really coming into her own in this book. I really appreciated the development she went through. She starts off thinking she needs to act one way now that she knows she is winters queen. But as the book progresses, she realizes that she needs to be true to herself and her instincts too. I liked seeing her work on merging her behavior of how she thought she was supposed to act with what she felt was the right thing to do. Also, she is 100% a savage when it comes to starting shit. I love her.
Theron was my favorite in book one and now I hate him. But Raasch writes him in a way that most of his behaviors aren’t really his fault. Which I think is a cop-out. I just straight up don’t like him anymore.
I was sad in the last book when Mather sort of faded into the background so I loved that he got some of his own chapters in this book and I hope that continues in the third. I really like and respect him. There were some really touching moments where he’s trying to come to terms with most of his life being a lie, usually followed by some really terrible heartbreaking scenes. I definitely ship Meira and Mather.
I also have to mention Ceridwen, the summer princess. She’s fierce and always stands up for what she believes in. I really liked her relationship with Meira. The two brought good things out in one another. She suffers much in this book and I’m hopeful that things will get better for her in the final book.
Overall, I really enjoyed this sequel. I’m eager to start on the third and final book. Ice Like Fire is full of complex (but mostly well explained) magic. We get to see more of the world outside of winter and I thought the world-building was really well done. I loved visiting the other kingdoms and seeing how different they all were. There was also some great mystery left for us toward the end, which is what makes me so excited to finish my reread of this series. I also have to mention that the narrators for this book did such a great job telling the story. They really put emotion into the voices and scenes.
Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

GoodReads Summary:
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.
Review:
This was a reread for me and I listened to the audiobook. I’m glad I chose the audio because it was so well done. I didn’t like Meira at first because she was annoying. Always asking to go for the dangerous missions, which I could understand her motivation. She wanted to be valuable for Winter, but she was more important than she knew. She grew and I really liked her growth.
The magic in this story is so interesting. I remember bits and pieces of what’s to come with the next books and it made me all the more excited to continue my reread. I think the magic (that we learn of in this first book) is explained well and has mostly clear boundaries. It makes sense within the world.
I don’t totally love the idea of the potential love triangle, but I’m also not super mad about it. The romance is very light in this first book, but I know it will go further in the next book and I’m excited for it.
I think the villain was a great one. He’s evil, but it’s also not totally his fault. I think he was a really well done bad guy.
Overall, I’m excited to continue my reread and I think this is a series that many will love.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Mash Ups

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Every week there’s a new topic where we get to choose our top ten and write about it. This week’s topic is top ten books I would mash together. I think this is a wicked interesting topic. I’m not sure how I’m going to go about it, so in no particular order, here goes!

1. Rose Gardner Investigations by Denise Grover Swank & Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich – These are books about an aspiring private investigator and books about a bond enforcement officer. I think Rose and Stephanie would make one hell of a hilarious pair.
2. Renegades by Marissa Meyer & Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti – Two different types of superhero books. Both with similar abilities, sort of. But the worlds they take place in are pretty different. I think it would be interesting to see these two worlds collide.
3. Meant to be Broken by Brandy Woods Snow & One Small Thing by Erin Watt – Both are novels involving girls who are struggling with their feelings about a guy. Both thinking that their feelings are wrong and should be stifled and ignored. I think the two female main characters would be great friends and would be able to help one another immensely by sharing their experiences.
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson & The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith – These are both murder mystery sort of books but with a ton of different subplots along the way. I think they would be interesting to see together. Seeing the characters with their hugely different personalities would be funny.
5. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson & Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson – This is a choice for similar reasons to above except these are young adult murder mysteries. Again, the personalities in these stories would make for an interesting read.
6. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas & Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch – If the Sara(h)’s wrote a book together I would be able to die happy as soon as I finished it. These specific books would be so cool to see together. In ACOTAR, there’s Fae with seasonal courts and magical abilities and in Snow Like Ashes there are different kingdoms for the seasons with different sorts of magical abilities. I think they would mesh well together with the similarities in the stories.
7. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare & A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest – Both of these series have a great variety of supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves and others unique to their books. Their also both full of headstrong characters that strive to do the ‘right’ thing at all costs. I would love to see these characters and worlds collide.
8. The Young Elites by Marie Lu & Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – These two came together in my head because of their magic systems. Both books have people with abilities that are not accepted in their worlds. Both have fantastic villains. Now that I’m typing this, I would LOVE to see the Darkling and Adelina join forces and run the world.
9. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins & Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow – I really think that Charlie could have been another character in Impulse. She for sure could have been a fourth perspective in that story. These characters could all relate for sure.
10. The Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead & A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands – I obviously had to throw my two favorite vampire worlds together. I think these worlds would be awesome to see together because of the different ways that vampires are created and the similarities that are already there.

This week’s topic was a hard one for me! I had a ton of fun looking at my shelves and thinking about all the different worlds I love colliding. I tried to pick bookish worlds that already had a little bit in common. I wanted my mashups to mostly make sense. Which bookish worlds would you want to see collide?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme formerly hosted by Should Be Reading and was revived by Taking on a World of Words. To play along, answer the following three questions and share a link to your post in the comments on her page. Enjoy!

What are you currently reading? 

Amanda – So I haven’t actually started it yet, but I’m going to count this as currently reading anyway. The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco is sitting on my coffee table waiting for me to be finished with this post and my homework and the laundry and the many other things I should (but probably won’t) get done before I can let myself read.

