I have come to realize that 1.5 books (or anything .5 in a series) are not something to have high expectations for. Their purpose is to make money, not to tell a story. Often, .5 books are written to not be a required reading in a series, which leads them to have little story, and little value. Even with the lack of a story, I hoped for deeper development of characters, insight that made them feel more real, but the writing felt stiff and it lacked the enjoyable qualities that the first book had.

This book covers the sisters perspective of the entirety of the first book. Being that the sister was my least favorite character in book one, it was no surprise that I found her insufferable in this book too. Even as she provides her own perspective, the character feels flat and dull. Her motives don’t make sense, in both book 1 and this 1.5 telling, I don’t quite understand why she makes the choices she does, which makes it confusing and frustrating. I don’t sympathize with her and her choices, even as she begs the reader for forgiveness, all the while skirting the responsibility of her actions. I did like the insight that two scenes provided. However, I felt like this could have been more dramatically revealed (and it might be) in book 2, alongside Jude’s reaction.

Being that I liked only two scenes that made up a small fraction of the book, I’d definitely recommend skipping this, especially if you weren’t a fan of Jude’s sister in book 1.