It was fine I guess. I liked Nami a lot as a character and the way she was written, but I really didn’t feel like any other character got the same kind of attention. Additionally, the plot and world building could easily be made into a fantasy novel with very minor changes, and seemed a bit boring and average. It felt like a hybrid of several other YA series I’ve read, without much in the way of genuine world building.

Also, I hate when people try to say that plot twists or the romance makes it worthwhile because they never do for me. For one, this plot twist was fairly obvious about who would be involved. Also, it’s not enemies to lovers when the guy is just an ass. I feel like the author explored some really interesting ideals with AI and who deserves second chances and the morality of killing robots, but it didn’t get the page time it really deserved. That was spent in balls and on court intrigue. I feel like the ending itself also kind of cheapened everything. If humans were always meant to lose, why does Nami survive? So we can have our contractually obligated sequel? (I’m glad the author is making her money though!)

I also think that there just wasn’t enough tension in this nearly 500 page book. So much time was spent training and thinking and ~spying~ without much actually happening. I feel like about 100-150 pages of this could have been cut to a similar effect and a much tighter story.