Game of Thrones meets Graceling in this thrilling fantasy filled with shocking twists and heart-pounding action, the highly anticipated sequel to Snow Like Ashes. This action-packed series is perfect for fans of An Ember in the Ashes and A Court of Thorns and Roses. 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 on using 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 Jannuari-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 is woven 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.
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight True story, I almost DNFed this one. In the beginning, I alternated between "insanely bored" and "who in the actual hell are all these characters and places?". Like, there were names being thrown about like I was actually going to remember every random side character from over a year ago and... I wasn't. Sure, I knew all the major players and kingdoms, but when you start talking about like, some girl Blah Blah met once in passing, all bets are off. Plus, I was bored. I felt like nothing was happening, except for the rehashing of Meria becoming Queen. And like, okay, I get it- she's the queen now. Can we please move on?
Good news! We did move on! Things got pretty decent, actually. There was a lot of action toward the end of the book, and some pretty crazy twists. Which of course, made me need want to read the next book.
Meria was annoying in this book. Like, stop waxing poetic about being the queen and just... be the queen. She kept doing stupid things, getting mad about doing stupid things, and then would turn around and do even more stupid things. And no one else was any better at making decisions or deciding what kind of person/leader/whatever they wanted to be. But luckily, we ran into some new folks along the way that quite frankly felt the same way I did about Meira and company, and they were so refreshing!
Bottom Line: This started off as a real hot mess. But the second half saved this one. While it certainly was not as strong as Snow Like Ashes, I will absolutely finish the series. *Copy provided by publisher for review.
