This was a fairly passable Christmas read. I liked how it didn't end completely on a happy ending and, while I did see most of the twists coming, they still brought some livening to the story.

I could have used some more history on Project Scrooge, how it works, and who the hell Boz really is. Then again, you're not really meant to know, but that stills bugs the crap out of me.

Other than that, I don't have much to say. A good read if you like the whole Christmas Carol motif...that really makes me wonder how this "program" originated anyway. 

 Typically I'm not into the whole slight dystopia, virus spreading kinds of book and this one isn't an exception. There were good ideas here, and the tone and style is very competent. It just wasn't the genre I'm usually interested in. Again I found myself liking the side characters more than the protagonist, who was very underwhelming.

It also took more than 2/3rds of the book for the plot to really get moving and that really is too long to wait. The majority of the book has such meandering pace that it's difficult to stay interested. Most of the twists I saw coming from a mile away.

This isn't a terrible book, but it's one that I will probably forget about in a month or so. 

 Another Book Club book that didn't turn out to be my thing. I think I'm slowly starting to grow tired of all the monarchy subterfuge kind of books. They're all filled with the same kind of power-hungry characters that I'm really just not in the mood for right now.

The story is incredibly slow to the point where I kept looking at the summary on the cover trying to see where exactly it was supposed to pick up. It wasn't until probably the last third that it started moving along decently and by then I was too done with the story to care.

There were some problems I had with the book that were actually brought up within the context of the story. 

Oh Twylla keeps whining about how she doesn't get to make choice even when they were always right in front of her. Oh, they mention that? Okay, but that still doesn't make it any less frustrating.

This romance between these characters felt hollow and didn't feel right. Oh, that's because of this twist. Well yes, but that makes the twist fall flat on its face and serves as an explanation rather than a surprise that's meant to shock me.

Also, can we please stop making incest a plot point in YA? Please? It doesn't make the book any easier to read. Sure, it explains why the queen is mentally unstable, but really, there are multiple others ways to do that.

And ah, yes, the queen. She evokes a kind of Cersei Lannister image, with, you know, the incest, but also with how she's actually pretty competent when it comes to making long term plans and executing them in the most devastating way. However, she has none of the small sympathies of Cersei, and makes me think of what she would be like if she wanted the throne for herself rather than her children.

I'm not going to continue with this series as it didn't do anything for me. A shame too, but it gets points for adequate world-building.