I went into this book not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. 

I know Nesta is hated by a lot, and I get it. But the healing journey she went on was so familiar in some ways and so well done. 

I love seeing the women come together and work through what holds them back.  The empowerment was inspiring. And strong women friendships are so underrated. 

The depiction of trauma was also really well done. Sometimes our triggers are the things you don’t expect, and seeing that conveyed in this book made me feel seen. I have issues with the cracking of the fire for different reasons, and it’s always felt so silly. But seeing that sort of thing shown for a character who I’d also define as tough was helpful to me. 

I’m still not Nesta’s biggest fan. But I can empathize with her. And these things aren’t black and white. She isn’t this terrible and irredeemable person. She’s a human with trauma and she’s just struggling to get through it. It doesn’t make the way she treated people okay, but I do think there is redemption for her. 

Overall, a really powerful read. (And I didn’t even mention the chemistry between Cassian and Nesta. Which was off the charts.)