Another buddy read with the lovely, Dini @DiniPandaReads! <3<3

I’m so glad to have finally gotten to this one. It’s been sitting on my shelf for so long and I just kept ignoring it. haha. I tend to let the hype die down a little bit before I jump in.

The beginning of this was a bit of a struggle for me. I’m not sure if it was because of my mood or the actual book. The subject matter was very interesting. It makes me think that it was my mood that had me struggle. There are a lot of unique elements to this story but there are some things that are quite graphic. Just keep that in mind if you decided to pick this up.

One of the best things about this book is the GirlFriends! The sisterhood that’s formed from the ones that are known as outcasts and treated terribly. I loved them so much, especially Britta. She was probably my favorite character, even more than Deka. It was lovely to see them find each other and form this bond.

There were some things that I found a bit confusing about the whole blood thing. I find it VERY unlikely that most of these girls would make it through 16 years, without showing ANY blood. It would have been much more believable if they checked their blood way earlier than 16. I don’t know how they would have been able to go without a cut, scrape, or anything. She talks about being sheltered but I don’t buy it. I have a toddler and there’s just no way he would make it. haha!

The romance in the book is not the main focus. It’s actually very subtle, which I liked for the most part. By the end of the book, it completely flipped and I was not feeling it. I didn’t think it was believable because we didn’t see it happening. I almost wish the romance was left to a minimum to keep it consistent.

Overall, I did think this was a unique story and I did like the last half of the book. It was a slow start and there are some inconsistencies in things that stuck out after some time to process. When the pacing picked up it was really hard to put down. I don’t know that I’ll pick up the next book. I am so mixed about this one. 

 I didn’t know anything about this book except that everyone was talking about it. I didn’t want to miss out and jumped on the opportunity to read this.

I’m going to be honest and tell you that I struggled with the first 35% of this book. I was at a crossroads of stopping or pushing on. Thankfully, I jumped into a Twitter discussion and was told to keep going. I’m glad I did because it was worth it. The plot of this book is slow-moving. Keep that in mind if you are a plot-driven person – It is so very slow. Swan has some great prose and once I to used to his writing style I had a hard time putting this down. I’ve seen a few people talk about the world being kind of similar to ours and I think that rings true here. There’s not a lot of world-building, which works for the most part. There’s magic but it’s only lightly touched on. I would have liked a little more here but maybe that’s for later.

One of the things I found interesting is the way this story is told. It’s a retelling of events, written by the much older clerk to the Justice. We are getting the story through her experiences from the past. I really enjoyed her perspective and thoughts about Vonvalt’s actions. On the flip side, I think I would have enjoyed this much more if we would have gotten Vonvalt’s POV too. It was an interesting choice and it works for the most part. Even though we are getting Helena’s story, Volvant definitely steals the show. Another reason I would have loved his POV.

“’The wise man arms himself with knowledge before a sword.’”

All the characters in this book are what I loved most about this book. I attached to them all so quickly and was on the edge of my seat. I was hoping and praying that they would get out of this alive. Did they? I can’t say but it’s stressful! I found myself going through so many emotions when it came to each of their journeys.

While I struggled with the beginning of the book, I had the opposite issue with the end of it. I had a hard time putting it down. Events start to take off and so many impactful moments that you can’t stop. I love how we start in one place morally and then start to cross into a more gray area. It makes you think and it makes me excited for a sequel.

“Empires are built and maintained with words. Swords are a mere precedent to the quill.”

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I struggled with a good chunk of it but once we got past a lot of the legal jargon, things take off. There’s a lot that happens in the end that has me wanting more. Swan makes some choices that kind of come full circle and are brilliant. Although I didn’t completely love this book, I think that there’s a strong start here, and I’m excited to see what comes next.

Many thanks, to Orbit, for providing me an e-arc of this book to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

 Now, let’s get to the reason you are here. What did I think about this?! Haha. So we went from great, okay, to the worst. lol! No offense to all the people that LOVE and RAVE about this series. Maybe I had the highest of expectations but I was severely let down. I will say that these are quick reads. I mean.. there’s not too much complexity so you just fly through these. Not to mention they are under 200 pages. The copy I got is the new paperback and it had some extras in the back to make it a bit longer. Guys, I just don’t get it! The actual plot itself was just terrible and so bad. I cringed and rolled my eyes constantly. I don’t want to spoil anything but ONE WEEK for certain things was just insane. It was too far-fetched! The main protagonist was also a bit annoying, in my opinion. Was I expecting this to be the greatest? No, absolutely not. I was so close to DNF-ing this book but I kept trying to see what the big deal was. There’s really not much… besides a lot of alien sex that would have been so much better if the actual plot was a LITTLE bit believable. lol Okay, I’m done ranting. I’m so sorry that I didn’t like this one.. don’t come at me!  

If you love Schitt’s Creek then you need to own this. If you haven’t seen Schitt’s Creek then you need to stop reading this and go watch now! It’s seriously an amazing show that you are missing out on. Go and rectify that quickly, you won’t regret it! If you don’t like Schitt’s Creek then what are you even doing here??

The moment it was up for pre-order, I ordered it and told my husband he was giving it to me for Christmas. haha! We both love the show and buy a lot of memorabilia. Funkos? When we can get our hands on them! Rose Apothecary from Beekman 1802? Yep! I’m a book lover and this was a no-brainer. I figured it would make a great coffee table book. It is gorgeous!!! The hardback cover is printed on and you don’t have to worry about the cover ripping, which is awesome.

Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. A lot of books like this have some quotes, art and that’s about it. This is much, much more than that. You can tell there was a lot of work that went into this book. There are snippets from several of the actors from the show. There are many episodes that are broken down and the same with the relationships. I mean, we have pages of Moira’s wigs (w/ quotes) and the same with David’s sweaters! How awesome is that?! All the fan art was really cool too!

By the time I got to season six, I was such an emotional wreck! Why? I remember all these moments they are talking about. I love this show but season six was something extra. To see all of these characters grow and make their mark on the world was awesome. I was crying reading about all of their personal experiences in the last season. It was really beautiful and I felt like I was experiencing it again! The amount of personal growth and relationships are the best you will ever see in a show.

One of my favorite moments! ❤

Okay, I’m just gushing but go buy this book! I’m going to binge-watch this again!