I'm glad to finally be up to date with this series; the worldbuilding, plot, and characters only get more and more compelling with each addition. While I figured out the main "twist" about the villain, that in no way made this book feel predictable to me, and I was on the edge of my seat until the very end.

So adorable, beautifully written and illustrated

The first third of the book was strong for me, then things started going downhill after that point. It felt like the story wasn't sure if it wanted to have a more satirical/humorous tone or be super raw and gritty. Not that it's impossible for a book to have both, but here it felt imbalanced and kept taking me out of the story. The development/growth of the characters felt abrupt and it felt like a reach for the reader to believe the "friendship" that developed between the characters. It's possible that this will be explored more in the sequel, but I don't think I'm invested enough in the story or the characters to read it when it comes out.

I really liked how this book took the original elements of The Great Gatsby and told a story that was very different to the original but still had some of the same themes of the source material. Don't go into this thinking it's going to be the exact same thing told the exact same way; I wasn't looking for that so I think I was able to appreciate the book for what it was. 

 While I enjoyed reading this book overall, I do think it was one of those times I was very aware that the target audience for this book is much younger than me. Also, having read this after Love from Mecca to Medina is making me realize in hindsight that there was a lot about Mecca to Medina's subplots that went right over my head lol 

 Quick read, it was fun while I was reading it but not super memorable 

 Edit: The Harper Collins strike has ended; review is now added in
Over the course of reading this book, I got a sense of how it was going to end- but this didn't stop me from being edge while reading. And when we got to the ending, it left me feeling sad at how inevitable it all felt. I did feel like the first 75% was more tightly written then the last 25%, and the last few pages almost felt like they were undermining one of the major themes of the book- but that could also just be the case of the specific character's flawed thinking. I also really liked the author's note going deeper into how one of the major themes of this story was racial fetishism both from white people and from people of color who fall into the "model minority" mindset and idolize whiteness.

Previously:
In solidarity with the HarperCollins Union, I will not be posting a rating or a review of Reprieve here on Storygraph or anywhere else until HarperCollins proves that they care about their workers and listens to the demands of the Union, and until the strike is over. When the strike is over, I will then edit this review with my thoughts about the book.

In case this is the first time you are hearing about this strike, here is a link that will take you to all the necessary information you need to learn about the strike, why the strike is happening, and what steps you can take to help: https://linktr.ee/hcpunion  

I haven't read Wuthering Heights, so I wouldn't be able to really say how this book is similar or different to the original. But even without reading the source material I still was able to enjoy the story. This is the third book that I've read by this author, and I'm glad that it was another win for me.