Ice Like Fire by Sarah Raasch (Ice Like Fire book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book the series, Snow Like Ashes, Stop! I don’t want to ruin one of my favorite series for you.

Check out Epic Reads if you need a recap of Snow Like Ashes. Please visit the Recaptains blog if you need a refresher on the first book in the series.

Three months have passed since both Meira and Mather’s worlds were turned upside down when Sir told the truth about who they really were. Meira is the true heir of Winter whereas Mather is really the son of Sir(William), Hannah’s guard and his wife Allyson. Both are struggling to accept the roles they were handed and overcoming the lies of the past. The kingdom of Cordell is aiding Winter to regain its footing since the defeat of King Angra of Spring. Since King Noam of Cordell nullified the engagement between Prince Theron and Meira, Winter’s repayment for accepting Cordell’s help is to locate the lost chasm of magic beneath the Season Kingdoms, as well as jewels mined during the search. Theron is not ready to give up on Meira. Mather hasn’t talked to her since their return to Winter but he still loves the girl he grew up with.

Finn and Greer searched throughout Primoria to see if they could find evidence of Angra’s survival. The appearance of two Winterians in the Rhythm Kingdoms of Yakim and Ventralli was noticed. The queens from both kingdoms sent gifts to Meira to congratulate Winter on its victory over Spring. They also issued invites for Meira to visit each of their kingdoms. Greer speculates that with Noam’s hands in both Autumn and Winter, Spring would be an easy conquest. He believes that Angra is nowhere in Primoria. Everyone on Meira’s Winterian council believes Angra to be dead. Knowing that a ruler becomes the conduit when the Royal Conduit is broken in defense of a kingdom, Meira fears that Angra is alive and now holds Spring’s magic, just as she does Winter’s. If he does, she is terrified that the Decay would become limitless.

When Meira infuses magic into her subjects upon the opening of the Tadil Mine, she has already grown weary of the process. She fears magic will once again become uncontrollable and the Decay will become rampant if the chasm is found. When an explosion occurs shortly after, she and the council rush to see the damage. A miner resurfaces with the news that they believe the lost chasm has been found. Meira’s dead mother, who is able to communicate with her now that Meira is Winter’s conduit, cannot believe that they were so close to finding it before being conquered by Spring. Everyone enters the mine and finds the other miners standing outside of a chamber. Meira enters and sees that Theron has come with her into the chamber. Seeing that there is a door in the chamber, she and Theron examine it. They see three symbols with a keyhole under each. The words, ”Order of the Lustrate”, are carved on the door. Fearing what Noam will do now that the chasm has been located, she is dismayed to see Theron is excited over the find. Trying to get away from Theron, the two trip and fall, touching the door. When they touch it, Meira finds that a burning heat consumes the ice that is usually in her veins. Unable to communicate with her mother, Meira sees that Theron is unaffected. Screaming in pain, she blacks out. While out, Meira gets a glimpse of what may have happened to Theron while he was held prisoner by Angra in Abril. Angra remarks that his father won’t save him. He and Theron are more alike than he realizes. Theron screams that he didn’t kill her.

Meira awakes in a small room watched over by Theron and Sir. She tries to tell them about the chasm being dangerous and it shouldn’t be opened. Theron disagrees and says that is exactly what needs to occur. Wondering if what she dreamed about his interaction with Angra, Meira suddenly finds her magic gathering and this time she is unable to control it. It strikes Sir and his strength causes him to break the door off the hinges. He asks her why she did that and Meira says that her magic was affected in the chamber. Sir tells her that they will work it out and send someone else down to investigate who isn’t tied to a conduit. Meira objects that it is too dangerous but Theron is adamant that they explore it for the good of the kingdoms.

When Noam arrives in Jannuari for the payment ceremony, Meira feels as if Theron has betrayed her when he informs his father that the lost chasm has been found. Heading into the palace, Sir join them, dismayed by the turn of events. Theron tells Meira to trust him, that they need Cordell to open the door and harness the power before Angra resurfaces. Sir believes that Angra is dead. While telling his father about the find, Meira sees how excited Theron is and suddenly recalls where she saw the Order of the Lustrate before. It was in a book called The Magic of Primoria that she and Theron read back at the palace in Bithai. Meira knows that she could never recover the book with rousing Noam’s suspicions. Theron suspects that the three symbols carved in the door are clues to where the keys are hidden; the kingdoms of Summer, Ventralli and Yakim. Noam wants no one else to know about the possible link to the other kingdoms. He is sending Meira and Theron to look for a way to open the chamber. She is looking to get some answers while Theron seeks a way to unlock the door. Meira is determined to find a way to keep Winter safe.

