2.75 stars

I didn't hate this book. It was fine. I almost gave it three stars. But as I thought more and more about it, I realized that it's not going to be a book I remember anything about in a couple of months. I took a week or so break from this book while I was on vacation and even then couldn't remember some of the points when I came back to it.

I give the author a lot of credit. It was obvious that she was trying to do something unique with the magic system. The problem is, I couldn't explain it to someone if I was telling them about the book. There were so many points that were vague and seemed underdeveloped to me. Although, that could also be a side effect of the book just not being memorable for me.

There is also a case of insta-love that I just couldn't get behind. And to be honest, I'm not sure how long these characters knew each other before the romance part of their relationship began. Again, there may have been a discussion of how much time had passed, but it seemed to be only a week or so. Yet Faris and North find themselves unable to control their passion for each other, even when they know that touching one another

makes their poisoning worse

. And then there is the fact that she just lost the person she saw as the love of her life a couple months before.
There was no foundation for them to begin a relationship. They didn't have any on-page interactions that provided any sort of basis for a romantic relationship.

I also felt like the characters could have been developed a little more. I don't feel like I know much about any of the characters, and none of them, with the exception of Bryn, has much of a personality to speak of. I understand Faris's motivation. She is trying to save her sister. Other than that, however, I don't really know much about her. Like I said, Bryn was the only character who had any sort of discernible personality.

I will say that it's obvious to me that the author has talent. The writing was compelling, even when the story ultimately wasn't for me.

I don't see myself picking up the next book in the series, but I would like to read something else from the author in the future.