I liked it. Plain and simple as that. I didn't knew what to expect, since the summary was like "mhm" for me and even though I knew it was inspired by "The Count of Monte Cristo", I haven't read it yet (even though I really want to do it for reasons), I wasn't feeling very strong about it. In my mind it was like, it's going to be a decent YA and just that.

I had a really good time reading it. I liked the characters, their motivations and the world that was being built around them. It took me aback when

we changed to a "third PoV" of the countess before understanding that the two PoV's weren't in synch at the beginning and Amaya was the countess

so I think it the author was trying to keep the mystery but didn't manage it quite smoothly, but I was invested enough to be like "okay, a little flop but I can keep going".

By the middle of it, I was totally in. The last part of the book was really exciting for me and now I'm eager for the second book. I really like when I come without knowing anything and having pleasant surprises like this one.