Snow Like Ashes

I really, really wanted to love this book. I loved the little prequel, [b:Icicles Like Kindling 23304663 Icicles Like Kindling (Snow Like Ashes, #0.1) Sara Raasch https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-4845f44723bc5d3a9ac322f99b110b1d.png 42859855], and I was really excited to start Snow Like Ashes because of the glimpse into Meira's early life... only to end up in disappointment.This book is by no means bad. The world, as in the setting of the story, is amazing, but the world-building itself is lackluster. I'm not sure if that makes any sense. Does that make any sense? I love the world, the land of Primoria. It has eight kingdoms. Four of them—the Season kingdoms—have only one season all year round, while the other four—the Rhythm kingdoms—have the rotating four seasons. I think it's brilliant. Each kingdom has unique traits and culture, and it really gives off the fantasy feel that I love in books or games. BUT. When it comes to the actual execution, there's not enough details to completely bring this world to life... and so the beautiful setting becomes a bit flat.Another thing that bothered me was Meira, the heroine. She's fierce and strong, true, but she's also immature, reckless, and awfully—I repeat, awfully—whiny. She often disobeys orders and throws tantrums, putting not only herself in danger but also everyone around her. What I dislike the most is how Meira often acts like this to advance the plot. At first it felt like a very convenient coincidence during her Lynia mission, but then it happened again in Cordell. In exactly the same way. I actually liked her complicated relationship with her father figure, Sir, but the tantrums she throws at him irks me most of the time. It was, however, understandable in some situations, and Meira does grow as a character as the story progresses.Actually, this book has a lot of situations that are too convenient to be true. It's made very clear right from the beginning too. Like how a councilman rambles about information he's not supposed to say, just so Meira can figure out the locket location. Or how Herod put Meira, a captive, onto her own horse and left the locket piece dangling nearby, just so she can snatch it and runs off. This isn't even all of it. Convenient. Way too convenient.Complaints aside, the plot starts picking up at around 50% through the book. That's when it finally started getting exciting for me, and I mostly enjoyed the rest of the story from that point on. There's a love triangle, but I fairly liked both of the guys. Especially Theron. Man, he's just so fascinating and has some of the best interactions with Meira. I feel that we still don't know much about him and Mather though, so I expect to see more depth in the second book. Also, there's the twist. It was predictable especially if you pay attention to Meira's dreams, but I quite liked it. The matriarchy in some of the kingdoms felt refreshing too.I love the concept and the setting.I wanted to love this book, really.But in the end, 3 stars is all I can give. ;_____;