Has the lost chasm of magic really been found? Who is the Order of the Lustrate? Can Meira and Theron find the keys? Why do the kingdoms of Ventralli and Yakim want Meira to visit? Will Meira forgive Theron for telling Noam about their discovery? What happened to Meira’s connection to Hannah when she touched the chamber door? Can Mather forgive William about lying about his parentage? What happened to Theron while he was held by Angra? What are Noam’s real motives for helping Winter? Can Meira and Mather repair their strained relationship? Who will capture Meira’s heart; Theron or Mather?

Fans will be eagerly waiting for the final book in this trilogy in 2016. In the meantime, readers can enjoy this short story, Flames Like Vines about Ceridwen on Wattpad.

Visit Sara Raasch’s website.

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

“A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.”

Primoria is composed of eight kingdoms; the four Rhythm and four Seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. The Rhythm Kingdoms blame the Seasons for losing Primoria's source of magic. The Seasons' land sits on top of the chasm where the ball of magic resides deep in the ground. Each King and Queen in Primoria possesses a portion of that magic in a conduit of some type to help their kingdoms. The Rhythm Kingdoms hate that this is all of the magic they can use since the Seasons Kingdoms have lost the entrance to the chasm over time. The Rhythm Kingdoms cycle through all four seasons in a year whereas the Seasons stay in one forever.

King Angra Manu of Spring broke Winter's conduit locket sixteen years earlier when he destroyed the kingdom. The Winter Kingdom “used to be home to more than a hundred thousand Winterians, and most of them were massacred in Spring’s invasion. The ones who weren’t now sit in work camps throughout Spring.”  Twenty-five Winterians originally escaped. Now only eight remain free, hidden in the barren, unwanted Rania Plains of Summer. Their mission is to find and rejoin the two halves of the conduit locket. The locket is needed so that Winter can regain their standing as a kingdom and find allies in the fight against Spring. Unfortunately, the conduit is female-blooded and the only Winter heir is male. It isn’t known if the magic will work when the conduit is put back together.

Mather is the future King of Winter and one of the eight refugees. William leads the small group in their attempts to reclaim the conduit halves. Having rescued Meira as an infant, William refuses to let her call him father so everything was yes, sir and no, sir. Sir stuck as the name she calls him. Everyone has a part to play in the group, even the young heir. Meira is not allowed by Sir to go on any of the group’s missions. She and Mather have literally grown up and trained together. Even though she has been in love with Mather forever, she knows that as heir, he must marry a princess in order to produce a female heir to wield Winter’s magic. When a scouting party returns to the camp with word that part of the locket is now in Lynia, Meira sees it as her opportunity to finally contribute to the group. William will have to send out fresh people. As she is getting ready to ask to go, William tells Mather and Finn that they are to leave immediately. William will not let her go because he doesn’t think she is ready. Meira has yet to beat Mather during their hand-to-hand combat training. Just then, Mather lies about an injury that Meira gave him when she beat him in their last fight. Meira is shocked that Mather would lie for her and she knows that Sir is skeptical but would never risk Mather’s life. Sir tells Meira to help him back to camp and then go get her chakram.

When Meira and Mather are alone, she squeals and gives him a hug. He keeps her close and gives her a piece of lapis lazuli that he found on their travels when they were children. He carries because he has always liked to think that it might contain a bit of magic and it helped him to feel stronger. Mather wants her to have it. She thanks him but Mather says that she deserves the right to fight for their home as anyone else. She “helps” him back into camp and cannot help but wonder what their lives could be like if they could actually be together. Meira is finally getting the chance to help the kingdom of Winter, something she has always wanted.

It takes Meira and Finn two days to reach the port city of Lynia. They split up in an attempt to enter the city undetected. Making her way past the guards at the gate by implying she is a prostitute, Meira heads towards the Keep where she is to meet up with Finn. She crawls up the side and finds Finn waiting on the balcony for her outside of the city master's office. Sir figures that the locket half will be hidden somewhere in the cellar, locked. The key will probably be kept in the office. Finn waits on the balcony while Meira riffles through the desk. She cannot find any keys when voices can be heard outside the office door. She is able to make out the words "Welcome, Herod." Meira meets Finn's eyes and she realizes that it is none other than General Herod Montego, a man that brings memories of fear, gore and horror. She sees an envelope under a paperweight and grabs it before hurrying out to the balcony where she and Finn hide when several people enter the office. The letter she found contains a report on the population of each Labor camp housing Winterians. They are both horrified to see how few of them remain. They are both brought back to reality when the city master asks that it be moved immediately before anymore Winterian scum descend upon the city. Meira and Finn realize the locket half is still in the Keep. There is a discussion about whether to move it or not when the city master notices that the letter is missing from the desk. Herod states that they are not alone.

