This book has me so confused over how much I liked (maybe even loved) it, even though it has SO many glaring issues. 

What got me through was the amount of originality and subversions to keep me entertained, a writing style I really got on with, and a plot I was really invested in. I know I’ll definitely continue on with the series. 

At points I got annoyed by how naïve Mare is, but then I realised that the book never portrays her in any other way, and everything that came out of her naiveté and her delusions over her own power and success made perfect sense. 

However, there were still a lot of things I couldn’t get over: 

1. The world building left quite a lot to be desired. Reading the first chapter, every time a modern/tech thing was introduced I was shooketh. It wasn’t the vibe I was expecting, but it also rang a little false with the other descriptions. If Aveyard had whacked an obvious bit of tech on the very first page (where there was definitely space for it), it would all have felt a lot more natural.
The antiquated clothing also really didn't help. They’re all swanning around in rags, gowns or tunics, which is completely at odds with the modern tech vibes. Where are the jeans, trainers, any kind of modern clothing?? 

2. The plot points in the first half were all pretty obvious, but they definitely got more interesting as the book went on. 

3. The (apparently mandatory) romantic interest from the run-down hometown… Why is these kind of books is he always such a possessive, insecure bastard?? They always immediately go to 'how dare you decide to leave your real life/town/me' instead of taking two seconds to think about how bad it is for the gal and her reasons for making the choice (if she even had a choice). 

4. And then Mare is even WORSE at this. Her relationships (both romantic and otherwise) with EVERY SINGLE character are bizarre. A character will do one thing she doesn’t like and it’s a massive assault on her honour. She just decides about someone's whole ethos or worth on the flip of a coin, and never even thinks their own life and motivations apart from the ones she assumes of them. SPOILERS E.g. Cal being the 'enemy' for not (to her knowledge) wanting to join the guard, even though at the same fucking time she thought the guard were terrible and didn’t want to join them under a month before. Madness. And then at the end it doesn’t even cross her mind that Maven might be being controlled by his mother, even though THAT’S WHAT SHE FUCKING DOES. I’m sure that’s going to prove true in later books. 

5. Oh, and of course the only 3 boys she knows are all in love with her - why exactly? I couldn’t tell ya. 

6. Then coming to the Guard.

How the FUCK had their leader, who has done SO MUCH SHIT, never heard of a fucking COUP before??? Or never even had the thought to enact a coup without knowing its name??? And why in such a massive organisation has Kilorn managed to seemingly be her right-hand man out of fucking nowhere? He hasn't exactly done much to prove himself.

7.

But then, once Mare has brought this ‘wisdom’ to them at midday, the very next morning, not even 24 HOURS later, they enact the coup?? As if they could move and plan that fucking fast.

8.

Then coming to the final standoff, surely, SURELY, Arven could have been outside the arena/protected by the electric shield? And why didn’t they immediately plan to kill him to get her powers back??? Cal could’ve shot fire at him immediately and done him in. But no, it had to be Mare that shared this majestic 'wisdom’.

But even after all this ranting, I still had a really great time reading. What an interesting turn of events. Aveyard seems to have her hooks in me, and I don't mind one bit.