Frost Like Night (Snow Like Ashes #3)

                Hello Happy Readers!  So I had been waiting for this book,  Frost Like Night (Snow Like Ashes #3) for a long time.  It is the final book by Sara Raasch is the final book in the series.  I had started reading this series (Snow Like Ashes / Ice Like Fire) and really enjoyed it but more than that I was nervous to see how they were going to wrap it all up.  I finished the series some time back but as I was going through and making my 2018 goals I realized there were several books I read in the last year or so that I never did review and I set to rectify that.  I had the pleasure of receiving an advanced copy of this book through No BS Book Reviews and the original review is posted there but this one was too good not to share on here as well. 

Rating:  5 Stars

                I read the first two books in this series earlier in the year and was blown away.  I could not wait for the final book to see how things would wrap up and if I would be right about a few things I had predicted.  OMG was I stoked to get my hands on this one! 

                So excited to dive in and see how it ends….and also not wanting to all at the same time.  I didn’t want it to end.       I managed to push though that last part clearly and now I know how things end and WOW! 

                We left our gang last time split up.  Angra is alive and the Decay is spreading.  Meira split off to go to Paisly to learn from the Order to use her magic and stop Angra while Mather is to free her people that he can, his Thaw.  Still given the past he is unable to not go after her again.  Half of their world is fighting to save their people while the other half seem to have given into Angra by will or force.  It’s a final battle for everything and no one is safe. 

                I LOVED IT! 

                Everything is happening very quickly in the book.  There is constantly something happening and it really adds the feel of imminent threat to the characters we love.  Even more with the dual POVs when one character is doing something that takes some time another character is handling something pressing.  It also manages to weave in the bits of happiness and romance amongst all the pain and tears we are faced with. The way Raasch manages to combine all the different emotions and make them feel natural is stellar work.  The bits of happiness that made me squeal weren’t out of place in the middle of war but written in such a way they are curtail and not just because I want to know if Meira and Mather will ever have their moment or if Ceridwen will find happiness but because like life there is always bits of everything mixed in.  Hope in the dark.

                Magic takes on a larger role in this one.  Meira really begins to understand.  We begin to see magic for what it truly is and I enjoyed the way it was further explained both good and bad.  The way the Decay worked was really rather fascinating, never knowing 100% if it’s the person's true desires being amplified or simply being weaker willed and easily controlled.  With the Decay it's hard to know who can be trusted, even yourself.  I loved that no one was really truly immune.  Also as Meira learns more about her own magic it really moved things along, not just in giving her a real show against Angra but in how it was centered around her emotions.  It was really empowering seeing her go from shut off and somewhat broken to facing what is on the other side of her mental walls and accepting it good and bad. 

                We also talk a lot about sacrifice.  It's been a theme for sure but now we come to what it will truly take.  I enjoyed how it was huge and important but it also wasn’t beaten into the ground.  It's discussed and thought about often but in small parts, as one might assume it would be.  Sacrifice is also seen in other ways as well and I enjoyed the other aspects of it, how it's about letting yourself be open even if it makes you vulnerable and may hurt you in the end. 

                Now I have to talk a moment about Mather.  So I was always a Mather fan.  I was a bit mad at him at times, like when he went to go marry her off and all that when he was king to name one but while I had moments and enjoyed Theron in parts I always had a bit of me rooting for Mather.  It was so nice to see them spend time together in this book where they spent most of the other book apart.  I enjoyed that reconnecting and seeing the connection they shared from growing up together and knowing one another so well.  He is devoted to her not just as her warrior but as her friend.  I also loved that while he would defend her with his life he also knows she is a warrior herself and wouldn't try to see her as anything less. 

                There is just so much happening in this book. It's the end.  Things wrap up and for me I was happy.  Some things broke my heart and I hated the book for those moments but then after I had a few tissues I had to keep going to know, what next?  It has it all, a real roller coaster of emotion.  We got to know some characters more fully flushed out, Ceridwen for one might be my favorite addition to book two and having so much from her perspective wonderful. 

                I was sad to see it end but I'm so fulfilled it's all good.