dark emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Very fresh and new perspective on fantasy creatures like vampires and werewolves! 

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emotional slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Why is Poppy so STUPID????? 
Big points: I will not be continuing this series. I loved the MMC. Hated the FMC/narrator. The writing style doesn't do it for me. Too much detail that revealed what was going to happen later, not enough shock value in learning things through Poppy's eyes. Side characters are just there to add little side plots and background, it's obvious we won't be seeing much of them. Slow writing style, could have been 300 pages shorter and gotten the point across. 
I can't stand first person narratives where the narrator/main character has so much potential to be smart and use their instincts as they've been taught, gets every truth laid out in front of them, and STILL self-sabatoges by not trusting the people who LITERALLY save her from a terrible fate. I get it, she's been locked up for most of her life, physically abused, shunned, and only taught certain things, but she can't be THAT stupid. Honestly the only thing that kept me reading around page 250 was the MMC, Hawke. He obviously sees something in her that I do not, and the way he talks to her is amazing. It's giving Kingfisher from Quicksilver-- throw-her-over-your-shoulder-while-she's-kicking-and-screaming-and-i'll-live-if-she-hurts-me vibes. YES. If he were the main character and this story were told from 3rd person POV, I'd be ALL IN.
I liked one of Armentrout's other fantasy books, so I decided to try this one, but I'm not so into it. I'll give 3 stars to any book that keeps my interest until the end, but I won't lie-- the writing style had me speed-reading, trying to find the next part where Hawke shows up. This is a book where someone will ask a question, and then there will be 3-4 paragraphs of internal monologue or details about the world before they get an answer-- bringing you in a roundabout away from the conversation, enough that you forget what the question was and you have to go back and read it again. This is mainly why I don't want to continue the series. Seems like an interesting world, but it was hard to get through. I honestly thought this would have made a perfect 200-page book, but it's close to 500! (I find this happens a lot with the first book in the series) Not only that, but all of those details in the internal monologue end up making the book super predictable, and when the shocking scenes come up, there's no rollercoaster of emotions when you read it, because you already knew it was going to happen. All the moments of surprise are ruined by prior context, which I think could have been avoided. 
If you like stories with lots of repetitive details, can relate to an FMC who has been abused and obviously has trauma she's dealing with that messes with her head, and you will read anything about werewolves and vampires, this might just be the book for you.

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Good but since this is the first book in the series it is a little slow

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adventurous dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started reading this book. Based on the cover, I didn’t think it would be too explicit. Then, I decided that it would be a good idea to read before work. I got to chapter 2, and oh gosh. It wasn’t even 8:00 in the morning and I found out exactly what this book had in store for me.

Aside from that funny moment, this book was…interesting. The pacing was good and all of the characters are distinct and well written. The relationship between Poppy and Hawke is….again, interesting. The first 3/4 of the book it’s a pretty good relationship. There were moments where I felt that Hawke was being a bit creepy or weird, but we later find out why. The last 1/4 of the book is where I’m questioning the relationship a bit. There’s a lot that happens and that changes both to the characters. And I’m not sure if that’s good. BUT because the book ended in this way, it makes me curious as to what will happen next.

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Has any male character in this book ever heard of « consent » ?
Will read book 2 out of curiosity in case they grow more respectful and loveable…

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medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Relatively early in the book I decided to look up info on the ascended. I enjoyed the book much more with this background and I would have been really confused by the world building without it. I understand that the author was trying to build suspense, but it was annoying to have zero background on the world/sociery/creatures. Guessing my rating would be lower if I didn't Google and was fumbling through the book. 

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I went into this one extremely cold which made the plot twists very exciting - there were some predictable trope moments but I still thought they were satisfying. Once I started reading I could not put it down. And, as far as female protagonists go, the evolution of Poppy through this story has been one of my favorites; there were several moments where I would actually put the book down and say "Good for her" out loud. Can't wait to get the next book!

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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