A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

“Sometimes the loveliest places harbor the worst monsters.” 

Another arc I was blessed to received. This book just recently came out, and seeing as I just finished a novel of my own regarding mental asylums, I immediately leaped upon the chance to read it. I wasn't blown away, but I definitely wasn't disappointed. 

Stats:

Genre:  Historical fiction

Feelings: More or less. Not heart-wrenching, but moving.

Happiness: I loved a lot of the character dynamics, and those made me smile.

Cuteness: Not really.

Fast pacing: Slow as molasses, but still interesting. Nothing felt forced.

Series: Nope

Read if you like: Mental health, the history of asylums, murder, mysteries, detectives and angst

Content: Talk of rape. Some disturbing mental treatments, some including a pregnant woman going into labor that were quite horrifying. 

Trigger warning? Loss of a baby

In one sentence... A girl sent away to an asylum for something that wasn't he fault is taken away by a detective who obsesses over death, hoping to use the cover of her insanity to help him solve murder.

Thoughts: Creepy mildew wood and ice cold water

Messages: Interesting thoughts on the way life was for woman and mental patients.

Overall

Rating: 3.5/5

Very vague spoilers regarding character relationships

-The characters-

Ah, Grace. And interesting, well developed character. And yet, I never really connected with her. I didn't hate her, but she felt distant. That being said, her voice was strong, fitting well with the setting and aesthetics.

She dealt with some real crap, and early in the book, I felt for her. A lot. I was about ready to jump into the book to hide her away. As it progressed, the story got a bit slower, which may be why I didn't care for her just as much. That being said, she stayed strong, never once slipping. 

Thornhollow was a lot of fun. A few of the reviews I've read have compared this to the book Jackaby. 

Well, Thornhollow is nothing like Jackaby. He's dark, starting out uncaring and rude, wanting what he wants and not truly caring about Grace. But you can see that bit of quirk underneath, which makes him interesting. He's a lot of fun, really. His banter isn't that sarcastic or snarky, but somehow so entertaining. 

The side characters were great, and you could tell that they were developed. Each one had a unique voice, even characters that showed up for a short time. That's something I love in historical fiction. 

Also: NO ROMANCE. Can I just say how happy I am about that? Neither characters are ready for romance, and while I can see them in a relationship, I just loved that it wasn't forced. I loved watching their relationship grow into something protective and realistic. I think that's what this book's best trait is. Realism .

-The Writing and Structure-

I've heard nothing but good things about McGinnis's writing, and now that I have read her work, I agree. She definitely knows her words. I have yet to read Not A Drop To Drink, but I really hope she keeps writing historical fiction. 

The structure was probably the weakest part. It was slow.

While there was murder, everything felt weirdly paced. There were a lot of plot lines going on, consisting of Grace's father, the actual murder, Grace's secret insanity, and then the asylum backstory. All of these felt randomly pushed together, some of them not relating when all along I thought they would. The whole thing felt vaguely disjointed, and when different plot lines didn't connect at the end, it felt un-fulfilling.

Still, the writing was so good, and the actual plot points so interesting, that it wasn't a boring read, it was just less engaging than others I've read. 

Also: Totally random, but when an Irish character is introduced, and McGinnis attempted to write the accent so it read how it would be said...it just annoyed be. Like. No. Please don't do that.

-Messages and Other-

This book had less obvious messages it was trying to say, at least for me. It was an enjoyable read, but in the end, I didn't leave with anything new. That being said, it was definitely such a fascinating peak into this setting. 

The treatment of mental patients has grown so much, and the treatments in this day and age were so screwed up.

 I adored the descriptions, the look into the way things works. You could just tell how much research McGinnis did. 

Really, every person in the world has a dark twisted side, and this book really accurately showed how someone as quiet as Grace was, can have something lurking inside. It was a fascinating peak into the mind, and the early 19th century. 

Overall, this book didn't blow my mind, but it definitely will be put fondly onto my shelf.

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

"Trudy smiled ruefully. 'What can I say? I merely wish to smoke...You, on the other hand, wish to know things. And no one can forgive a girl for that.'"

Firstly: the cover. The cover. Can we....

Just look at that cover. While I was expecting some sort of scary, possibly horror book when I bought it, I still ended up loving this. I need all of Jennifer Donnelly's books and I need them now. Every part of this book, from the writing to that 1890's-vague-girl-power-feel, really somehow worked so well together. 

Stats:

Genre:  Historical fiction

Feelings: While not necessarily heart-wrenching, this book definitely had fun messing with me

Happiness: The writing. Guys. THE WRITING

Cuteness: I thought that certainly I wouldn't ship it. After all. INSTALOVE. But then I /did/ ship it.

Fast pacing: Well paced, but not fast

Series: Nope

Read if you like: 1890's, murder mysteries, and plucky female characters

Content: Some violence, some talk of sex but all in conversations of marriage and courtship, never graphic. A brothel is mentioned, discussed, and visited for investigation purposes. Some slight violence

In one sentence... Jo wants to write, and she wants to write not the airy things her all-girls prep school is teaching her to write, but she wants to write like Nelly Bly--and when her father is found dead, and she has a run in with a reporter who believes it was something other than an accidental death.....she might just get her chance to do just that.

Thoughts: Cobblestones wet with rain in the middle of the night

Messages: Some really cool insights into the gender-roles of that day and age

Overall

Rating: 4.5/5

This is a spoiler free review

The Lovely Bits

This was just such a fun book. I ended up doing a read along with Emma from Of Starry Knights and Lullabies, and it pretty much consisted of the two of us over skype freaking out. 

-Characters-

Ah, Jo. See, Jo is the type of character who in a modern day setting I'd probably hate. She wants big things. She wants success and importance. She wants to have a role in life. She wants to be dangerous. 

But Jo, dear thing, is so painfully naive. She's clueless, knowing nothing about the dangers of life. And so she does a lot of dumb things.

But here's the thing. She's a 1890's high-class girl, brought up to be docile and naive and well-bred. And that's why I love her. Because Jo, despite the fact that she knows so little about life, won't take anyone's crap. Forget the fact that she's so absolutely clueless, she's still going to do whatever it takes to figure out what she wants to know. She wants to figure out the truth, and she doesn't let her limitations stop her. 

It's such a hard character type to pull off, but in this setting I loved it. 

What I really loved about this book, is that every character had a personality. While some were more vibrant than others, not character she introduced, even if just for a few pages, felt cardboard. They all had some trait that stood out. Names would be thrown around like they needed no explanation and that really enhanced the feel of the book.

Eddie was kind of just a lot of adorable. Like, I don't love him as much as some others, but he was a fun character. His interactions with Jo....a+

-Writing and Structure-

Murder mysteries are hard. Historical novels are hard.

Historical murders mysteries? HA. Hats off to you, Donelly. She nailed it. Everything was well paced, confusing without being frustrating, and always interesting. 

And her writing. I just finished a historical mystery of my own, so reading this right after writin a crappy-first draft was a bad idea. Because her prose is so lovely. It fits the feel of historical fiction so well, making you easily slip into the cold streets of New York City, decades ago. It's obvious by reading her books. Jennifer Donelly is made for historical fiction.

-Messages and other-

Some books can come across too feminist, and for someone like me who's rather against many of the stuff feminists are saying nowadays, that can be tricky. But the thing is, in this historical decade, it fit. 

The gender roles were so screwed up in the late 1800's, and seeing that written so well was outstanding. I adore history, but even I didn't really quite see how messed up some of it was, because I've spend so much time in the 20th century, or the suffrage movements early 1900's. 

While many of the feminist messages aren't relevant in today's day and age, I really loved every message that was in this book, simply because of how much I learned without even realizing I was learning. 

Less Lovely Bits

There wasn't one particular thing that I can say I didn't like, there was just something that didn't seem quite right. Maybe what it was, is that I loved it but not enough for it to become THAT book. I finished it satisfied, but not blown away. 

The only things I can thing of is some cases of telling, especially when wrapping up stuff in the end. That got a little boring to read. Eddie and Jo were a bit insta-lovey, and while I don't want to look passed that with a "Historical Context" excuse, it didn't bother me as much, maybe because I liked them both. 

Also: The title. This whole book, from the page one peek at grave digging, I was waiting. When were they gonna start digging up graves??? I waited through hundreds of pages until it finally came, and while it wasn't bad I just was kinda hoping for more of that sooner.

Other than that, I have nothing else to say. These Shallow Graves is a solid story, and 


Overall, this book was so insanely fun to read. The writing was on point, the characters interesting, and the plot engaging. I would seriously recommend this to teens and adults a like, anyone looking to get a peek into the 19th century lifestyle....with a touch of murder.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

"It became a declaration. There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken."

To be honest I was so overwhelmed with life I almost forgot this book came out. God bless amazon pre-order. I read it slower than most releases, partly because school, but I am glad I did. I was able to drink in this book in slow sips and when it was over, I'm glad I made it last. 

But now I am so painfully thirsty.

Leigh. Where is the next book.

Stats:

Genre:  Fantasy

Feelings: -bitter laughing-

Happiness: I had to stop reading every now and then I was so content with character conversations

Cuteness: GOOD LORD THE SHIPS. Yes. A lot of cute. Background cute, because this book really focuses on the plot. All the cute feels natural.

Fast pacing: A very nicely paced book. I never felt bored

Series: YES THANK THE SAINTS

Read if you like: Large casts, heists, world building, characters!!!! Even if you didn't like the Shadow and Bone books give this a try

Content: Mentioning of various things such as brothels (one of the characters grew up as a prostitute but nothing was graphically described) and stuff like bodies burning, eyeballs being ripped out and more violence then Leigh's Grisha Trilogy. There is a gay character later on, so if you're not comfortable with that, beware.

In one sentence... Kaz Brekker has been given the Impossible Heist, for which he needs to perfect team, a team that will either a) kill each other before they get there b) fall in love with each other c) betray him (like that'd work) d) out-sass everyone or e) all of the above.

Thoughts: the o c e a n. No mourners. No funerals. Blood and feathers and feeling eyes on your back that just make you feel safer

Messages: A lot of very good messages about not giving up, and loyalty, and grief.

Overall

Rating: 5/5 

This is a spoiler free review

The Lovely Bits

-Characters-

How does one begin with the characters. These characters are flawed and messed up, each one standing out and latching onto your hearts. 

There are certain things that almost always guarantee me to fall in love with a characters. Perfectly done snark, is one. Characters who are bitter and broken. Characters who have fears that control them. Characters who refuse to let anyone in because they seem all tough but inside are m u s h. 

Six of Crows takes character archetypes I love and slams them all together. It makes me bleed and cry. I am not even joking, some pages had character conversations I wanted to cry over. See, when you get attached to a cast of characters, one line of dialogue that isn't even sad can make you emotional.

That's how it was for Six of Crows.

Okay. Serious writer talk now. Multi-POV books are hard to pull off. Often times characters don't have developed personalities or good backstories that stand out. There wasn't even a risk of that problem in this book. From the moment you met a character they stood out. And then you learned about their past and cried.

The friendships! I love that Nina and Inej had a real friendship, not one where they shame each other and fight over boys and have pathetic girl-fights. It was so great to see a supporting relationship with them. 

More about romance later.

A+ Characters, Leigh. There was not a single one I didn't like.


-Writing and Structure-

Okay but when I read Shadow and Bone I loved it. It was a fun story, but mainly I loved the Darkling. Book one was rather formulaic though. Of course Siege and Storm came along and blew my mind but. 

Six of Crows. I am so amazed at how well done this book was. It took a lot of scenes and plot devices that have been used before (because everything has) but made them seem like you've never read them before. Something about Leigh's writing and structure really stood out. 

There wasn't a slow part of this book. Of course, there were parts with just talking and not fighting but they didn't seem slow. There was always some sort of importance to every scene, whether it be character relationships, or information learned.

I'm so impressed, man. So impressed. It's seriously just so cool to see her writing and story style develop from debut to now. 


-Messages and other-

I love an underdog story. I love stories about misfits and painfully broken people who become a /little/ more whole with the help of other broken people. I love stories about people who betray but come back only to fail again. I love stories where characters are on the brink of giving up but don't, sometimes because of one person. I love stories where people who were never supposed to be friends form an unbreakable bond. I love sacrifice and journeys. 

Six of Crows had some of the best internal journeys I have seen. Past it's emotions and squishy romance plots and bloody fights, it had some messages that I can really can stand by. 

Speaking of squishy romance plots. The ships. THE SHIPS. What can I say? 

I totally ship them all. But for real. it was so refreshing to have romance that never took center stage and didn't overwhelm the actual plot.


The Less Lovely Bits

??

Six of Crows? Less Lovely?

I don't think you know what you're talking about.

I really hope I am not overhyping it. You know what, I don't care. This is how I feel. Read this book, people. It's outstanding.


Overall: this book is my soul. And I will reread it over and over and love it over and over. 

“Kaz leaned back. "What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?"
"Knife to the throat?" asked Inej.
"Gun to the back?" said Jesper.
"Poison in his cup?" suggested Nina.
"You're all horrible," said Matthias.” 

Expecations

Hey would you look at that. I'm back. I have posted two reviews the last two months and that's just sad. Why? Because that is basically all I have read.

I don't know if it's being busy or reading slumps. But for some reason I could not get through books and that saddened me. The school year has started and I am scheduling in reading time to my daily schedule. And today, I'm reflecting on a few things.

Because I missed reading. Because reading is important. 

And here I am again, hoping to restart this little 'ole blog of mine. For any people who actually regularly read my blog, first off, i love you.

Second off, here's some new expectations.

(This is not a subject I really probably need to make a blog post about, but mainly I want to get this out there to make it official so I actually do the things that I say I will)

I am going to try to post a review weekly. I don't know how fast I will be going through books, but no matter what I want to get reviews posted weekly, and if things go as planned, two a week. This means pre-writing a lot.

I want to do more fun posts like Season reads, or recommendations based off of random things.

I want to get this blog up to a semi-professional level (as much as I can get, knowing me) where I can actually get things read. I've been extremely blessed by my local bookstore to receive arcs, and I hope to let this continue so I can get more serious in reviewing.

And there you have it. my hopes and dreams for this year. If you feel called to, pressure me. Nag me. Make sure I get it done.

A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz

There's a big difference between hating someone in peace and hating someone during war

This book comes out August fourth. I was hoping to review it way before it came out but I got so swamped with NaNo and life. But here we go! My first ARC review!

Stats:

Genre:  Fantasy

Feelings: Not really, actually

Happiness: Eh

Cuteness: Did not ship anything. Like. How many people is Beckan gonna make out with?

Fast pacing: Slow, but still it did a good job of engaging me

Series: Nope

Read if you like: ...Weird books. Unique fae type things,

Content: LOLOLOL what does this book NOT have.
a) cursing? Check. A lot of it.
b) Sex? Definitely. Nothing graphic and most of it off page.
c) Prostitute faeries? Why not.
b) Lesbian? Yep. Totally caught me off guard. Like. Wot.
c) Violence? You could say. It's just got some weird concepts
d) Thematic elements? lololol yes

In one sentence... Told back and forth from past and present, a very unreliable narrator tells the story of Beckan and her friends, and the struggles and conflicts with gnomes and other creatures, filling in the gaps with whatever he wishes.

Thoughts: glitter and dirt

Messages: It's kind of got some really neat family vibes here. And a lot about honesty. 

Overall:

Rating: 3/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

This was...a weird book. I am so conflicted about it. More so then I ever have been.

-Characters-

What was Beckan. See, I saw her from our narrators POV. And our narrator was...special. Beckan was spirited and crazy, but still realistic. She was a damaged, far from perfect character and I had fun reading about her. But I still don't think I'll really care about her.

Then there's Tier, the weirdo. Piccolo, who was random but totally fascinating. And Scrap. Scrap made me feel feelings.

See, there's no character that really stand out. I'll have to give it to Hannah Moskowitz. She knows how to write some crazy realistic damaged characters in a story with as many crazy concepts as this one did. Each one was so...human. Which was surprising, giving they were faeries, gnomes and tightropers. These were some nasty people. Nasty, sad, hurting. 

You have to give me a tiny break because I just got back from a writing workshop and I'm noticing more successes in books. This story had a very big struggle, a very good thing for a book.

-Writing and Structure-

The story just had...such cool concepts. Seriously. I love weird concepts. And this story had a lot of them. The worldbuilding, though sparse, was really fascinating. There was little description but there were just enough hints dropped that I could paint a picture of what I pictured it to look like and I loved that. This is one of those books where I am happy about the lack of descriptions.

The story had very little Big Events, but it did such a good job of getting into your head. I think it's good that it was short. It's hard to pull off a "no the writer did not write this the character did" book but Moskowitz did this so masterfully. It felt like someone had actually found this old notebook with the story in it and typed it up. I read this on a weekend trip and half the time forgot I was sitting curled up in a bunk bed at the beach because I was so tangled in this story.

-Messages and other-

This is a light-theme book, but the themes it does have were beautiful when you dug them out. There was a lot about redemption, and war, and recovery. All of it fit well with these characters.

