I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I got it at some point in the past as an extra book in a subscription box. I hadn't heard much about it, and it promptly went onto my shelves as I picked up other books that were on my radar. Over time, I kind of forgot about it.

I picked this up on a whim yesterday as a sort of pallet cleanser to all of the fluffy romances I'd been reading for the past couple of weeks. Literally all I knew about this was that it was a dystopian.

I ended up enjoying this book quite a bit. It was a quick read with quite a bit of action to keep the plot moving.

It isn't perfect. There is a serious case of insta love (on one character's part, not really the other's) that was a little silly. And there are a lot of elements in this book that remind me of other, more successful dystopian series that came before it.

I don't think the romance in the book was entirely necessary nor was it well-developed. However, I will say that the author had several opportunities to insert an insipid love triangle and refrained, which was refreshing.

The end of this book ramps up the stakes, and the ending is a cliffhanger that makes me wish I had the second book right next to me so I could start it right away.

So while this isn't the *best* book, it was an enjoyable read that kept me engaged from beginning to end.