I picked this up because of the title. Like the Series of Unfortunate Events, in which Lemony Snickett often addresses the reader directly, Pseudonymous Bosch also uses this style to engage with and explain things to the reader. The narrator prompts the reader repeatedly to be contrary: "this secret is too dangerous", "go back now", "stop reading here if you don't want to...", etc. Admittedly, this style backfired on me because I'm perverse enough to operate contrariwise to the desired contrariness. I felt less like continuing to read because they were obviously telling me to keep going by advising me to stop.
That said, Cassandra and her friend Max-Ernest endeavour to save a schoolmate and a missing magician from the clutches of a mysterious group of people who seem to be searching for the secret of life. The use of synesthesia as a plot device and character trait is unique and intriguing.