edit: updated to 3/5 from 4/5 after the dumpster fire that was cc3

This is the last series i need to read of SJM. i think this is also my favorite so far. it has a good mix of adventure and romance, and Bryce is also my favorite lead character of any of the series’. Bryce is actually a great character with a lot of depth who is also not helpless like some of SJMs characters can be. she accepts help from others but is also able to carry her own despite being labeled as weak. 

this one was definitely longer than any of SJMs other books, and the pages are quite large, but it still was fast paced with all that was happening. i was very quickly sucked in by the plot and my interest in the characters, to the point where i actually cared about what happened with every character, both good and bad. normally i find at least a few characters to be boring and filler, but i think all of these characters are interesting and i hope to see more of them in the next book. 

my one complaint is that

Hunt tried to spur the rebellion again with the synth. i thought this was really stupid since he was so close to the deal he had struck with micah, especially because he knew most of the “truth” of the case, even if it was micah’s false narrative and that micah wasn’t going to honor it anyways. the fact still remains that he could have solved the case of the kristallos demons and have his sentence reduced to 10 murders instead, but chose to throw it all away for a potential rebellion that lacked the numbers and organization necessary. i feel this was pointless and could have had him be brought back into sandriels duty in basically any other way

.

i’m excited to read the sequel and for the 3rd book to come out next january. 

if you like mystery, espionage, battles, futuristic magic, and enemies to lovers, this book is definitely for you.