by Sara Raasch
Read: August-November, 2016
Published: October 13, 2015
Genre: Fantasy
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. (Amazon)
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Why did you read this book?
I read the first book in the series, Snow Like Ashes, and liked it well enough to read the sequel. However, it did take me a long time to actually pick it up and read it.
What did you like about this book?
I liked the introduction of Ceridwen. I have a feeling she's going to be an interesting character in the third book and I'm excited to know more about her past. This book also dove more into the world the Raasch created and we were able to explore more of the kingdoms outside of Winter and Cordell. I'm going to be honest, there wasn't very much about this book that I liked, but the last third of the book was very well written and fast-paced and all around enjoyable to read. The action all came together and just took off running. Once I got to that point in the book, I couldn't stop reading. I finished it and decided to be a burrito on the floor (because of course it ends in the middle of all the action). I wasn't sure I was going to read the third book, but after that ending I know I have to. It's hard for me to develop coherent feelings on the things I like just at the moment (other than the ending), but I do know for sure that I will eventually read it again and hopefully I'll like it better the second time around.
What didn't you like about this book?
I really wanted this book to be better than it was, but I'm afraid it suffered from second book syndrome. The first two-thirds of the books were politics and mind games. While that can be interesting, if written well, this was just dry and boring, especially after the excitement from the first book. I was also disappointed in the characters. I really liked Meira and Mather and Theron in the first book (so much so that I wasn't sure who I wanted to end up with Meira in the Meira-Mather-Theron love triangle. I'm usually pretty decided when it comes to love triangles, deplorable as they are). They were all so dynamic and interesting. In this one, they all felt kind of one-dimensional to me. Also, I understand why Raasch split this book into two points of view (alternating between Meira and Mather), what I don't like is that it also switches from first person (Meira) to third person (Mather). My last big complaint was that there were too many proper nouns (places and people) and they were all names that aren't common. It was very difficult to keep them straight and to try to remember who was who and what their role was in the first book. Overall, this book was just really boring.
Reminded me of...
...Cinder by Marissa Meyer. That book was also pretty slow and uneventful, but had a fantastic ending. And we all know how much I love the Lunar Chronicles now. So, because of that, I'll give Frost Like Night a chance.
Bottom-Line:
If you haven't read this first book, I don't think I'd recommend the series, just because of how uneventful most of this book was. I was disappointed in the pacing and in the characters that I'd grown to love in the first book. However, I will be reading Frost Like Night and I'll let you know if it improves.
"Horrible things don't happen in crowded place; they happen in the hollows of the world, where it's just a victim and an attacker and no one to hear any screams." -Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch
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