Thank you to Netgalley and Azala Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. 

True rating: 3.5

I have mixed feelings regarding this book. On one hand, the plot is decent and entertaining but on the other, there were some issues that were just hard to ignore. 

1) I'm not a big fan of the formatting when it comes to the POV's. Each chapter starts off with the name of the character, telling you exactly whos' perspective we will be getting in that section. Unfortunately, this didn't always ring true. Occasionally, the chapter would randomly switch perspectives to the other character with no forewarning. Most of the time it did have an obvious break in the page that once you noticed, prepares you for the change, but there were a few times that the break was missing. It was a bit jarring and broke the flow of the book, pulling me out of my immersion into the story. 

2) I was IN LOVE with this book being a true enemies to lovers story. I was so excited that our MMC, Kellen, was actively trying to torture and kill our FMC, Noella. The premise of the world being that these beings have no time for emotions. They value strength over everything and see emotions as weakness. So when Noella gets a job as a guidance counselor for these children, she is enemy number one from everyone at the school, staff included. At least until 20% into the book where suddenly he no longer wants to drive her out of the academy. It was such an abrupt change that I put the book down for a while, unable to pick it back up as I felt lied to and robbed. I wish that we had more of a slow burn between them, more of the chemistry as they butt heads and clash, slowly shifting into that lovers mindset instead of the random genre shift that we were given. 

3) I absolutely loved the mental health representation in this book! We see kids and even some teachers overcome trauma that was forced on them as a race of people. The author does a fabulous job of showcasing tips and tricks that we can do ourselves in real life if that is something that you struggle with. Watching the characters in the book realize that emotions are not a weakness, and watching them grow and become better people for embracing their pain and struggles, was such a beautiful thing and I truly admired it. 

4) The plot twist wasn't a twist at all. The author gave us so much foreshadowing that it was glaringly obvious around 30% of the book what was going to happen. I think that she needs to learn how to subtly weave information in for the reader in throwaway comments or simple nods that aren't so in your face. It would have made the reveal satisfying if we weren't spoon-fed the information throughout the book. 

5) While I loved the twins, Eulaylia and Jarion, their mental maturity was too great for that of a 12 year old. The author should have aged them up just a smidge to align more with how she portrayed the characters. I do understand that these two characters had so much trauma on them that it forced them to grow up before they should have, but their age just didn't vibe with what the author was giving us. However all that being said, I do think that they were more of the better side characters in the story. I loved their journey, their growth and just their overall personalities. 

Overall, despite the flaws in the book it was a decent read, if not a little long. I will probably continue with the series as it comes out and ends up on my radar but I won't be going out of my way to do so.