Read my full review at between-the-shelves.com!

Trigger warnings: drug/alcohol abuse, violence, torture, suicidal thoughts, slut shaming, attempted sexual assault, family issues, loss of a friend

Like Maas's other books, the world-building in this book was phenomenal. Instead of info-dumping all the information at the beginning, we get small details throughout that help orient us to this new world. And what an expansive world it is! I will say a list of characters will be so helpful when the final book is published. There were none in the ARC, and I kept wishing I could go back and look at a list.

Bryce and Hunt are probably my favorite Maas couple. Throughout the book, Bryce pokes fun at Hunt for being kind of a jerk, and Hunt gives it right back. Bryce isn't perfectly flawless; she acknowledges her flaws and works through them. It's not love at first sight for both of them, either. Since this is classified as adult, I thought this would be steamier than her other books, but it wasn't! There were some moments, but it wasn't overpowering.

Despite everything I loved about this book, I do think it could have been shorter. It clocks in at about 800 pages, which isn't surprising for an SJ Maas book. A lot of the events are important to the overall story, but there were moments that could have been cut. Especially if this is going to be a series. What more could possibly happen?? I know the answer is yes, there's just a lot that went down in this book.

Anyway, that was my main complaint, outside of the excessive use of "male." Which made sense in the context of the world, but it was still kind of annoying. 

----------
Really 4.5 stars. This is amazing and might be my favorite book from SJ Maas. More to come in a full review later this week!