The lore and magic in this book were cool and intriguing, but I’m not a fan of how the plot was executed. The beginning, for example, could’ve been left a mystery. That might’ve opened up the story to more in-depth character and plot development. Certain events were rushed and it all felt very surface-level. 

I wanted Evangeline to do more; it felt like the plot was happening to her and she wasn’t the driving force behind the story. It wasn’t until the end that she started doing anything significant. You got the bare minimum from these characters, it was hard to connect to or care for any of them. It was like, they were wrapped in tiny individual bubbles that only contained less than a handful of interesting things about them. They were there for the plot and that alone, nothing else mattered about them lol. The Fates had more character about them than anyone else but outside of Jacks, we mostly got glimpses and mentions.

This was simple and easy to read, definitely something for anyone trying to get into fantasy. This was set in the same world as Caraval and I haven’t read that series but I heard some things make more sense after reading that. Not a horrible book, but it wasn’t enough to move me or leave an impression.