This was a very political intrigue...y? (that's a word, right?) sci-fi which is a big plus for me but I know that is a big turn off for others.

While I did enjoy the book overall and do plan to read the sequel, it's...a bit messy? I think it struggles with pacing in parts and that's coming from someone who can appreciate slow pacing to world/character/relationship build. The plot also became a little fuzzy to me at parts. I had to pause for a few minutes and refresh and go back to it.

My biggest issue was that there was a very clear disconnect between the political background of the world and the world of the characters. The main character spends most of the book in captivity while the whole world is crumbling in riots and chaos. We just hear of so much of it in passing and it happens off page yet has such importance to the world and book. I don't know what the reasoning behind that was. To me, it's as if reading The lunar Chronicles but as if Cinder or her crew never leave Levana's palace and just get told about the revolution by a guard. I hope there will be a new POV or shift in what is done off page vs. on page in the sequel

Rep: F/F romance own voice