“I am always surprised to discover that when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light.”

4.5 stars

This was such a nice way to start the year. Truthfully, I had every intention of reviewing this the day I finished, however; I'm glad I waited. As much as I enjoyed it when I read it, I didn't realize just how much until I stepped away for a bit. I'd be reading another book and find that I was still thinking about this world, which is admittedly rare for me.

Likes

The writing style was beautiful. There was an atmosphere to this story that was entrancing, and a strange sense of foreboding that followed me as I read, because I knew they were running out of time and I truly wanted to see the conflict resolved.

As far as characters go, I loved Harper. I loved how strong and resourceful she was, even though she was a bit annoying at times. I never felt like there was a moment when I couldn't understand or at least sympathize with why she was making the decisions she made. (Also, the Cerebral Palsy rep was so nice to read about!)

Rhen... he grew on me, but for the longest time, I forgot he was part of the story. I found myself reading some of his scenes, thinking, "This is why no one has been able to love you." Not because he was a 'beast', simply because he was boring. He does get better, albeit slowly, but my heart still belongs to #TeamGrey

Grey. AHHH. I love him so much. He's precious and deserves to be protected at all costs, despite the fact he doesn't - in anyway - need someone else to protect him. This man is LETHAL, but underneath that he's precious and he deserves to be protected at all costs. :)

Dislikes

1.) I felt like it was a bit darker than it needed to be. There were some moments when I felt like there had been so much violence that I didn't really care by the end of the book, because it had become almost desensitizing. (It's more violent than most other YA series, but less so than, say, An Ember in the Ashes )

2. This is a really nitpicky one but! I felt like Kemmerer was building this beautiful relationship/chemistry between Harper and Grey but then, halfway through, suddenly remembered this was a B&tB retelling, and tried to push Grey to the backburner so Harper would pay more attention to Rhen.

3. The ending felt a bit rushed, and there were several times where I lost track of what had just happened/was happening. It wasn't bad, just a bit like whiplash.

Overall

This is a beautiful, atmospheric retelling that holds true to the spirit of the original story while still bringing something unique to the table and leaves readers wanting more. With that being said, I NEED the next book!!!