LGBTQAI+: There is a side m/m relationship and a couple of minor mlm characters.

A lot happened in these 500 pages. I picked it up for nostalgia reasons because it seemed kind of like a "stereotypical" paranormal YA novel with the MC who has special powers, is surrounded by all kinds of supernaturals, but nobody knows what she is.

I actually ended up enjoying (most of) the book more than I expected. I was interested in what was happening with Ember, and I liked the supporting characters, especially Kai (reaper, Ember's cousin) and Quinn (human in a witch family). I also liked Tristin, despite her being an "unlikeable" female character for many. I liked that the werewolf pack in the book also welcomed humans and reapers as family.

But there were also many things I didn't like. For one, there were several minor female characters who seemed to just be there to be mean bullies. I know all bullies are messed up, but the things Stella did still seemed like huge overkill to me. I felt like this was a huge waste of female characters.

I was also lowkey comfortable with the way Kai and Rhys's relationship, and by extension the other minor mlm characters were treated. I can't really explain what my problem was, but their romance was mostly just frustrating to read, and I didn't like that the only other queer characters (Eric and Tate) seemed to be there as props to make Rhys jealous, with a complete lack of queer girls in the entire book.

And then there's Mace. Thing is: I LOVE immortal, morally grey, asshole characters. I liked Mace. But that doesn't mean I wanted him to get together with 17-year-old Ember. I realise this is paranormal YA, but if there's one thing I've seen to have grown out of, it's the "lying, murderous, stalker immortal boyfriend" trope. Fortunately, Mace has some character development by the end of the book, but their romance still didn't grab me at all.

I liked most of the plot, the twists, and the way all the puzzle pieces came together - but I felt like everything went downhill around 70% in. After a certain event happened, nothing really made sense to me. It felt messy, rushed, unnecessary, or a combination of those three.

That being said! There were a couple platonic "I love you"s that I loved. Wish there had been more.

tldr; I really enjoyed around the first 70% of this book, but not the last 30%. The main group of characters are great, though I have some issues with the really minor ones. Also, pretty much none of the main romances grabbed me.

This quote from Tristin about Mace was the best: "Tristin supposed one might think he was good looking if you were into the fallen angel thing and assuming you could overlook the soul slurping evil demon part."