I listened to the first 20 chapters of this on audiobook. I almost DNF’d at that point because I just could not focus on what was going on. I decided to pick up my physical copy to see if it was just one of those books I need to actually sit down and read to connect to. I’m not sure if that was the case, but the last third of this book was really engaging and kept my interest.

I don’t know that this book brought anything new to the YA fantasy table. Elements of it reminded me of the Grisha trilogy and any other number of series. It just wasn’t super unique. I found the middle third of the book pretty slow.

There is a love triangle in this book which is just completely unnecessary. I would’ve preferred if her crush over Mather would’ve remained just that, a crush. I really didn’t care for Mather. He was bland and forgettable for a majority of the book. I did end up liking him better near the end of the book, but not as a romantic interest. Why does every YA fantasy do this?!
I did like Theron as a love interest and wish Mather had been left out of the equation altogether. I liked that his relationship with Meira feels genuine. He sees her and treats her as an equal. I also like that, while he is fully capable of fighting and protecting himself, he is more interested in artistic and intellectual pursuits.

There is a twist near the end of the book that I completely saw coming almost from the beginning of the book. There are many not-so-subtle attempts at foreshadowing this twist. That being said, I thought the actual revelation was handled pretty well, and knowing it was coming didn’t make it feel anti-climactic to me.

I was excited to pick up the second book until I found out it is from both Meira’s and Mather’s perspectives. And I have read a couple reviews saying the love triangle drama increases. Whyyyyyyy??