#Tuesday Review - Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch (Young Adult, Fantasy) @seesarawrite @BalzerandBray

Series: Snow Like Ashes # 2
Format: Hardcover, 479 pages
Release Date: October 13, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

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

Ice Like Fire is the second installment in author Sara Raasch's Snow Like Ashes trilogy. The story picks up THREE months after Meira and her Winterians were freed from the clutches of King Angra of Spring after 16 years. But, Meira's Kingdom is so broke, that they can't pay their bills. They really are nothing more than a satellite colony under the control of King Noam of Cordell and his son Prince Theron. Noam wants to find the chasm where magic was supposedly lost, and he believes it lies in Meira's kingdom. This comes on top of the fact that Meira hasn't fully accepted her role as the Queen of Spring since she grew up believing she was nothing more than an orphan soldier under the guidance of Sir aka William.

This is a world where there are actually EIGHT separate countries. Four of them are seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter), Four of them are what's being called Rhythm's. (Yakim, Ventralli, Paisly, and of course, Cordell.) It is a world where the royals of each of these Kingdoms have been given Conduits. In Meira's case, she is her Kingdom's conduit thanks to her own mother's choices. After the magic chasm is discovering in one of Winter's mines, and Theron excitedly tells everyone of its discovery, Meira is forced into a trip to several countries looking for aid and support in tossing Noam out of her country.

This book can be called one of struggling personalities in the case of both Meira, and Mather who had once been told that HE was the King of Winter, only to find out that wasn't the case. While Meira is struggling with putting her kingdom back on its feet, Mather has to come to the realization that he needs to move forward, and not drag his feet. I loved Mather's Children of the Thaw. I see hopeful things coming over the course of the final book with these characters involved in the storyline. Surprisingly, Mather and the Thaw are more interesting than Meira.

I am happy that Meira found herself traveling to other countries like Yakim, Summer, and Ventralli. I am happy that the author introduces one of my favorite characters of this book in Ceridwen. Since I've already read the sequel, I can say that adding Ceridwen to this series was a brilliant strategic move on the authors part. She is much more of a leader than Meira in this book. Especially with how badly Meira acts and makes horrible mistakes that don't make sense after the first book. I liked Meira's supporting case, and truly do hope that she will rely on them more than she has in this book. 

The Bad: Well, I really, really, hate Theron. I hate his actions caused me to scream like some maniac. I hated that he feels as though he believes that he can control Meira while uniting Primoria, and I hate that Meira didn't catch on to his plans sooner rather than later when it all comes unglued. While I prefer Mather to Theron, I am not a fan of romantic triangles. Let's just make a choice and stick with it. Theron, in my honest opinion, is all wrong for Meira, and would only break her heart when she needs a sounding board to help her with things to come later. This book is definitely an example of a bridge book. It bridges Snow Like Ashes with Frost Like Night.

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