Review: Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication: 10/13/2015 by Balzer + Bray
Series: Snow Like Ashes #2
Pages: 479 Pages
Source: eBook
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
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Goodreads Summary:
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.

My Thoughts:
I was so excited for this this book to come out. I absolutely loved Snow Like Ashes and I actually pre-ordered Ice Like Fire. However, I don't want to say I was disappointed by this book but I was definitely a bit underwhelmed. I think Ice Like Fire does suffer a bit from second book syndrome and I found the beginning of this book to be quite slow. Meira is struggling with her new role, her new powers and how to best serve the Winterians. I think this is way I wasn't was thrilled with this novel, Meira wasn't the main character I remembered. I completely understand her feelings but I just wanted her to realize that even though she's now a leader, she can still be who she always was. I understand why this was a plot point, but it just fell flat for me. 

What I did enjoy about this book was the romance plot. I really liked that the romance in this series does take a backseat but it does have a different role in this book than it did in Snow Like Ashes. Like many people, I definitely jumped "ships" during this book which I don't think I've ever done while reading. Theron's actions during this story definitely turned me off and I am now a big Mather supporter. However, I wasn't super thrilled with this POV in this book. It was more interested in Meria's POV than Mather's but I do understand why his POV was also necessary.

Ice Like Fire did definitely pick up speed as you went along and I was on the edge of my seat by the end of the book. I also really love some of the new characters and I am very excited for the last book in this series. I had a hard time rating this book, I debated between 3 and 4 stars. I decided on 3 stars because I feel like that's a more honest rating. I must say am still VERY excited for the 3rd book. I think this book set it up very well to be a very intense and exciting finale.  I still highly recommend this series, let's hope that Frost Like Night doesn't make me change my mind. 





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