Antonia – I’m currently reading Soldier by Julie Kagawa. Technically I’m only a few pages in but this is the first one of the series that I’m not rereading so I’m really excited to see where the story takes me.

What did you recently finish reading? 

Amanda – I just finished reading The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco, (check out my review here.) I wasn’t crazy about it and I’m really hoping the second book is better and answers some of the questions The Bone Witch left me with.

Antonia – I just finished Rogue by Julie Kagawa. (See my review here.) This one was a really fun, action-packed read.

What do you think you will read next?

Amanda – This question has not gotten any easier for me the last few weeks. I just have so many options and have gotten so many new books in the last few weeks. I might reread the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. I might reread the Snow Like Ashes series by Sara Raasch. I might reread the Talon series by Julia Kagawa. I might reread the Shattered Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima. But I really just am undecided, (but look at all the fun and awesome books you guys get to look forward to me reviewing!) Ask me again next week and maybe I’ll have decided.

Antonia – I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with my Talon marathon and read Legion by Julie Kagawa the fourth book in the series.

What are your W’s this week?

Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Worlds

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.Each week we’re given a new prompt for a top ten list of all things bookish. This week’s topic is top ten bookish worlds I’d want to (or wouldn’t want to) live in. I like both of these, so this week I’m going to do five that I would want to live in and five that I wouldn’t want to live in. Here’s my top ten for this week!

Bookish worlds I would like to live in –

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – Yes I know that they just went through a huge war and a ton of people died, but now all is hopefully well and I’d love to live here. I would love to get to visit all the different seasonal courts and the solar courts. I would also enjoy helping (or trying to) create a better world with the fae and the humans. Plus, who wouldn’t want to live in a world with Rhysand, Cassian and Aziel?

Harry Potter by J.K Rowling – Would I be a twenty something year old bookworm if I hadn’t read Harry Potter and fantasized about getting my letter and attending Hogwarts?

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch – This is a world similar to ACOTAR with the different seasonal territories that I would love to visit. But in this book universe they have magical abilities instead of being Fae. So who wouldn’t want to have magic and be able to visit whatever season you wanted?

Zodiac by Romina Russell – One word: Space. I love outer space and most space themed books are ones that I’ll buy as soon as I know they take place among the stars. This book universe sounds so cool. The different zodiac planets with the different personalities, I just love everything about this series.

Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld – Superheros are yet another autobuy topic. So this book, while it’s set in a regular realistic world, it has kids with super powers. Yes, please?

Bookish worlds I would not want to live in –

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas – While I love these books and I love  the characters and the story, I wouldn’t want to live in this world. A world that’s on the brink of war and treats most of the people horribly. No thank you.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – Living in this super oppressive world? No way. I wouldn’t survive in this book universe for very long and if I did, I would be very miserable.

Moon Chosen by P.C. Cast – I love this story and all of the characters in it. But I definitely wouldn’t want to live in this ruined futuristic world.

The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead – This book universe seems how I imagine England in the 1800s. I’ve always said that I would live in that time period, but only if I was a woman of wealth. The same goes for this world except I still don’t think I’d want to live there because well, electricity and running water and the internet and all of the modern day amenities I probably couldn’t live without.

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima – This book universe is one that I wouldn’t want to live in for one reason that I could use for so many other series that I considered putting here. I wouldn’t want to live in a world that was in the middle of fighting a war. Even though by the end of the series the war is over, there’s always going to be another war in these kinds of worlds even if that story doesn’t get written. Yes, I would love to see this world and meet the characters that I love, but I wouldn’t want to have to constantly worry about the next battle to be fought.

This week’s topic was so fun I considered doing one post with worlds I would want to live in and a different post with worlds I wouldn’t want to live in, but I just did five of each here. What bookish world would you or wouldn’t you want to live in and why?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

 

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. To play along, answer the following three questions and share a link to your post in the comments on her page. Enjoy!

What are you currently reading? 

Amanda- I’m currently reading nothing sadly. I am in between books and honestly haven’t decided what I want to read next because I have so many new books. I’m torn between Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth or rereading Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch. But that might change because I’m getting a delivery of books when my parents come to visit this weekend.

Antonia- I’m reading Master of Magic by Linsey Hall. It’s the fifth and final book in her Dragon’s Gift: The Valkyrie series. There are three series previous to this one that all connect and I really love seeing Bree’s story finally.

What did you recently finish reading?

Amanda- I finished reading A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas a few days ago. The review will be available as soon as I post the reviews for the books that come before it in the series.

Antonia- I just finished Beheld by Alex Flinn. I absolutely loved this book and will be posting my review of it tomorrow. (Review here.)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Amanda- Next I’ll be reading whatever I decide to pick up. Like I said above, I’m super torn between what I want to invest my time in next. I recently got my book collection back from being in storage  after moving all over. So it’s like having a whole new collection of books. I also bought a few new released as well as more books that are coming to me this weekend that were new when I bought them and just haven’t read yet. Someone come choose what to read for me because I just can’t make up my mind!

Antonia- Next I’ll be rereading Talon by Julie Kagawa. I read the first three books in this series years ago and now that books four and five are out I’ll be reading and reviewing all of them.

 

Tell us your answers to these questions and as always, thanks for visiting our blog.