The Less Lovely Bits

For as much as I loved it, there was a lot I didn't care for.

Okay. First off. It was just weird. I mean, I love weird books. I live for weird books. I write weird books. 

I think what happened is I really didn't know what to expect. I did not expect prostitute faeries that swear every single sentence. I did not expect this wacky world, these wacky characters. Everything was so random. And on one hand, it added to the texture of the story and the whole " a character wrote this not the author" vibe, but it also felt off.

There were definitely some scenes that just felt extremely random. As stated above, there is a gay scene towards the end. I didn't get it. I'm sorry, it's not that I had a problem, it was just that I really didn't get why it needed to be there. 

I don't know, man. This book is a weird one. I think a lot of people can really care about it. It's a concept and character driven book. But that's the problem.

You have to care about the characters to enjoy the book. If you don't, you'll hate the book. And if the character are impossible to dislike that's fine. But I can see how it would be easy to dislike this cast, which is what makes it a tricky book.

See, there was nothing blatantly bad about this book. Nothing that made me a Rage Monster and want to burn it. There was nothing truly wrong. The whole story as a whole just didn't sit perfect for me as a person. This can be different for everyone. 

I honestly thought this was a debut at first. Because I didn't know going in this was written as a character-written-book so it felt very off. As I got into it, I saw more clearly what Moskowitz was trying to do, but starting out it seemed like she had written a NaNoWriMo and published it without edits. (But I do seriously know that's not true because if all NaNo first drafts were like this then we'd be all lucky)



Overall, I did like it. I defintly found myself thinking about it a lot, even if it was less fondly then I wanted. If you can handle some randomness, I'd give it a shot. It really was a fun book.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.

So. Picture this. I am in the bookstore, drowning in my sorrows because my best friend has 100 dollars given to her my her parents to buy books. Me? I am very much thoroughly broke. The worst thing.

We go to the used section. And bam. What's there? Flippin EMBER IN THE ASHES. The book I have been anticipating. Ten dollars. 

And of course she buys it and of course I cry because I want it so bad. Well yeah there was  a bookstorian there, and we start talking about books and I express my sadness about not having money to buy it and you know what this lovely lady does? She disappears and comes back with a free arc copy. A free arc copy. I mean, normally arcs are for pre-release but. Free books?? Yes. Bookstore lady, you are my hero.

So last night I started it and yeah let's just say I didn't go to bed until the last page was turned....at 2am. (No see, but that's super appropriate time to stay up reading. Given my blog title.)

I am really not sure what I was expecting. But whatever happened in this book was good. Not perfect, but really good.

Stats:

Genre:  Fantasy with almost a touch of dystopia

Feelings: Yes. This is a very gritty book

Happiness: Not a whole lot of fluffy feelings? But the book as a whole made me happy

Cuteness: Ehhhh. I thought I’d ship Elias and Laia but I was neutral on ALL the ships. Some of them came across insta-love even though it really wasn't? Just because the relationships didn't develop enough.

Fast pacing: It wasn’t straight action but it was a very BAMBAMBAM book and well…I stayed up till 2 to finish it.

Series: Yes thank god .-.

Read if you like: Ancient rome, gritty fantasy stories, and…pain?

Content: As stated earlier, this book is raw. It deals a lot with death, blood, torture, rape, etc.  None of these other than blood were outright described, so don’t be too concerned. There are some graphic fighting scenes, a lot of flogging and cutting and slashing and branding. There is one attempted rape but hero person stops it before it gets far. Some of the soldiers talk about “the docks”, and the brothel that is there. I found myself singing “Lovely Ladies” from Les Mis  in my head a whole lot, actually.

In one sentence... In the gritty roman-esque world, where the empire of soldiers with faces of silver scourge the land, there are two teens trying to find their way: Laia is a slave trying to save her brother, sent into an academy as a spy, and Elias is a unhappy soldier, chosen for a contest to be emperor, and both of them are tangled in a long web of lies and secrets.

Thoughts: Old crumbling buildings

Messages: There’s an big underlying message of hope, and the two characters fight so hard to do the right thing and become strong, even when it seems impossible

Overall:

Rating: 4/5

This review is SPOILER FREE

The Lovely Bits:

This was overall a very lovely book. I feel weird actually describing it as lovely, given all the blood, but shh.

-Characters-

I started out not really liking Laia, actually. But there is some very well done character development that goes on, as we watch Laia going from weak and scared, to stronger, and braver. It was very slow moving, but very interesting development.

Elias was a likable character, given he was written to be like one. Good, loyal, brave. I did enjoy his POV's more that Laia's for most of the book, because he really had some cool insight to this world, but I did like seeing both sides of the story.

The other side characters were more Meh for me. Keenan was Major Meh, but that is because there was very little development for him. Helene was freakin awesome. I normally don't like female characters that are so tough they seem fake, but Helene was so...bad ass. I couldn't help but like her. She did start to annoy me later on, because she came across close minded, but after you learn some things about her...it just worked.

The villains were successfully creepy. Marcus is a butt. Elias's mom is a butt. Cain made me feel uncomfortable and Cook made me very very sad. All the characters had a distinct voice, and very good development, and paired with the great prose made for an amazing read.

-Writing and Structure

I've been reading a lot of debut books, and one of the common elements I have seen is in the prose. Often times there types of lines and sentence structure that shows up a lot. There actually seemed to be less of that in this book. There was some really great descriptions, and the voice was so unique, and fit perfectly with the atmosphere of the story. Sabaa really has this great smoky voice that worked really well with the book. 

The plot was evenly spaced, which moved the book along at a steady pace. One event was over, there was a small chapter of character development and some sort of political drama, and them another big event. Sometimes books of this size can start to drag towards the end, especially in the calm before the climax, but Ember did not have that problem.

The plot itself was very interesting. Though confusing to follow at times, it kept me engaged. There are so many "Evil Leaders of the land, competition to be king, lots of rebellion, hidden resistances" books out there? Its very easy for them to be formulaic and boring. Ember didn't have that for me. 

The story context was just very...cool. The augurs and scims, and masks really painted a good picture of this world. It could have been easy to just say "Ancient Rome!" and leave it. While world building felt put aside at certain points, I definitely want to see more of this world.

-Messages and Other-

I really feel like Sabaa tried to give a big message in this book. In the opening letter she said herself she wanted to spread a message of hope. That was done very well without being preachy. I always appreciate writers who try to communicate something Big through their stories, especially since I know first hand how hard that is to do without being sappy. 

There was a lot of hope-less scenes in this book, especially the end. To spread the message of hope and strength through such a harsh setting is challenging, and Sabaa did a pretty good job.

The Less Lovely Bits:

(There's a lot on this section but don't freak out it really was very good. I'm just nit-picky)

This book is definitely far from perfect. There were actually a good amount of things I didn't like? But nothing that made me go Angry Squid. 

As I said earlier, I have been reading a lot of debut books. Normally, debut books have lest risky plot points, the same formulaic characters or plots, and similar beginning writing styles. There were parts and characters in Ember that felt underdeveloped and formulaic. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but I'm getting a bit tired of "That really jerky guy who uses girls...because he's a jerk". I want more developed side characters.

Elias was a tad "eh" at times to. Don't get me wrong. I loved him. This is a nit-picky thing, but sometimes it gets old to have the main character in such a "mean" setting be the only nice one. Of course our hero looks down at beating slaves while everyone cheers. Of course he looks out for lesser people. Of course he doesn't go to brothels. Of course he wants to run  away. I mean, it wasn't bad but part of me kinda wanted a really awful but lovable main character, and watch the change.  I wanted to be told more about how the felt and what they were thinking. There were parts where I was more caught up in what they were telling me about everything else, then their whole story.

(also tbh I wanted the second POV to be Helene not Laia, at times)

And then there's the rape thing. Over and over, this book talked about rape to further show that this place sucks. 

Laia is pretty, so people KEEP telling her she'll get raped. Marcus tried to attack her, because he is mean. Our Hero swoops in to save her! Further connects the two characters! The Villain is coming so Hero pretends that he was trying to get the Heroine to sleep with him so the Villain doesn't think they're plotting! Over and over it was used as a point to move the story along, and it started to hold less power.  I feel like it was only a plot device to tell how awful this world is. I kept getting reminded that females are at danger every second. 

Eh and then there was the love square thing. I don't even know. I couldn't resist. I drew a diagram.

That basically sums it up

I really wanted to SEE the relationships develop. Everything felt very insta love which was tragic, because it really wasn't.

Overall, I loved this book. It was a solid story.