A quick read, but still packed with so much power as it provides wonderful insight into the difficulties of living with OCD and the journey to conquering those tyrants in your head. An old favorite of mine, I've read it over and over and over and over and over. . .

This book is broken into three parts- The first part was my least favorite, I found it cardboard and awkward, the big surprise twist wasn't much of a twist as you were pounded upside the head with so many hints that it was all fairly obvious. The second and third parts were perhaps the most enjoyable and are what managed to scrounge up a second star for this. All in all, still nothing spectaular, kind of dry, the characters were kind of flat, but the subject matter was interesting enough to keep me reading. The very end did manage to provide a twist that actually was kind of surprising, so that cinched the second star- but in the longrun, still would not recommend.

Another book that ends with me thinking "Thank God it's over."

Annoying is pretty much the only way I can think to describe this book and everything about it. The characters are annoying. The conflict is annoying. The romance is annoying. EVERYTHING IS ANNOYING. I have never met a more obnoxious heroine than Abrielle, if heroine is what she could be called. There aren't enough characters allowed in this review to describe every bone-headed, hot-and-cold, back-and-forth, mixed signal nonsense featured in this novel. If I'd been responsible for writing this, it would have been a very short tale indeed because I'm barely halfway through the book before getting stuck on the repetitive thought of "Geez, Raven, just leave her alone." I could find no connection or sympathy for any of the characters featured, all of them prompting me to roll my eyes at one point or another. The only romance I found even the smallest inkling of interest in was that between Cedric and Cordelia- and even that I eventually found to be a contrived and awkward subplot inserted forcefully at the most random of occasions for... some purpose that I cannot even construe.

Long story short: would not recommend. Ever. Ugh.