I was really trying to push through this one because it's not actually that bad, but more and more my internal thoughts as I was reading were just: "this is so tedious." 

I don't think it's just that it's a generic YA-feeling enemies to lovers book because although I generally dislike those, I went into this one with a pretty open mind. The cloak and dagger setup and the magic shade didn't feel particularly original, but that's not something that I need in order to enjoy a book. I need characters that I'm invested in and can understand, and in this book I think the characters are all a little too thin. 

The side characters are entirely interchangeable and kind of irrelevant. The leads are both a little frustrating to follow with their lack of insight. I was particularly annoyed when

Ransom's internal monologue was like "you drew first blood, now it's war" or whatever when he had been stalking this girl since her mother was killed and her house burned down and he was actively in the process of killing her, literally halfway through it, when she stabbed him to escape. You started this, buddy, not her. She had every right to stab you.

The transition from enemies to oggling each other (banter is not enough to make a romance!) was not convincing for me.

There's one reveal I've been waiting for (I'm 99% sure I'm right) and I considered trying to read more to get to that point, but I've already sunk about 9 hours into this audiobook and I don't want to spend any more time on it.

Audiobook narrators are both good, but the male narrator is better and the female narrator's male voice is not great. 

An interesting concept, but nothing about the actual writing captured my attention. The characters felt one-note and exposition slowed the book down considerably. 

I'm sorry, I really wanted to give this one a chance, but the writing is some of the worst writing I've ever read. I can often look past clunky or juvenile writing for the sake of a good story and compelling characters, but there isn't enough substance here for how bad the writing quality is. I can't do it.

I actually like cheesy Hallmark/Netflix Christmas movies, but this isn't working for me. The sisters, particularly Charlie, just seem really stupid with the decisions they make. I can't root for them. The love interests are incredibly bland, and there's too much lying for any romance to work. The toxic male antagonists are annoying and I'm sure will be dealt with at the very end in an unrealistic way along with the fallout when all the lies come out. I can already map out the trajectory of this book and I'm not interested in seeing it happen. 

This book is gloomy, but not in a fun way, and it's a bummer, but not in a meaningful way. It feels like sad things happen just because. Hazel never seems to learn from her painful mistakes or from any of the tragedies she witnesses. At this point in the book (63%) she's being especially frustrating.

I liked Hazel well enough for the first like 30% of the book, but she's lost my favor now and I don't find any other characters likable or interesting. Even the god of death is a bit boring and disappointing. The gruesome imagery also feels pointless, the world building feels too vague and nebulous for it to contribute to the atmosphere. At first I thought this world might be similar to Little Thieves with the way the gods are involved and presented, but the fantasy setting is too incongruous with itself, there are many anachronisms and modern vocabulary that pull it back and forth across potential time periods. 

The audiobook narrator is alright, and I was going to try to push through with a higher speed (I was already at 1.55) but I saw that I still had 6 hours left and I don't really want to spend 6 more hours on a book I'm not enjoying at all. 

I really have to be better about checking if books are Christian Lit before I grab them. There's an audience for every book, but I'm too atheist to read these.

Nope. This is one of those contemporary books where you're just following the train of thought of some 20-30 year old woman and whatever quirks the author has decided to give her. Unfortunately, I don't like being in this character's head and that's going to keep me from enjoying whatever plot this book may have had.

The most interesting aspect of this book, the book eating, is such an insignificant part of the story. Instead the book is mostly covering the same themes as Handmaid's Tale, but with less dystopia and religious commentary. Characters and conversations are flat, predictable, and monotonous. I've listened to like 6 hours of this audiobook at 1.5 speed and it feels like it's been 12, it's really dragging and depressing. I don't want to make myself read another 7 hours of this bleak situation, and I don't really care what happens. I assume it's bad, like everything that's happened so far. 

I don't enjoy this writing style, the constant similes and metaphors feel like interruptions while I'm trying to decipher what's actually happening. I really dislike the Sawyer POV chapters in general, I don't want to read more of them. I think this would work best for younger readers who are currently in the throes of teen angst and like feeling dark and literary but want something more urban than dark academia. 

Wanted to give this a shot, but the negative reviews have scared me off.