First read, will continue with the series, but as it was only the first read, it was an automatic 3 star and I would have to read it a second time to give it a proper rating. I would likely enjoy reading it a second time, but it would have to wait until next year.

Have since read again, just a few months after reading it the first time, and even though it has been a couple of days, and I've read (or completed) another book, I feel that I have finally gotten my thoughts together on this book.
I did enjoy the book just as much the second time as the first time and I feel that it was good enough that I am actually tempted to break my rule about borrowing ebooks from the library because I have a hard time focusing on reading a book when it is on a screen--I always want to make changes. :)
However, on a more serious note, the characters were memorable and I truly do think that she wrote them well. I did care for the characters, though there was one that I truly did not care for as much the second time around as I did the first, but I think that is more because I knew what was going to happen, in the end.
There is drama, and a feud, and there is someone attempting to keep the peace, if that were possible. Each character had their own personality and they were well written, the plot was more than a typical high school drama plot (though that was involved as well), and it kept you interested from start to finish. I actually had to force myself to slow down on reading it the second time, because I have to say that it is a book that deserves to be savored. Is it on my list of favorites? No, but it is very close. It has a very good chance of making it on my list of top books read in 2020. I put a four star down, but in reality, it was more like a four point seventy-five star rating for me (which is completely subjective to my whim of the moment).