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.