The balcony curtain opens as Finn and Meira jump from the balcony. Herod sees that they are Winterians and orders the city locked down. Meira makes the decision to grab ahold of a window ledge instead of dropping to the ground. She pulls herself inside the window of a darkened room. She looks back out the window and sees Finn running. She doesn't wave to him in fear of drawing attention to herself. Their plan was to meet up outside of the city walls. Meira makes the decision to stay behind since she is so close to recovering the locket half. She knows that Finn will head back to the camp alone when she fails to return. Meira images what Sir will think. For now, Meira must figure out how to retrieve the locket half and remain undetected.

It's not long before Herod sounds the alarm and Meira unfortunately finds herself in the barracks. Running, she comes to a locked door and ends up kicking it in. She descends the steps and finds herself in the sewer. Meira also finds the locket half. She is unable to escape and Herod ties her up, grabs the box with the locket half and begins to take her to King Angra. With a knife hidden up her sleeve, Meira begins to cut through her ropes. It's not long before she breaks free as she grabs the locket. Her horse flies through the sewer and she is able to slip under the city gate before the soldiers close it. After riding two days, Meira finds her way back to camp. Sir, Finn and Mather are in the meeting tent and don't hear her enter. They are discussing a plan of action to rescue her. She is noticed and walks toward the table where she places the box with the locket down. Sir is speechless until he sees her covered in filth and sends her for a bath. He isn't going to be sending her on any more missions.

Meira is thinking about how she feels no connection to Winter now that she was successful in her mission. Mather comes to check on her. He knows something is wrong if she barely yelled at Sir. He looks over at her bruise and her heart skips. Mather tells her that Sir values her but he hates to see a world where she must be a soldier and not a carefree young lady. He tells her that she would have survived even if she didn't have the lapis lazuli. Meira asks if he thinks her success is tied to a rock when it hasn't helped him in the past. She sees him as a future King that Angra should fear. Meira withdraws from him when she thinks about the separate courses their lives will soon have to take if Mather is to have a female heir. The air crackles between them and Meira tries to pull away when she sees the shadows. Five Spring scouts come out of the trees. Weaponless,  Mather pulls Meira towards the camp while the scouts steal horses to ride back to Angra.

What happens now that their camp has been discovered? Who survives and where do they flee? Can Meira find the second half of the conduit locket? Will it restore magic to Winter? Why doesn't Meira feel a connection to the kingdom of Winter? Will Meira be able to put aside her feelings for Mather? Is the lapis lazuli just a rock or did Mather find a conduit of magic?

Book two in the trilogy will be published in 2015.

Visit Sara Raasch’s website.

“Icicles Like Kindling is a glimpse into Meira’s life before the events of Snow Like Ashes that was originally going to serve as the prologue to the book. In it, you will get a taste of the kingdom of Autumn, meet some of Meira’s fellow refugees, and get an introduction to the wicked danger that will soon plague them…” It can be found at https://www.scribd.com/doc/241378416/ICICLES-LIKE-KINDLING or http://www.epicreads.com/blog/read-an-exclusive-prologue-to-snow-like-ashes/

It is not a necessary read but the two of the characters are mentioned in parts of the book.

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (Winner's Trilogy book 1)

“Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.”

While visiting the market with her friend Jess, Kestrel ends up at an impromptu gambling table. With Jess off looking, Kestrel knows that she will be in trouble with her father, General Trajan, the highest ranking general in the Valorian army, for being unattended. She finds Jess at a vendor booth looking at a pair of Topaz earrings. She hears the price and before thinking, publically calls the woman out for lying; the Topaz stone is really glass. Seeing the attention she has raised, Kestrel backpedals so as not to get the vendor, a freed Herrani slave, in trouble. She pays full price for the earrings and everyone’s attention is diverted. Jess sees that Kestrel is down and offers to buy her some sheet music in the hopes of raising her spirits. She tells Kestrel to close her eyes and grabs her hand. When Jess expectantly stops, the two girls discover that they have expectantly ended up at the slave market. 

