3.5⭐

I... I'm very conflicted. There were things I loved about this book, and things that made me want to just put it down.

Like, for a 400 page book–I can't believe I'm saying this–I wanted more. Not in a "I just couldn't put it down and need more" kind of way, but in a "this somehow doesn't feel fully developed" kind of way. A lot of the parts of the story that I wished weren't rushed were, and vice versa. The pacing felt very weird at times.

And I read the re-edited version. It was my first read, so I don't know what changed from before, but I feel like I definitely wouldn't have finished this book before it was reworked if this is what we got after a redo.

It wasn't bad, and I like that the author didn't shy away from the dark aspects of this world that's been built, but I feel like I'm going to go into the next books in the series with a bit of skepticism. Though I liked the end. Even though that was one of the parts I wish weren't as rushed as it was.