I was looking for a 'distinctly average but still good enough book that I wouldn't want to bash my head into the wall repeatedly' kind of read in here, so I must admit that I was surprised when I ended up actually liking the blasted book.

I mean, I love the characters, I love the setting, I love the character arcs and the character development and, holy hell, I loved the ending so much.

I absolutely loved Amy and Elder (despite the fact that I hate that stupid name and I keep wishing that he changes it or something) and their chemistry was intriguing and lovely to watch. It wasn't exactly the type of edge-of-your-seat thrilling, but it did make me wonder about what would happen to them as a couple and, you know, actually look forward to their development as such. The good thing is, their whole romance thing didn't feel forced at all: it was like watching a plant thrive, all natural and instinctual.

And I must say that I wasted a lot of time thinking afterwards about Elder. Like, holy shit, his character was just so . . . so believable and complex and well thought-out. Most of all, the disclosure of his secret was so very shocking, yet still within the realms of possibility. I mean, it wasn't just a surprise that was created just so the author can say she wrote a 'Big Reveal' kind of thing in her novel, the reader actually gets clues and stuff: jus the right amount so that we can say that it's believable, but not so much that it ended predictably.

The plot, too, I dare say, is phenomenal. Just when you thought you've got it right, it makes for another turn; and though I pretty much guessed who the hell was murdering all those people halfway through, the reading experience was in no way negated because of it. In fact, it makes it more thrilling, in a way: it makes me want to see if I'm right (though, oddly, with any other book, I would've called the plot childish and far too easy to guess—something about the writing, I suppose).

All in all, the book was amazing. While I'm pretty sure that other readers don't love it as much as I do and also of the fact that, technically, this book should've only gotten three or four stars from me, I don't really mind. There was a certain something to this book that added a kind-of depth for me, and it worked out marvelously well.