Kestrel and Jess find themselves pinned in with no hopes of leaving. The first slave brought out is a young man of nineteen. His hair is brown but his skin is dark from having worked outside. The auctioneer says that the young man would make a fine house slave and the audience laughs at his joke. The bidding starts low. The auctioneer says that he was trained by a blacksmith and the bidding increases but is still low. Kestrel feels ill and Jess promises to get her out as soon as they can leave. The auctioneer asks the audience once again if they think he would make a fine house slave since he can sing. The auctioneer asks him to sing but the slave refuses. Everyone witnesses the request. The auctioneer is furious. Kestrel looks up at the slave and places a high bid. Everyone there sees that the bid was placed by the general's daughter and the bidding skyrockets. Kestrel finally bids fifty keystones, a hefty price, and buys the slave. It is more money than she has on hand and feels sick. The woman standing beside her remakes that she has the Winner's Curse. She got caught up in the moment only to regret it in the end.

Heading down to make payment, Kestrel is surprised that the auctioneer is waiting on her. He says that he couldn’t let anyone else wait on a customer as important as her. Jess asks is she can speak to some friends of her father’s and goes to the other side of the room. Kestrel tells him that she cannot make full payment at this time. She tells the auctioneer that she can pay the rest later. Kestrel is afraid if she leaves the slave behind that the bruise on his cheek now won’t be the only one he has when she returns. Too clever, the auctioneer offers to accompany Kestrel home with her purchase and she reluctantly agrees. Jess and her father’s friends watch them leave and Kestrel knows that she will hear about this from her father. She hates the conformities of her society and the rules she is expected to follow. She also knows that any of her father’s soldiers would lay down their lives for hers. Her father expects her to join the military as well, but that is not what she wants out of her life. At her home, Kestrel sends the housekeeper off to fetch the steward, Harman. She counts out the remainder of the money she owes him and says that there shouldn’t be any fresh marks on Smith, the name of the slave. The auctioneer thanks her for her business and leaves. Harman demands to know how much this new slave was and Kestrel says that she will tell her father. Harman wants to know what to do with him but is pleasantly surprised to find out that he is a blacksmith. He is ready to send him to the forge but Kestrel wants to know if he will sing. Smith says “no” in her own language and turns away, his hair hiding his face. Kestrel tries to appear unfazed and tells Harman to see to it that he has a bath and cuts his hair. When she feels Smith starring at her, it dawns on her that contempt is what she sees in his eyes.

At dinner with her father, Kestrel asks him about his day. General Trajan has been working with the new recruits. He questions where Jess is if she accompanied her to the market earlier in the day. She didn’t and before she explains why, she admits that she spent fifty keystones today. He is more concerned over the fact that she was unaccompanied in the city again and not happy to hear that the auctioneer and slave were her escorts. Kestrel claims she doesn’t need an escort and her father agrees that she wouldn’t if she enlisted. A woman solider is trained to defend herself. She is tired of following customs that she deems absurd. Her father wants her to be a soldier so that she can strategize not fight with him. He reaches for her hand and tells her that the rules belong to the empire. If she joins the fight, she will gain her independence. Don’t and she must accept its constraints. She must live by the law and not complain. Kestrel quietly stands and leaves. She goes down the hall to the room that houses her mother’s piano. She opens the French doors to the night air and breathes in. She begins to play.

After a luxurious bath, the slave spends three days alone without a task assigned to him. He spends his time surveying the general’s estate, memorizing the layout and comings and goings. While sitting on a hill, he notices Harman, the steward, huffing towards him, irritated. He takes him to the forge where another Herrani slave is waiting. He has noticed her at meals and knows that she works in the house. She is flustered by having to translate for Harman. He has decided that since Lady Kestrel cannot be bothered by him, he will put him to work. Today, he will start by making horseshoes. The test will be to see how many he can make in a day. Also, since he knows how to shoe horses, he will be doing that tomorrow. The slave decides to pass the test he has been given. He proves his worth but makes sure that the job takes all day. He does just enough to satisfy but not enough to draw attention. About one week after the auction, Jess sends Kestrel a note asking for her advice on what to wear to Lady Faris’s picnic, the social event of the summer. She ends the note by saying that her brother has been asking about her. Before she can reach the stables, Harman wants to know who her escort will be; her father has left orders. He then asks her what her plans of employment will be for the slave she bought. Kestrel claims to have forgotten him. Place him wherever you see fit.

While working in the stables on afternoon, Kestrel asks Smith to look at her horse’s shoe. It is a huge war horse that she named Javelin. She speaks Herrani well and it unnerves him. Smith speaks before he can think and asks about the horse’s name. When she explains what the Valorian word means, he inadvertently tells her that he knows that. She tells him that she named the horse when she was young and he says that it suits the horse. Kestrel comments that his name doesn’t suit him. He tells her that his name is really Arin. Later, Kestrel goes to see her former nurse, Enai, who she freed. With her mother dead, Enai is who Kestrel seeks for comfort. Kestrel knows Enai has already heard the rumors of her buying Arin. She breaks down to the old woman, admitting that she made a mistake.

