I was going to give this book 3 stars, because despite my following review, I did enjoy this book. It was, at the very least, a fast and entertaining read. But the more I think about it the more annoyed I'm getting.

The attempts at foreshadowing and an unreliable narrator were certainly an attempt. Maybe it wasn't supposed to be a reveal and I'm getting worked up over nothing, but everyone is just so secretive throughout this book, and the ending was certainly written like it was supposed to be an "Aha!" moment. But it was so obvious from the very beginning who Lor is supposed to be, despite her claiming she has no clue what anyone is talking about.
Flat and predictable, the plot barrels on ahead despite the many many holes it has. Why must we hold trails for the choosing of the Sun Queen? Why must the trials be deadly? Why can't we just stick a bunch of women in front of the Mirror until it picks somebody? Nobody knows! That's just the way things are, DUH!!

And I don't think I've ever read a book where the FMC's POV is in first person, present tense, while the MMC's POV is third person, past tense. Certainly another choice on the author's part. I've read my fair share of books that swap between first and third person for the different characters' chapters, but shouldn't we be sticking to the same timely narrative? Unless we're looking at a flashback or something? I thought mayyybe the reveal would be that Nadir's chapters happened a long time ago and Lor is the only one in the present, but nope. Just sloppy writing. There's scene where their POVs are back to back of the same event, and it was still like that there as well. A narrator was recalling his side of the story, and Lor was telling us her side as it was happing. I found it jarring, to say the least.

Was this book the worst thing I've ever read? No absolutely not. Was it just a clash of the plots of SJM's entire writing collective and The Selection series? Absolutely yes. And do I have the next book sitting on my holds shelf? For now, but that's subject to change seeing as I have a projected several months wait. I may change my mind between now and then. 

This book is The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor. Highly entertaining. Lor can be annoying at times, but I think we can expect a good character arc from her

At first I wasn’t sure if I liked this book as it felt like any other romantasy book. However, I became more intrigued and invested as I kept reading and

the cracks in the familiar plot began to surface until finally the façade was broken similar to the façade Atlas wore for Lor.

I can’t wait to read the next one and see what other secrets are revealed!

GUYS PLEASEEEEE READ THIS 😭😭😭 especially if you like once upon a broken heart and powerless

Lord is a compelling character with a heartbreaking story. I had suspicions about some of the characters that proved both right and wrong. I can't wait to read the next book!