I enjoyed this book more than I expected to, based on reviews. The story was engaging and interesting, and for a dystopian it relied on different themes than we’ve come to expect—war, big brother surveillance, factions, etc. Instead we’re placed in a utopia, where the struggle is mainly within the Scythedom. It’s interesting to look at the taking of lives from different ethical angles, especially when it’s considered a necessary public service.

I also appreciated the slow-burn world building. I would have questions about how things worked, and within a few chapters the answers would be revealed. Sometimes the answers were flimsy, but overall the world was more believable than not.

I came to love the characters, though occasionally found myself feeling as though they were doing uncharacteristic things. Some of the relationships became a little implausible, as well as the growth of ~certain~ characters. The plot would also occasionally skim over things I felt deserved more attention, or stay on trajectories that no longer made complete sense. And as much as I found myself taking note of these moments, I was still able to enjoy myself.

Despite the overall enjoyment factor, I can’t bring myself to give it 4 stars. I felt engaged throughout, and yet there were too many unrealistic moments in both plot and characterization that weren’t fully explored.

While this book could genuinely be a standalone, I have high hopes for the rest of the series....although I haven’t dared to look at the reviews. Fingers crossed.

It took me some time (due to lots of outside factors), but I finished! I thought this was a unique retelling, and a fabulous debut. Although the beginning was a bit slow, about halfway through things really pick up and get interesting.

Things I loved:
* It wasn’t a beat for beat retelling. There were clever references sprinkled throughout, but we were still given a fresh story.
* Juliette is tough, in a very believable way. She leans into the things people may perceive as weaknesses, like her femininity, while working twice as hard to be perceived as a valuable member of the gang. She’s the epitome of: I identify as a threat

When it comes to concept, this book shines. You can tell that Bayron put a lot of love and care into how she told the story for a modern audience.

I found myself reading through the book quickly, and I just couldn’t put it down. I’ll be honest—it took a few chapters to love the story, however the writing is fast-paced enough to keep momentum. I’ll admit that I originally envisioned the setting to be somewhat akin to Far Far Away in the Shrek universe, but only in the way that the kingdom seemed to have fairy-tale paraphernalia everywhere. ANYWAY, that notion faded away once the story kicked into gear.

Some have claimed that it’s heavy-handed in its theme of smashing the patriarchy, but I ate it up. I wouldn’t even call it heavy-handed, because the themes ring so true. Additionally, I predicted much (though not all) of the twists—I still loved it. Predictability, as I’ve said in other reviews, isn’t a deal breaker for me, as long as those predictions feel like moments of triumph upon being right. This book checked that box for me.

What I loved:
* unapologetically queer black protagonist who was empathetic and took no shit. I loved Sophia.
* imaginative retelling of a classic story. Raises the question: what would the aftermath of any of our “beloved” princess stories be? It even seems like there may be room for more of this premise in the same universe
* fast-paced and engrossing
* Constance. Also a great character (and the relationship between her and Amina was great)

Things That Could Have Been Better:
* world-building. Again, I went from thinking we were in a tongue-in-cheek, Shrek-sequel setting, to realizing it was more of a gritty world. Some more grounding would have been so interesting. I feel like it also would have improved the movement through space. I kept scratching my head at how they were moving from place to place when the descriptions seemed contrary. I love book maps

I spent 30 min writing a review only to accidentally delete it :’)

So here’s my condensed, tldr version;

The show (barely) handled the rape scene in a more logical manner, though the book and the show still lacked consequences.

The story was too endearing and well written to have such a terrible theme at the core of the conflict. Remove the rape scene, and leave the argument solely about the lie/children debate, and it could have been a great romance. Still would have been shitty of the duke, but they could have had some actual discussions and resolutions about that instead of addressing absolutely nothing. But instead, their love (and the story in general) is tainted by a single scene that is never truly addressed or resolved. Its an unhealthy message to send.

PS—let’s also hold the same energy for other portrayals of sexual violence (GOT, Outlander, Altered Carbon, 13RW, etc). Idk about you, but I’m a bit sick of how it’s constantly used as a plot point, and/or depicted in a way that re-traumatizes real life victims.