Red Tower, look me in the eye and listen to me. Get someone on your team who has experience and is good at editing fantasy and sci-fi. You cannot just handwave everything speculative and say "it's okay, because it's not real! duh!! and put more romance in there!" Get someone on the team who is not in the business just to earn money but who wants to help publish great books.

This book has the bones of something really cool but is missing the little details that could make it great. As it stands, it's a somewhat serviceable new adult sci-fi. The world building leaves a lot to be desired. Things don't make sense if you take a few seconds to think about it or aren't explained very clearly. The writing, especially at the beginning, is very repetitive to the point where I felt like I was being talked down to. And it is not a sci-fi romantasy or whatever they're calling it. It should not be marketed as a romance at all. The little sexual tension that occurs is poorly handled. It could have been a good slow burn, but nay... romance sells!! Also, the audiobook narrator mispronounced a few words.

While I do have these qualms, I didn't hate it. A lot of that was because it has one of my personal favorite tropes (

weird mind melding and a hint of hive mind

) and because it was kind of compelling in the way a trainwreck is. I wish I could say it would be a good book for someone who is looking to read more sci-fi, but I think it's handled messily enough that it could be confusing and leave someone put off by the genre. So, I'm not sure who the audience is. I guess people who like collecting beautiful books.