Waiting on Wednesday (95): Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: Ice Like Fire (Snow Like Ashes #2)
Author: Sara Raasch
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Release Date: October 13, 2015
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.


Kayla and I both loved Snow Like Ashes so I did a little happy dance when I saw the cover revel for Ice Like Fire. I cannot wait to read more about Meira and Primoria. Also, aren't these some of the most awesome covers?? You can read my review of Snow Like Ashes here and Kayla's review here.

What are you waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2014


1. Meljean Brook
Author of the Iron Seas series
Meljean Brook is now in my top favorite authors. Her Iron Seas series is one of the best steampunk series I have ever read. I am kicking myself for waiting until this year to try out her writing.



2. Jenn Bennett
Author of the Arcadia Bell series
Jenn Bennett is another author I am kicking myself for not reading before this year. Let's just go ahead and assume that if an author had a book out before this year, I should have read it way before this year. Bennett's Arcadia Bell series is one of my favorite urban fantasy/paranormal romance series. You can read my review of Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell #3) HERE.

Debut Author Giveaway Hop #2 (INT)

Hello again, giveaway hoppers! Thank you to the lovely ladies, Mary at Book Hounds and Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, for hosting this hop. I mean, what could be more fun that featuring newly published authors and their books that we loved?

What You Can Win

Earlier this week (because I'm a procrastinator), I asked the other ladies of Bibliophilia, Please which books were their favorite debut reads of 2014. Amber is my reading twin the majority of the time, so her picks were the same as mine. Janelle's choice was one that I enjoyed as well. And here they are:

Amber's Picks



Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy #1) by Pierce Brown
January 28, 2014
Pierce Brown’s relentlessly entertaining debut channels the excitement of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

“I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”

“I live for you,” I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and lush wilds spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.



My Review

Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Title: Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1)
Author: Sara Raasch
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Acquired Via: Edelweiss
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 Winter rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore their magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she's scaling towers and 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.

My Review

You can read Kayla's review HERE.

Snow Like Ashes is one of my favorite reads of the year. Besides Meira being one of my favorite heroines, the world was stunning, imaginative and bleak.

I'll admit that I was a little confused in the first chapter or so with the world and kingdoms. I'm glad that Sara Raasch posted a map of Primoria on her Tumblr, because I did not have the setup of the kingdoms right at all (my e-ARC had a small map in the front, but it was impossible to see on my Kindle). I liked the setup of the kingdoms - four Season kingdoms that each have only one season, and four rhythm kingdoms that cycle normally through all four seasons. It did take a little bit of suspension of disbelief, but it's fantasy, so that's par for the course. My main confusion was regarding where the magic was actually "located" and that was helped by the map.

Early Review: Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Title: Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1)
Author: Sara Raasch
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Release Date: October 14, 2014
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 Winter rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore their magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she's scaling towers and 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.

My Review

I didn't pay too much attention to the synopsis of Sara Raasch's debut, Snow Like Ashes, when I was given the opportunity to review it. If you tell me something is epic fantasy, I'll pretty much take it sight-unseen. Lately, though, a lot of newly released epic fantasy novels are burdened with the promise of "blah blah...A Game of Thrones...blah blah", and this is one of them. For once, the villainous promisemakers got it right because it IS just like A Song of Ice and Fire... in that they're both epic fantasy with a land covered in snow. Congratulations.