4.0-4.5

In the acknowledgement section, Schwab writes "This book nearly killed me... books can't hurt you unless you care about them," and I CARED SO MUCH. Oh my goodness. To start off, the beginning went a bit rough for me because it felt so slow. I didn't feel the connection and drive to the story primarily because August and Kate were so far apart for so long. But their separation was SUCH good character building as a result of book one.

I don't ever underestimate Schwab, but she seriously writes a conflicting morale, monsters, good and evil and internal conflict SO WELL! The dynamics between the characters and duos like August and Kate, and our antagonists (x2? 3?) develop so well as the story continues to build. I also really loved the slight change in writing from prose to verse created so much more complexity in the different perspectives and viewpoints without making it confusing.

Through and through, Schwab knew that writing this story meant it wouldn't have a clear happy ending for everyone, and I LOVED IT! However, I feel like the end was a bit rushed. I understand the choices that were made, but to really pack a punch emotionally, I would've loved to have seen more than what we were given for the last chapter and elegy. I definitely feel like something was missing and I can't quite put my finger on it, but I still enjoyed it a ton!