There were some cute moments, but I definitely felt like the plot was all over the place. It was hard to see any sort of development in their relationship with how much time skipping was going on, almost as if it was being used as an excuse to skip relationship development and sweep that stuff under the rug.

The plot twist? was okay. I didn’t see it coming, but it really had little impact on the story in my opinion.

I can see the hype around the book and I didn't exactly mind the writing. It's made me interested in reading the rest of the series and maybe some more of Ana Huang's books.

Also, Alex is just not.... He's not it. He literally has somebody stalking Ava for damn near half the book and she's supposed to be okay with that. And I loved the whole 'groveling' thing but at the same time, it was lowkey disappointing to see Ava get back with him even after everything he did. Maybe if you're into sociopaths he's your jam, but half the things he did were either downright wrong or just... Ew. The idea of him following her to London is super cute until you think for three seconds and realize that he is just stalking her at that point. Which is not cute. And threatening to kill her poor friend when he was just shooting his shot? Okay buddy, calm down. You can make the threats, but this man meant every single one seriously. That is concerning.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

TLDR; the plot is very inconsistent, the male love interest isn't all that loveable, and there was barely any character development done on page

Content Warnings

saagis's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

So. This book was mediocre at best.

The first half I was hooked, couldn't put the book down and was thoroughly enjoying it.

Then the second half came with it's most rushed and stupid plot twists I have ever seen. They were not clever, there was too much of "this would never happen" happening. Plot twists are good when they can be traced back and I feel like "oh my god I should have seen this coming" but when you read it and then it's more like "i know exactly what will happen next and then it happens they become meaningless plot devices.

Also Alex also seems all powerful and like he has control of everything in the world, everything just seems too easy and happening at the snap of his fingers. I get it's fiction but everything is so conveniently placed I see myself thinking "well of course he has that" or "of course he did". He also goes from protective to crazy in a matter of chapters.

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