I really wanted to love this book, as I love Tara Sim's Timekeeper trilogy, but it was just okay. This is probably a case of me not being the correct reader for the book than any fault on Sim's part. I also haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo, of which this is a gender-swapped retelling, so I don't know if that would've made me like it better. As is, you don't need any knowledge of the source material to read or enjoy this book.

The pacing was slow and a little off in sections. I am an impatient reader, so pacing is almost always one of my complaints. I liked the POV characters well enough (Amaya was complex enough to hold my attention, and I love characters like Cayo who are trying to recover after screwing everything up), but it was missing that spark for me to make it extra special.

Even though this wrapped up and resolved the major conflicts of it, it all feels like set-up for the sequel where most of the action will happen. This is definitely a character driven novel, not plot driven.

The writing was solid, and I loved seeing the bisexual rep in Cayo's character and the book showing his attraction to both, and it wasn't a big deal for anyone. It just was. We're seeing more and more YA books like that, and I hope it continues. I really, really, really loved that the romance subplot didn't take over the entire novel. even though it easily could have.

Hand this to readers who like stories of revenge, casual queer rep, false identities, and retellings.