So many of my friends adore this book and this series, and I despised it. I disliked the main characters. I felt we punished Tamlin for doing the same things Rhys did, and I don't like Tamlin, so I hate myself for defending him. I felt like there was FAR too much sex. It made it feel like Maas used the mating bond as a replacement for any real connection between the two because there was none. The only thing between them was sex, which is fine, but Maas acted like it was so much more. The scene where Rhys was willing to lick the dirt and blood off Fey was disgusting, not sexy. I wish they had more than just physical attraction to one another, but that is all Rhys and Fey had: a physical connection.

The world was cool and the writing style was great, despite all the similes. But the main characters were just unlikable. To keep my review as spoiler-free as possible, I won't go into why in detail, but I felt like Rhys is a lair, whom we are supposed to praise. Tamlin is an abuser. And Fey is a cheater, but it's ok because she found her mate. I call shenanigans. Very angry shenanigans.

In addition, Maas's definition of bisexual was disturbing, to say the least. With her description of a bisexual woman only being attracted to females but needing a male to be satisfied, it makes me feel like Maas doesn't believe lesbians can exist because a female must need a male to be sexually satisfied and happy in a relationship. I was disturbed and insulted. Maas writes relationships as if a male is needed for a female's true happiness, and it just disgusted me, to put it bluntly.

Characters get 1 star. The world and writing get the other 2. Because at the end of the day, I did enjoy the world she created, and I also enjoyed her writing style, but I can't get over how terrible her characters are, nor am I over her terrible description of bisexual.

I remember being in class years ago and having my classmate let me borrow this book when I let him borrow one of my favorites. He told me I was going to love it, and boy was he right.

I also remember being at work and folding laundry and overhearing a coworker listening to the audiobook. I told her I loved that series, and she informed me of her love for it as well.

I can't believe I didn't sit down and reread it then. Instead, I finally sat down and listened to the audiobook of a series I loved.

Starting again, I will say, my feelings have slightly changed about the series; however, I still love the series. Maybe not as much as I once did, but this book's mix of history, myth, and magic still leaves me in awe, and I honestly feel like this book doesn't get enough credit or love. The world Michael Scott creates still leaves me in awe. Things I never thought could be connected are in this series, and it amazes me! It is so seamless as well like these very different can't live without each other.

This book is such a great start to a great series, and I feel like those who Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and even animes like the Fate series, will love this series and all the magic, myth, and history that is tied in.

I, like many others, picked up the book because of the Netflix movie. I really enjoyed it, thinking it was adorable, and the book was just as adorable. I did find that at the beginning, Jenny Han didn't really have her voice nailed down, but it really all came together at the end. At times, the "young voice" the writing was going for felt forced, but again, by the end, the writing was smooth and there was a clear voice that was fun to read and hard to stop listening to (since I did listen to the audiobook).

I love these characters. They are all so charming and they felt so real. I just adore these characters and want to read more about them and have good things happen to them. I'm just really invested in their happiness. Jenny Han did an amazing job of creating such wonderful characters.