Title: Frost Like Night (Snow Like Ashes #3)
Author: Sara Raasch
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: September 20th, 2016
Standalone/Series: Final book in the Snow Like Ashes trilogy
Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy
Goodreads link
My rating in stars: 3,5 stars
My rating in words: I liked it
What it’s about:
Angra is alive, his Decay is spreading—and no one is safe.
Meira will do anything to save her world. With Angra trying to break through her mental defenses, she desperately needs to learn to control her own magic—so when the leader of a mysterious Order from Paisly offers to teach her, she jumps at the chance. But the true solution to stopping the Decay lies in a labyrinth deep beneath the Season Kingdoms. To defeat Angra, Meira will have to enter the labyrinth, destroy the very magic she’s learning to control—and make the biggest sacrifice of all.
Mather will do anything to save his queen. He needs to rally the Children of the Thaw, find Meira—and finally tell her how he really feels. But with a plan of attack that leaves no kingdom unscathed and a major betrayal within their ranks, winning the war—and protecting Meira—slips farther and farther out of reach.
Ceridwen will do anything to save her people. Angra had her brother killed, stole her kingdom, and made her a prisoner. But when she’s freed by an unexpected ally who reveals a shocking truth behind Summer’s slave trade, Ceridwen must take action to save her true love and her kingdom, even if it costs her what little she has left.
As Angra unleashes the Decay on the world, Meira, Mather, and Ceridwen must bring the kingdoms of Primoria together…or lose everything.
My thoughts (Spoiler-free):
“It’s all a part of me, every horrific, squirming shadow – it’s all me and I will not hide from it anymore. I do not deserve to be crippled by it; I do not deserve to harbor this guilt, because yes, I messed up, but I learned from every mistake.”
After a slightly disappointing Ice Like Fire, Frost Like Night gets things back on track and takes everything to a satisfying conclusion. This was a solid finale and I can honestly say I am pretty happy with how the story was ended.
I feel like Frost Like Night took the fantasy book checklist and crossed so many things off: we have the heroine going through training by a mysterious but wise mentor, all characters coming together, secrets coming out, plans being made, some time for romance, epic quests, tragic losses and the final life-changing showdown. It all felt a bit generic, but it worked.
What didn’t work for me was the magic system. Though this is probably just because I had trouble getting through and staying focused on book 2. This is where a lot of the magic was explained and since I ended up skimming a lot, I got confused really quickly. This confusion only got worse in book 3, but I ended up just going with the magic flow. That’s how it works? Okay. They’re doing things that way because of that magic rule? Okay. That’s how we defeat the bad guy? Okay. I don’t get any of it, but whatever, it’s all okay. And honestly, it worked for me. I got to enjoy the rest of the story without worrying about the intricate rules of the magic system.
So other than that, this was a good ending. I liked both Meira and Mather’s character development. I loved the romance, even though I didn’t like some of the choices made in book 2. I loved that we got more Cerridwen, but I also feel like ultimately it wasn’t really necessary either. I like that she was there, but I don’t feel like she added a lot to the plot.
So overall, I’m happy that I finished this series and I am relieved that it ended on a high note. Unfortunately it still felt a bit too generic and confusing to go down as one of my all-time favorites, but nevertheless it’s still a good read if you’re a YA fantasy fan.
Favorite quotes:
“You’ll only regret the time it took you to make the decision.”
“You act as though love is a goal you only achieve after so long spent working at it. And yes, work is involved, but at the end of it all, love is a choice – the kind you have with a spouse, with your people, with yourself. If you act on those things only when you felt them, you’d be like most people – eternally waiting for a feeling that may or may not come. But if you choose, every day, to love yourself no matter what – then dear heart, nothing can stop you.”
Ice Like Fire was so disappointing, I felt like I drowned in my own tears. (even though I can swim muahaha) When I read Snow like Ashes (a day before reading Ice like Fire) I thought it was phenomenal and would be my fave series of all time.. the next day, my feelings changed drastically for this series. I just wasn’t excited to read the finale anymore.. I am glad though you liked it but I am not sure whether I would be still reading it… Now I think this is just another series that got ruined by the sequels.
Ice Like Fire really was pretty disappointing! I was debating even reading the third book for a while but I just really wanted to know how it finished! I like that it was better again and I’m happy I still decided to read it, but it is true that a lot of damage was already done. Not sure if I’d still recommend you reading it if you also didn’t like Ice Like Fire. Unless you’re like me and you just NEED to know how it ends 🙂