Mundie Moms

Friday, September 23, 2016

FROST OF NIGHT by Sara Raasch / Blog Tour: Book Review / Giveaway


Hello and welcome to the last stop in the FROST LIKE NIGHT blog tour. I'm so thrilled to share my review for the last book in Sara Raasch's SNOW LIKE ASHES series. This series is one of my favorites! Check out my review below, and be sure to enter to win the giveaway at the end of this post!

ABOUT THE BOOK



By: Sarah Raasch
Published by: Balzer & Bray
Released on: September 20th, 2016
Series: Snow Likes Ashes #3
Purchase it from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars - I enjoyed it
Source: arc for review from publisher / purchased book 

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.
A fitting ending to a great series! This book was everything I had hoped the ending would be, and more. 

Picking up right where ICE LIKE FIRE ended, readers are thrust right back into all that's happening in Meira's world. Angra is very much alive, and out for control/power. He'll stop at nothing until he gets Meira. Meira on the other hand has help from a very surprising source. Through her magic training, she not only realizes the strength she really has, but she learns to trust herself, and let go of her past, so that she's able to become the person she needs to be in order to embrace her future. Meira has definitely grown into someone of strength, and courage. She's definitely not the person we first met in SNOW LIKE ASHES. Nor is she alone in her endeavor to destroy the Decay / Angra. 


Raasch has done a fabulous job at creating characters I've come to love, as well as a world I've loved visiting. I love way she wrote this book. It's not often I've read and enjoyed a book written from multiple points of view book, but Raasch has done this beautifully. This story is one that is told from Meira, Mather and Ceridwen's points of views, and it's fabulous! I loved getting to see the story from each of their perspectives. I loved seeing just how far each of these characters have really come. It wasn't hard to fall in love with these three, as well as Jesse, whom readers will come to love through Ceridwen's pov. Aside from Meira and Mather, Ceridwen and Jesse where my favorite characters.

I've really enjoyed getting to know the characters in this series. I felt like I really got to know them more so in this book, as each of their journeys comes full circle. I love that the characters are imperfect. I love that I get to see their imperfections, the strengths, weakness, the things they struggle with from their past, and how the consequences of their actions effect them. I love that I got see how much they've grown, how the war has changed them, and brought them closer together, how they've learned to live in the moment, find hope, and learn to love. Meira, as well as each of the characters, have all grown so much since we first met them. I've loved seeing them finally become the people they were destined to be.


I've loved seeing the friendships, and the relationships that have developed through this series. Especially in this book. I'm not sure which I loved more, the friendships or the romantic relationships. Both were so well written. I seriously loved the romances/relationships in this book. I'm leaving out the specifics for the sake of spoilers, but yes, it's definitely bitter sweet, but more sweet, and romantic, and oh so fitting. I loved seeing the various degrees of love come to life within the pages of this book. I felt that the relationships that developed, and the way some end, were very fitting. The characters have changed so much through the series, and it wasn't a surprise to see the direction that Theron, Meira and Mather all take. Raasch did a wonderful job at setting up in ICE LIKE FIRE. 

Romance wise, there is some fantastic sweep you off your feet romance. At times it left me heart broken, and other times it left me breathless. There's a wonderful underlying theme of love in this book. Love of oneself, love that blossoms into romance, love of family, and the people you associate with etc. I love how Raasch brought that to life in this book. I also enjoyed seeing how the characters learned to love again, as they also learn to love themselves, and feel worthy of the love they desperately wanted. 


One of my favorite quotes from the book is on page 152, ".... if you choose every day, to love yourself no matter what - then, dear heart, nothing can stop you."


This book is everything I had hoped it would be and so much more. It's always sad when a series you love comes to an end, but this ending was just right for this series. I love it when a series ending is both fulfilling and just right for the characters. If you loved the first two books in this series, you need to pick up this book. If you haven't yet read any of the books in this series, than what are you waiting for? Check out my review for the first two books, here and here

ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Sara Raasch has known she was destined for bookish things since the age of five, when her friends had a lemonade stand and she tagged along to sell her hand-drawn picture books too. Not much has changed since then — her friends still cock concerned eyebrows when she attempts to draw things and her enthusiasm for the written word still drives her to extreme measures. Her debut YA fantasy, SNOW LIKE ASHES, came out October 14, 2014 from Balzer + Bray, and the sequel, ICE LIKE FIRE, comes out October 13, 2015. Neither features her hand-drawn pictures.
Find Sara online: 


ENTER TO WIN

3 winners will receive a signed copy of FROST LIKE NIGHT, US Only.




FOLLOW THE TOUR
9/12/2016- Young Adult at HeartInterview
9/13/2016-  Reviews from a BookwormReview
9/14/2016- FiktshunGuest Post
9/15/2016- Tween 2 Teen Book ReviewsReview
9/16/2016- The Cover ContessaInterview
9/19/2016- QuartzfeatherReview
9/20/2016- Writing My Own Fairy TaleGuest Post
9/21/2016- Bookish Lifestyle- Review
9/22/2016- Two Chicks on BooksInterview
9/23/2016- Mundie Moms- Review

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