"Never corner a man on a losing streak. Desperation is deadlier than a bullet."

I really enjoyed this! Which makes me VERY happy because I got it in the January Owlcrate box and I LOVED LOVED LOVED the pin it came with so now I can say I loved the book too!

I've never read The Count of Monte Cristo and I didn't really know any of the premise behind it (besides the revenge plot). From reading a few other reviews it looks like some people who had read the original didn't enjoy this book so much, so I'm glad I came in fresh! I seem to usually enjoy pirate/sea/ship/etc books, and this was no exception.

"It's funny, isn't it, how you only ever see the surface of a person? I feel like most of the time, beneath my surface, I'm drowning. And no one can see it."

I really enjoyed the twisty, turny plot- especially at the end! A buuunch of twists that I wasn't expecting. There were a few areas that I think could've been cut down-- I could've done without some of Cayo's forays through the city-- but overall I thought everything flowed pretty well. Amaya was likeable and it was fun to root for her to get some answers. The relationship between Amaya and cayo was obviously a highlight for me, bc I love a Romance, and I'm excited to see where the sequel takes them!

The beginning was definitely slow. It was hard to find the determination to focus and get a feel for the characters. The timeline is a bit wonky for the first bit and though I figured out fairly quickly what was happening, it was still a bit difficult to get a grasp on. I'm not super enthralled by the world building; some of the mentions of different areas or groups of people were never fully explained (I'm guessing we'll learn more in the sequel) so I never got full clarity or investment. Also, none of the side characters really grabbed me- I did like Soria and Roach- but no one super stood out.

Overall, really happy with this and will definitely pick up the sequel! Also, Bay Area author- yay!