Walking back to the barracks one night, Arin hears someone playing the piano and he realizes that he hasn’t been dreaming. He goes to investigate even though it means that he will be late for curfew. Walking around the house, he sees Kestrel playing the piano. With the room lit up, he knows that he can safely watch her from the shadows.

Kestrel takes Arin as her escort to Jess's house. Instead of sending him off to the kitchens, she has him remain in the parlor with her. Dressed for the part, Arin almost blends in with the wall but Kestrel finds him hard to ignore. His clothes hide the scars of ten years' worth of labor but she finds herself thinking that he was hiding much more than scars. Looking bored, she suspects that he was able to follow every word of the Valorian conversation. Gossiping over the picnic, Jess hears that Lady Faris will be presenting her new baby to society. Kestrel thinks it is a bold yet perfect move for her since she suspects that the baby is illegitimate. Shocked, Jess asks why she thinks that. Kestrel has seen the baby and it doesn't look anything like Faris's older children. Jess makes the comment that the god of lies must love her. Kestrel hears the sharp intake of breath from Arin before he says in perfect Valorian, for Jess to repeat herself. She means the Herrani god of lies since the Valorians don't have gods. Kestrel stands up and remembers Arin's actions during the auction and orders him to stand down. He is furious and questions Jess of how she knows that his god loves Kestrel. Trying to play off the situation, Jess comments that "Kestrel sees the truth of things so clearly." Arin doubts that and Jess wants Kestrel to do something with her property. Arin tells her that she sees the truth because people let her believe she does. Thinking back to the day she bought the topaz earrings, Kestrel asks Jess if she can borrow them. She and Arin leave.

Kestrel takes the earrings to a jeweler to see if they are real or not. Arin asks to leave her at the store while he visits a friend. Turns out he goes to see Cheat, the slave auctioneer. Cheat asks Arin to report on everything he has learned at the general's house; layout, the general's comings and goings and any mentions of the military. It seems that Arin has been set up as a spy. He wants to know why Cheat didn't tell him Kestrel was a musician. He did think it seemed relevant. Arin heads back to Kestrel. In the meantime, Kestrel discovers that the earrings are really just glass. She is relieved.

Who was Arin before he became a slave? Why did Kestrel buy Arin? Can he really sing? Why does she consider her purchase a mistake? Who was Arin before he became a slave? Why is he spying on General Trajan? Will Kestrel be able to break from the customs of Valorian society? What happens in Kestrel and Arin’s relationship may cost her everything?

Readers will be eagerly awaiting book two, The Winner’s Crime in 2015.
Book 0.5, Bridge of Snow,  is a free short story that is almost s fairy tale but gives the reader insight into what Arin's life was like when he was a child. It can be found at: http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/01/bridge-of-snow-marie-rutkoski

Visit Marie Rutkoski’s website.

The Silver Sea by Julia Golding

“The world is filled with unlikely heroes.”

Norway, 880 A.D.
Sixteen-year-old Freydis and her older brother, Toki are awaiting the arrival of their Viking leader father, Ohthere after being away for almost a year. Unbeknownst to them, he will be leaving immediately to hunt down Sulke the Pirate, with whom he holds a blood grudge against. But before Ohthere’s arrival home, Sulke attacks the stronghold. After being wounded in the upper leg, Freydis is hidden by Toki in the new privy hole during the raid. When she crawls out of the hole when all is cleared, she sees nothing but complete devastation and soon realizes that Toki is now Sulke’s prisoner.

Before Ohthere goes home, he stops to make a trade with a silversmith. At the shop he sees Blue Man, aka Enno, a man from the North African coast who has lived as a slave in the north most of his life. Enno refuses to act like a slave since he was a prince in Africa. Ohthere decides to purchase Blue Man as Freydis’ first slave and bodyguard. Upon his arrival home, he is stunned to see only Freydis remaining. Ohthere is a cruel father who values his son and doesn’t believe Freydis is his daughter. In her weakened state, she is carried aboard the ship and sets sail in an attempt to rescue Toki. As the voyage continues, Enno and the crew begin to feel pity for the girl over her father’s outright rejection.

The story is told in alternating perspectives of Freydis and her journey of self worth and Toki’s imprisonment with Sulke and leads up to the epic battle with a surprising ending.

Visit Julia Golding’s website.