[ETA, May 2025: Rating raised from 4.5 to 5 stars. I’ve been sitting on this for a while, and finally decided that they deserve it. Almost a year and a half after reading the book, I still think about Stella and Christian often. I compare other characters to them. I was so offended when I found out in King of Greed that

they got married

and I wasn’t invited. Ana has really written

wedding scenes

for every couple except my favorites, who only get single lines acknowledging it happened, and it’s so rude. Anyway. Yeah. These two absolutely deserve 5 stars.]

I love Stella and Christian. I love them so much. But I hate what Christian did; it’s creepy as hell. I hate the whole act three breakup, and honestly, most of the very end of the book. It felt like Ana was trying to do too much, trying to turn a romance into a thriller, and it ruined the vibe of what otherwise would’ve been a perfect book. We were so close. (2025 Liv: Hush, it’s still perfect.)

I mean that, too. I was having such a blast from the very first page, and up till all of that crap started, I was convinced I had finally found another Ana book I loved as much as King of Pride.

But, I’ll admit, the scenes with the whole crew were highly entertaining, and all of the epilogue and bonus scene stuff was absolutely adorable. As is the fact that he calls her Butterfly. That got me in the feels every time, without fail. 💚

Additionally, I have to give Christian genuine kudos for

respecting Stella’s boundaries after the breakup

. He

left her alone in every sense of the phrase, wrote about his feelings, even managed to turn the whole thing into a semi-romantic gesture in the end

. I do believe that’s the most mature way a guy in this series has ever handled a relationship crisis.

(Yes, I’m looking at you, Alex.)

Although, on a less-than-impressed note, the fact that Stella was

about to die

and her ~big realization~ was that

Christian would never drug or kidnap her like Julian did and so he’s The One

… are you kidding me??? Girlie, that’s the absolute bare minimum in a relationship. The bar is so low, it’s underground. Sigh.

But anyway. I do love these fools, despite everything. They’re too charming for their own good.

Final series ranking:

Representation: