Yeaaaah. (Treat this entire review like a spoiler.)

First, I probably should've realized this wouldn't be my thing because of some reactions I got just by putting this on my TBR shelf. "Are you going to snark it??" someone asked. (No, but damn is it snark-worthy.) "Oh, you're going to hate Barrons and V'Lane." (Yes. Yes I did.) "The series gets better!" (Not as comforting as it's meant to be.)

Thing is, I get the love for the book. No offense to anyone who likes it, but it's kind of trashy. I use that word only because it's what is used to describe addicting-but-probably-not-awesome TV or movies. This is like that. There is an element of easy readability here as well as an interesting backdrop and world that helps you power past the more pernicious aspects.

And to me, those things weren't bad. The Fae are interesting, and the characters have potential. In the hands of KMM, though, that potential is wasted in large part because of crappy writing. In theory, Mac Lane is awesome. She's girly, sassy, unapologetic about who she is, and pretty self aware for the most part. In practice, all of that is buried under a mountain of IN YOUR FACE writing and repetitive prose that made me HATE the fact that Mac loves nail polish, because if I had to hear about it one more flipping time...

Everything about these characterizations is heavy handed. Just painfully so. Mac comes across dumb as rocks because of it a few times, and it cheapens her as a character. And while I understand that it's plausible that she would be hesitant to accept this world and life, I was 50% into the book and she was STILL saying crap like, "even though I'd seen them with my own eyes, touched them, almost died by their hands and all signs point to yes, I STILL didn't believe I was a Sidhe-seer..." Terrible. Shut up, Mac.

Basically, in an effort to make her girly, KMM too often leans on vapid and shallow, as if the two things can't exist apart. I don't care that Mac likes clothes and looking good. Hey! So do I! I care that she walks into a den of magical beings and thinks, "shit! I dressed totally wrong."

Barrons was a walking manly man of masculine tropiness. He was also kind of my favorite thing about the book, though because KMM's descriptions of him are HILARIOUS. SERIOUSLY, A FULL RIOT. I don't even really understand why she insisted on reminding us that Barrons was more man than most men. I don't even know what that means. Maybe he walked around with his penis in his hand all the time. I guess that would be one way to exude manliness.

He's also a terrible person. I think he chokes Mac like 27 times within the first few days of knowing her. That might be a slight exaggeration. But then, we're supposed to be okay with shit like that, and the way he talks to her and basically grounds her and pushes her around because he later saved her life. I'm supposed to forget she can't wear a bra for a while because he hurt her too badly because he called her by the name she prefers to be called by. I'm supposed to forget he grabbed her by her hair and yelled at her because he paints her finger nails. Hahaha. NO.

Combine those two things and you have Barrons being a jerk and Mac saying stupid crap like, "in this light he looks dangerous!" He LOOKS dangerous? HE CHOKED YOU. HE BRUISED YOUR RIBS. WHO ARE YOU?

Barrons is a shell of a character. There is no personality at all, aside from "manly man abuser," with a dash of, "MYSTERY." Pass.

V'Lane was absolutely my least favorite part of the book. I mean, not even that he caused Mac to shed her clothes and whatever other nonsense, but because of the way KMM treats this plot point. Mac tells V'Lane he'd been about to rape her and he says, "you wanted it." AND SHE FUCKING AGREES. YES, I WANTED IT. DEFINITELY. No word about how NO, she was under magical influence and that would definitely be RAPE.

NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.

NOPE.

The dialogue wasn't particularly good. There were up to three "Ms. Lanes" per page whenever Barrons was in a scene. I get it, he's stuffy and shit, but no one even calls someone they are having a conversation with that many times.

I didn't particularly like the way the story was written, with Mac narrating from the future. It was like watching a movie with someone who'd already seen it, and that person was saying stuff like, "this is where it gets good!" or "crap! This part is awful!" That's annoying then and it's annoying in the book as Mac actually says things like, "this is where everything changed for me. It was a cheap way to build suspense. KMM probably needed that story telling device because her plot plods along. Seriously, if Mac had just gone TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME AS SOON AS SHE CAME TO DUBLIN TO INVESTIGATE HER SISTER'S DEATH, like 47% of this story would've been unnecessary.

It's kind of impressive that in a world with so much magic and big bads and sex and death, you're kind of thinking, "alright already! On with the story!"

There isn't much story. By the time the end rolls around, and suddenly she's all, "hey look at me! I can fight!" I didn't even care. Fine, Mac. You can insta-ninja. Hooray.

Apparently, though, I'm one of approximately 5 people in the world who didn't love this book, so probably ignore me.

Will I keep reading? Meh. Not now, if ever. And only if I find a way to get the book for free.