i think that this book had a good idea for itself but author also wanted some romance (you know, aro/ace people doesn't exist so there had to be some love motive); but author also wanted it not to be another-straight-romance, typical, as Lumikki is not typical character (maybe too edgy sometimes for me, but cmone, I was growing up when emo was a thing); but i feel like its queer and not-queer, queerphobic at the same time (sorry if somebody sees it as a spoiler, i specify use word queer to not show what exactly relationship was it). i feel like all romance was pushed to like twenty-something pages and then - we forget about it. didn't hear about it earlier, won't really hear much about it later. while reading (and yes, you read this book fast) i was waiting for the story to come back to this, like it seemed, big part of a story, right? wrong. at least thats how i felt; like somebody was like - hey, we need some queer representation (and im not judging was it on a queer part good representation, i didn't like character cause they were an asshole, not bc they were queer) - here we go, okay, back to the plot. for me it felt bad.
i liked better first part, this one wasn't that bad, besides romance, but somethings felt un-real in real world; i know that there are some miracles in this world, but this many? to one character? Lumikki herself sometimes felt out of character, like not the person from the first part.

Lumikki Anderson-sarjan toinen kirja. Tapahtumapaikkana Praha jossa Lumikki viettää hyvin ansaittua lomaa, joka ei kovin kauaa ole lomaa, vaan muuttuu pakenemiseksi tappajilta ja oudossa lahkossa asuvan ehkäsiskon pelastukseksi. Jännittävä kirja jonka jälkeen jää odottamaan kolmatta osaa trilogiasta. En ihmettele että sarjan käännöoikeudet on myyty 33:n maahan!

Leider nicht so gut wie Teil eins, doch es war schön wieder etwas über Lumikki zu lesen.

Kyä mää vaan näistä tykkään. Omaan makuun tässä oli kuitenkin vähän liikaa romanttisia haikailuja. Ne ei vaan tunnu itsestä oleellisilta tähän genreen, vaikka ne toki syventääkin päähenkilön ajatus- ja tunnemaailmaa. Mutta jännä kirja oli taas, vaikkei silti ihan niin jännä kuin trilogian eka osa.

The second book in the series dedicated to young Lummiki, shows an increase in both the protagonist and the quality of the narrative. The story this time takes place in a sultry Prague, where the protagonist goes to recover from the stress of his previous adventure to find herself catapulted into a situation even more complicated, with a girl who claims to be her sister and a sect devoted to suicide led by classical guru rather ambiguous. Unfortunately, just when Lummiki believes she has finally found some clue that unravel the knot of her quite dysfunctional family, all events will begin to fall, and she will come back by the skin of her teeth.
Thank Amazon and Netgalley Publishing for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Secondo libro della serie dedicata alla giovane Lummiki, che mostra una crescita sia della protagonista che della qualità della narrazione. La storia questa volte si svolge in una Praga afosa, dove la protagonista va per riprendersi dalle fatiche della sua precedente avventura per ritrovarsi catapultata in una situazione ancora più complicata, con una ragazza che afferma di essere sua sorella e una setta votata al suicidio guidata dal classico santone piuttosto ambiguo. Purtroppo però, proprio quando Lummiki crede di aver finalmente trovato qualche bandolo che svolga la matassa della sua famiglia abbastanza disfunzionale, tutti gli eventi inizieranno a precipitare, e lei ne uscirà di nuovo per il rotto della cuffia.
Ringrazio Amazon Publishing e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.

Toivottavasti kolmas osa on superhyvä, tämä ei ollut. Äkkiä tämänkin lukaisi ja oikein mielellään, mutta ykkösosan kaltainen fiilis ei löytynyt.

Lasījās vislēnāk no visām trim grāmatām, bet bija diezgan interesanti. Labprāt un ar interesi ielūkojos citu cilvēku pasaules uztverē, šīs grāmatas tēma nebija iepriekš bieži redzēta grāmatās, tāpēc ne vien Lumiki bija nepieciešams uzzināt vairāk par sektām. Bet 4 zvaigznes varētu dot pat gandrīz stabili.

Lumikki has traveled to Prague with the plan to be anonymous. Her number one hope is to let everyone forget what she did to destroy Polar Bear’s crime ring. Her plans are quickly undone when an unknown woman, Lenka, tells her that they are sisters. Lumikki doesn’t believe Lenka, yet something feels right. It doesn’t take long for Lumikki to discover that Lenka’s life is full of secrets and sadness. As Lumikki’s life hangs in the balance, she must use everything she has learned to save herself and those around her.

As White as Snow is the second book in the Lumikki Andersson series. The book is short and the action is quick. These two combinations make this a book that can easily be devoured in one sitting. Simukka does some memory nudging with tidbits of information from the first book. These facts do not distract from the new story and readers will easily fall into this new adventure. This is a good adventure that can quickly be started, finished and moved past.

Despite being quite short for a YA novel, I really enjoyed this story. The plot was intriguing and the main character, Lummiki, once again managed to capture me with her bad-ass toughness and logical view of the world. However , compared to the first book in the series, As Red As Blood, I did feel there was less action in this story, with some parts of the plot not as fleshed out as they could have been. However, it was still a nice book to while away a long train ride.

While the first book began in the cold of winter, this second book starts in the oppressive heat of summer. Venturing to Prague for a holiday, Lumikki wants a few weeks to herself, away from her concerned parents and the new found fame that arose after she helped uncover a local crime-circle.

But mystery seems to follow Lumikki wherever she goes, and no sooner does she arrive in Prague when she is approached by a young woman claiming to be her half-sister. And as much as Lumikki wants to deny the claim, she suddenly finds herself plagued with nightmares that just maybe, are long suppressed memories from her childhood.

But Lenka is no ordinary girl, and suddenly Lumikki finds herself forced to flee for her life when she inadvertently uncovers a cult of religious fanatics… fanatics who wish to go out with a bang! And they plan on taking Lumikki and her new half-sister with them…

What originally captured me with these books was Lumikki’s character. After being extensively bullied as a child, she has grown up tough and independent, yet so emotionally scarred that she detests physical contact with strangers and is quite the loner. However she is still compassionate enough to help people in trouble, and so openminded that she often sees things that others would pass over.

While parts of her past are still only hinted at, this book saw quite a few things revealed through a series of flashbacks. There is no romance in this story, yet we finally discover more about the person who broke Lumikki’s heart last summer, and I’m really hoping they will make an appearance in the next book. Also Lumikki’s childhood remains a mystery - and although we have been give more parts to that puzzle - the picture is still not clear enough to see. A great way to assure that I will be reading the next book!

I also really enjoy Salla Simukka’s writing. Its vivid, while also being direct and to the point. The description is great and the suspense is usually high. Mainly told in Lumikki’s POV, a couple of scenes are written from the POV of mystery people and that certainly keeps the reader intrigued and guessing. However I did feel like the book finished a bit suddenly, and as I said before, parts of the plot could have been expanded on and given us a bit more meat to chew on, so to speak.

Ultimately though I enjoyed this story - probably more than I did the first which is unusual for me. However I now know more about Lumikki, and because I read this book more for the main character than anything else, that’s probably why As White As Snow appealed to me more.

Overall, the series has really captured my attention. 3.5 Stars!