First, I am just unashamed to say I am very entertained by this series, despite its flaws.

It’s hard to really have perspective on the whole thing because there are still so many books planned, so things that a lot of people gripe about like the repetitiveness of Violet / Xaden’s arguements and the slow progression (some would say lack of development) of the depth of their relationship is something that we will either better understand the more books Yarros writes, or will just flatline and become a problem. But for now, I’m pretty satisfied.

I do think the lack of page time with Xaden made me read this book faster because I just wanted to get to the next chapter with him in it. So anyone who points out that parts of the book falls flat for this reason isn’t wrong. So much happens in this one that the character and relationship development across the board is pretty shallow, and the plot does feel circular at times.

The second half of the book was better than the first! And I couldn’t put it down when it got to the last 150 pages. It’s a gut punch ending, for sure, and could lead to a lot of different storylines for future books. Will definitely be on this band wagon as long as books keep coming!