How the fuck is this book so highly regarded. This reads like a 15 year old's fanfiction, and that's an insult to fanfiction that's better written than this. I give half a star for a creative world idea, but come on. It's trying to be dark and edgy but it makes my eye twitch.

Things just happen for the sake of happening. Plot points come out of nowhere, constantly making the reader double take and ask, "what the fuck?". It seems there was no pre-planning for the plot, given how random events are and how easily problems are solved. There's no tension.

Elspeth is a self insert with no personality to relate to. Her relationship with Ravyn has no basis or justification; they have no chemistry. He falls for her the day they meet, hopelessly obsessed. There's no slow burn here; don't expect a passionate relationship. Ravyn has grey eyes and he's tall. That's it. 

Side characters exist with one gimmicky trait in place of spending any time actually showing the reader character growth. Ione is such a throwaway character completely there to help Elsepeth because Gillig needed a convenient out for a problem.

Somehow 400 pages slipped by and it feels like nothing meaningful actually occurred. What am I missing? Why do people love this? What a disappointment.