I thoroughly enjoyed this book there's so many mysterious and theories and I'm so excited to read the next book to find out the truth. Also excited cause I to was fooled by atlas and I need to see his inevitable downfall. 

I liked it, but I didn't love it.
I think the premise was okay, but it really felt like it needed to be a little more fleshed out. There was a lot that we just needed to accept as "this is how it works in this world" for no real reason.
As far as characters go, I feel like our FMC was inconsistent.

Based on the "secrets" she knows that she isn't telling the audience it feels like she'd be more savvy / have a better idea of what is happening, so it's weird that the reader could sus things out quicker even without having as much insider info.

The book is 1st person, so it was also strange to me when she would have revelations that didn't have much build up.

Like "I" thought the Sun King was sus from the get-go, but she was lusting hard, until suddenly she was like " there was always something off" Girl I was in your head, you were way too in your own head / with your own hangups to suspect he had an ulterior motive past just being horny.

She also is supposed to be 24, and yes I know she's lived in a prison for half her life so there is going to be trauma behaviors with that, but there was a weird level of self-awareness about her behaviors, like she'd been to therapy or something.
Other characters were also kind of off and I can't place them. I can't tell whether we're supposed to like Gabriel or not, he's so inconsistent. He's an ass, but then sometimes he looks at her nicely and that was enough for her to be cool with him? I think he was supposed to have a bit of a teasing older brother vibe but I don't think it succeeded. He's just a dick.
The world feels so vague. A lot of it can be chalked up to our FMC not knowing shit, but also she was 12 when she was imprisoned, not 4. She should have some idea of the world around her.

Again, I get the impression she knows a lot more than she's saying, but for some reason her inner monologue is still confused.

My other complaint isn't just a this book problem, but it feels like "New Adult" is written less as YA with Spice, but like Middle Grade with Spice, which gives those scenes a weird icky quality even though they're technically happening between adults.
I'll give book 2 in the series a chance I think, but I really need to see some real world building and character development/growth to go any further than that.

Lor has spent 12 years imprisoned, though she has committed no crime. One day she wakes up to find herself in a castle far from the prison and her siblings. She becomes one of the ten women who are competing in a deadly contest to become bonded to the Sun King. 

This is a very predictable book. I was able to see the big surprise pretty early on. The character and plot are pretty unoriginal. It is basically a mashup of other popular books and characters (think The Selection + Hunger Games + ACOTAR + Red Queen) but not as well written or developed. 

This is trying very hard to be ACOTAR. The Aurora= Night court, Atlas=Tamlin, Nadhir=Rhys etc...

Lor started out very independent and strong willed, but ended up being extremely naive. She is supposed to be a strong woman shaped by her tough life, but she just crumbles at the smallest setback. 

I found the way that the dual POV was written to be interesting. Lor was written in 1st person where as the Aurora Prince was written in 3rd. It threw me off at first. 

Tropes: slow burn, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fantasy 

Lor has been a prisoner for half her life and is just trying to survive the brutal life of beatings and sexual assaults for fun inside Nostraza. After being sentenced to two weeks in the Hollow- a pit outside the prison, unprotected from terrifying creatures that roam the forest- Lor is barely coherent when she’s spirited away to luxury and comfort as she finds herself the final tribute in a competition to become the Sun Queen, however not everything is as it seems. 

I have mixed feelings about plots that revolve around one character being totally in the dark while everyone else is in on it. Obviously, it creates tension and a way for the audience to learn about the world but it’s annoying when it would take ten minutes and an ounce of kindness to explain. I also got some literary whiplash changing from Lor’s 1st person perspective to Nadir’s chapters in 3rd person. I got used to it though and it made sense to experience Lor’s triumphs and setbacks through her eyes while Nadir is more of a secondary focus here.

Rarely do I wish a book was longer but in this case, I do. The characters were underdeveloped to the point I could predict most of the plot based on their archetypes. Something I liked was that Lor enjoyed the dresses and long hair in her head instead of being not like other girls. Atlas is a walking red flag. The most interesting character was Gabriel because he’s clearly in on some of Atlas’s plan but not all of it and he can’t seem to decide for himself if he wants to help Lor or harm her. 

We as readers are also kept in the dark about lots that hasn’t been revealed yet. The hints are not hard to miss- Lor has this gem, the Heart Queen was destroyed, a rose is found in her former lands when everything else is dead, etc- but we did not get a reveal in this book. However, it was a fun read and I am excited to read the next one. 

Good young adult fantasy, was great to have an FMC in her 20s and not be meek or unsure of herself. I liked that she didn’t change too much as a person from the beginning and she stuck to her own convictions but was good to see she also wasn’t immune to everything! Overall really liked the setting although there are multiple elements that have been done before / are typical of the genre, I wasn’t very surprised by the twists. I did like the realistic elements of her being a prisoner in the beginning and the sibling element was nicely different to usual. Am intrigued to find out more going forward and discover the 2nd love interest more! 

Good pacing overall. Kept my interest. Interesting world building and Fae politics. FMC with the potential for strong individuality, but had several moments of stupidity and naivety. Semi-predictable plot and characters, but the book still ended with a lot of reveals left... unrevealed but hinted at.