My enjoyment of this book was unfortunately hampered by my own expectations. I really hopped that there would be a more gothic element to it. It really was more of a supernatural ensemble piece. Additionally, beside immortality and a few scant references to drinking blood (sanitized as juice boxes) the book was pretty devoid of danger and the stakes were very low until the last few pages of the book.

I think what I found to be the most hindering thing about this book was the intentional vagueness about the game. I felt like instead of creating a little murkiness it’s overly convoluted. I felt like thinking “what the hell is going on? Am I supposed to feel like I have no freaking clue what’s going on?” I felt like I had some clarity at the beginning and end of the book that was enjoyable and had narrative, but often the mid section got mired down.

I truly did enjoy some of the oblique characters, who I felt were very vibrant and interesting.

Final thought; why do certain authors make their characters call each other by their full names constantly? I feel like even in my wittiest repartee I couldn’t possibly have said the full legal name of the other person more than once or twice.