I really enjoyed this book. I like the characters and the deepening relationships we see between them. However, i find the author’s descriptions of POC quite problematic and othering. I don’t think it’s malicious but it’s off-putting in an otherwise enjoyable series.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

This book is unlike any I’ve ever read. Twists around every corner and a seemingly impossible task drive this mystery forward but the real meat of the book is what our protagonist discovers about himself and the people around him.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

This book completely surpassed all my expectations. I would enthusiastically recommend this for YA lovers. This book deals with issues of race, class, sexuality, government corruption, terrorism and so much more. This is such a good book. Please check it out and spread the word. This book deserves to be as high profile and as beloved as the Hunger Games. Read this book.

I feel really bad for saying this, but this book seemed very derivative to me. It’s so similar to other YA Royalty fantasy that I’ve read in recent years that it was a bit hard to take it seriously.

I don’t think the author intentionally wrote this a riff on a trend; the marketing of the book positioned it to be compared to these other books and I think that really hurt this book. I feel that if the cover art had been different and if the marketing campaign hadn’t mentioned other similar series, this book could have stood on its own.

This book is good but I’ve realized that this series isn’t calling to me. I’m not feeling a connection with the characters at all. It’s not a bad book, it’s just not for me.

I was enjoying this book until the author described the character Miles. “Each minute the man was a possible heart attack. His belly jutted over his jeans like an oversized water balloon.” This is supposedly a character that is well liked and let the author is using such fatphobic and shaming terms to describe him. Frankly, it’s disgusting.