CW: torture, war

This was unexpectedly good. I was intrigued the premise, and it turned out to be a fascinating dystopian read. I liked the protagonist Lee’s voice, and Tera and Ama were arguably the best part of the novel; however, all of the characters were developed well and I even liked a good portion of them. The world-building was very unique and intricate, the story fast-paced and fun with high stakes. I also liked the complicated dynamics between various characters, and how they were affected by the world’s tyranny. I’m thinking of one forbidden slow-burn in particular. Yes, yes, yes!

There were two major twists in the end, and one definitely caught me by surprise. I think it was done really well. As for the other, I predicted it around halfway through. I found it kind of obvious based on information previously given to the characters, and then a death further weakens the effect, in my opinion.

That’s the only issue I really had with this book; the other reason I gave it 4 stars is because of school. It took nine days to read even though it’s <400 pages, and as more time passed I just wanted to finish it. So it wasn’t the book, it was me, but regardless I think having to draw it out lessened my enjoyment. If I had the time to read it in a day or two, there’s a very good chance it would’ve been a 4.5 or 5 star read.

I’m ending this review here because I’m sick and I want to start another book. Just know that this novel was extremely good and is absolutely underrated! Whether you like sci-fi and dystopian or not, I think this is worth your time.