5 stars

They had all been ravaged by the generation that had come before them, told to feast on scraps and to be thankful for it.

The characters are always the most important part of any book for me, and this book's characters definitely didn't disappoint. Both Cayo and Amaya feel like complex people from page one and there is not a single simple thing about them and their characterization. Right from when you first meet them, you can tell that there's more to their stories than meets the eye and I loved that so much about them. Their motivations, backstories, and relationships were also really well-crafted and complex and I loved it so much!! Both of them have so many layers to their character and we truly love to see it!!! I adore both of them with my entire being and I absolutely cannot wait to see what they get up to in the second book.

The plot of this book was also on another level!! Usually, I don't care about the plot of the book nearly as much as I care about the characters, but in this one, I was invested. I may have also screamed at the book multiple times while reading, but we don't speak of that. It's sort of a mystery plot and I was very invested in it and determined to guess the plot twist before it came, which didn't end up happening and I ended up being very shocked by it!! It was very good!! Also?? The pacing in this book is incredibly well-done. It pulled me in right from page one and did not let go for a second after because there was always something interesting happening. Whenever I picked this book up, I would end up binging 100+ pages at a time because I could not put it down.

This book also truly said "Fuck rich people everywhere!" and I have to respect that. There was some really good discussion on how the upper class is willing to do anything to hold on to their wealth and power and how it consistently throws the middle and lower class under the bus and it was just,, *chef's kiss*! I absolutely adored the politics of this world and I cannot wait to see how they are expanded upon in book two!!

Last but not least, I absolutely fell in love with the setting from page one. The setting is not something that I usually talk about in books because it isn't often something that affects my reading experience, but in this case, it was so good!! It was very atmospheric and I felt immediately transported to the seaside town by all the gorgeous descriptions of it. Because I read an arc, I didn't have a map in my copy of this book, but I would very much like one.

I am now wondering which demon I have to sell my soul to in order to acquire the second book as soon as possible.

Disclaimer: I won an ARC of this book in a giveaway, but this in no way impacted my review.
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everything about this book is amazing, but most importantly,,, Cayo and Amaya own my heart
in conclusion,