Normally, I would rate each story in a book of short stories. Since each of these stories intertwine and lead up to the first Into Vermillion book, I feel it's more fair to rate the book as a whole. I picked this up as a freebie and I'm so glad I did! I actually bought the first book after reading just 3 or 4 of the stories. I'm very intrigued by the world the author has created and I can't wait to read more.