As I have said many times before, choosing a book is always a gamble. You never really know if it is going to be worth your while. And on the days when you just have seconds to pick, it often comes down to how good the book cover looks. And on those days, I forget the saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. This doesn’t mean the book is bad, it’s just really, really, really not my type. If you are a fellow book lover, I am sure you understand this. It is the type of book that you begin to read and realise something about it doesn’t really intrigue you, but you carry on anyway. Then as you get deeper, it becomes unbearably boring and the only thing keeping you from bailing is the reason why you held on for this long. That reason is to prove to all your friends that you really like books and you will read any that comes to your hands. That’s kind of my reason anyway.
So, the book I took this week is ‘Snow like Ashes’. Overall, it is not that bad but personally, I found a few problems. One, it was a very slow-paced book. The whole story was to be short, but the chapters felt like they were just dragging on. Secondly, I have already read a book with a similar storyline, so I could kind of guess what was going to happen next. Finally, there were so many huge revelations and despite their importance, they were merely brushed upon, even if it completely changed the story’s path. In addition, it is okay if the character says they want to find their true place in the world or something, as long as it is discreet. ‘Snow like Ashes’ however, makes the main character repeat the same thing over and over again on literally all the pages. But here are some parts of the book, just to perk your interest.
The background story-Each of the kingdoms of Primoria has a magic conduit that only works for the royal family. The royal family is either female or male line based. With these conduits they can create a plentiful harvest, make people better soldiers, provide health, or even force their people to obey (the king of Spring, Angra, uses his magic to enhance anything bad or evil rather than the betterment of his kingdom). These conduits were created from a giant ball of magic that is somewhere beneath the season kingdoms (to which the entrance has been lost). They are in the form of things like a locket, a ring, a dagger and a staff.
Sixteen years ago, the kingdom of Winter was attacked by the land of Spring. Only a few Winterians managed to escape and the rest were either killed or enslaved. Their leader, Queen Hannah, was killed and their conduit, in the form of a locket, was broken in two. One half is kept around Angra’s neck and the other is kept on the move. Those few Winter refugees have been in hiding ever since.
Meira, an orphan since the attack on Winter is in hiding with the other Winterian refugees. Her best friend Mather is Winter’s young king. After countless failed attempts to retrieve the locket by the Winterian group, Meira is finally allowed to go on a mission to follow a lead on the whereabouts of a locket half. Little did she know of the secrets that were kept hidden from her and Mather.
That ending was a bit dramatic but that should give you an idea on what this book is about. I hope you enjoy it a bit more than I did!
