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*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*

UPDATE: September 28, 2018

Here are just some my raw thoughts, book notes, and emotions while I was reading the book. I do not yet have time to write a full-pledged review but I thought it was about time my thoughts were added. This is really unorganized and I just skimmed it before adding it here, so sorry in advance.

GENERAL THOUGHTS: I genuinely enjoyed this book and I was so intrigued but I encountered a few problems

overall:
- each house/family has their own power (different social levels in the different houses, and different families in the house)
- The fact that bisexual characters are not a big thing in the book and are just plainly part of the story. i think this was a very nice touch to the story, especially adding to the fact that this is a YA fantasy story
- i was underwhelmed with some of the details
- but the world itself is actually pretty unique
“Sometimes we’re not who we want to be because we’re supposed to be something else”

plot:
- i need to say that this was not the best in terms of storyline, the world was something very unique to me
- i do think there was much more that could have been explored aside from the search for Lourdes, for Enne’s side
- for Levi’s side, I was actually pleased with how his story went to an extent. i loved his character and enjoyed his background story but there just could have been more
- it seemed like most of the interesting parts of the story all happened in the past or everything was a result of something in the past
- i get that this is the first book, but I feel like there could have been more exploration in the word.
- the world building throughout the story was the weak point here
- there wasn’t really anything that SURPRISED me

characters:
“I just kept thinking, looking at you, that you had a winning hand. You play like you’ve already won.”
“That’s the only real way to play.”
- GOSH I LOVE LEVI
- first of all, his descriptions were different
- he’s bisexual and this isn’t something that is a big deal in the world
“Her doll-like features, her determined dark eyes—how could anyone not notice her?”
- ENNE underwhelmed me half of the time
- i didn’t dislike her or anything. she was just there for me.
- i was able to relate to her, and though her personality was not weak, it was not something I would describe as strong either
- JAC AND VIANCA are the two characters i feel we could have a little bit more explanation for. i really think they could have been th eminor characters that everyone would have loved

Spoiler

- some characters (REYMOND) were kicked out of the story WAY too early without everything being properly establsihed yet
- there is a right time to kill off a character

“And every night he spent trapped in her empire, he dreamed of building empires of his own.”
- the relationships between the characters were actually good and heart warming and all that, i just wish that it was executed better, in a way that would make the readers REALLY feel their relationship and be able to relate to them

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UPDATE: August 25, 2018

“I never asked to be saved.”
“Everybody’s asking to be saved,”

This is the kind of books that you get you out of reading slumps. And I had no idea how much more I needed of this until I was close to finishing it.

I have a lot to say about this.

(( RTC ))