First off I absolutely love this cover!

Second off, I'm suing Tara Sim for emotional damages done by this book.

I have a working knowledge of the Count of Monte Cristo. I think all I know about the story is from Wishbone and I vaguely remember a movie with Antonio Banderas.

I was a bit hesitant with this book because lately I've been gravitating towards a bit fluffy and funny books. I felt like this would be a darker book, but wow was it such a good book. Also, I have a weakness for stabby gals.

Things I liked:
-Amaya's internal struggle with trying to figure out who she is.
-The Water Bugs
-the lgbtq+ rep (wow did Sim deliver. There was ace, trans, non-binary [also how she worked that into her story had me in an utter delight!], bi, demi, lesbian.)
-The world building
-Roach. He is best friend goals.
-Of course, stabby gals.
-Coya's internal struggle with trying to go right by his family.
I could go on but there's a word limit.

Things that I didn't like:

Spoiler

- Not enough Roach.
-Coya was sort of pursuing Amaya while he was sort of engaged to Romara.
-The ending wasn't very satisfying, but I understand Sim needed to set up the second book.

I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.