I was so excited to dive into this book, even if I put off actually finally reading it for so long. It seemed like exactly the type of book I’d love, and for that reason it was one of my most hyped releases for early 2021. Unfortunately, while I did end up enjoying this book, I didn’t end up loving it (though I did give it a bonus star for how diverse it was!)

I think the main deterrent to me loving this book was that I never felt fully connected to the characters, especially Rovan. There was just some distance kept between me and the characters + their relationships, which also removed most of the urgency from the plot for me. I can’t quite pinpoint why I wasn’t able to fully connect with Rovan, but I just found it harder to support her specifically as the book went on (it was easy to hate her oppressors and want them dead, and the entire system overturned, but less easy to specifically want Rovan to succeed in her plans, especially when they became selfish). I also went into this book extremely excited about the romance (there’s very little poly + pansexual rep in books, and I was excited about that aspect of the story), but even that felt shallow and underwhelming. It was a bit too fast and sudden, and even if the romance came in later, it still didn’t get enough build-up beforehand.

As the book went on, my interest seemed to wane, and I found it harder and harder to get excited about continuing. I think overall my main issue with the book is that it just wasn’t quite enough, of anything. The world building wasn’t deep enough, and it felt like we got most of it right away, with very little being added on later. The romances and characters, while interesting at surface level, never quite felt fully finished. It was a book that could’ve been better if priorities were shifted towards fleshing out the characters + relationships and the world a bit more.

Overall, I did still enjoy my time with this and book and do want to try other books by this author, as the concept was unique, and I adored how diverse the characters were. I can definitely see myself enjoying other books by A. M. Strickland, even if this particular one wasn’t a favorite.