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sagessun 's review for:

4.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Definitely one of my favorites by Ava Reid so far. This was such a fun ride and low key got me emotional at the end... I'll definitely be thinking about this for a while!

Characters: 
I loved the complexity of the characters and how Melinoe and Inesa were able to learn from each other and learn to care for each other despite the circumstances. These are probably my favorite characters written by Ava Reid so far; they are so multi-faceted and interestingly molded by the world they live in. They are easy to fall in love with and root for, and even when I found the story becoming mundane, towards the end, I was blindsided by my emotional connection to them.

Atmosphere: 
As always, Ava Reid excels with their ability to build compelling and intricate worlds, and this one was no different. I loved the parallels between post-nuclear New Amsterdam, its citizens, Caerus, and our current and future society. I never have to struggle to imagine Reid’s descriptions, which I love. The atmosphere reminded me of other classic dystopian stories, and I always found myself on the edge of my seat, feeling the intensity of the scenes, especially at the end. 

Writing: 
I love Reid’s writing style, and I was taken aback multiple times by some lovely quotes and writing moments; they truly do have a way with words and effortlessly digestible figurative language. Reid also has a trend of letting us roam within the minds of their characters, and I was able to get a deep understanding of the characters through their narration. 

Plot (*spoilers here*):
The overall pacing of this book was very good; however, once we neared the climax of the book, I found myself getting bored and pushing through until things really ramped up toward the end. I really didn’t like the moment between Melinoe and Inesa when they finally kissed and realized their feelings for one another. It was weird to me how they just got crazy literally moments after Mel was burnt to a crisp… like that was just so jarring and weird to me. Otherwise, although sometimes predictable, the plot always gagged me. 

Intrigue:
Aside from the Melinoe and Inesa thing pissing me off, I was very intrigued throughout the book. The pacing of attention was enough to keep up except towards the end when the whole shabang went down, when I felt a little bit of struggle to get through.

Logic: 
There were many hints throughout the book that I wished had a little more explanation to them, like Melinoe’s past, and her relationships with Keres and Azrael; these left me with a lot of unanswered questions and unrelieved payoff. There was one small plot hole I noticed, where instead of calling her “The Angel”, Inesa refers to Melinoe as her name before she learns it, but that’s a small nitpick. 

Overall, this book was so good but if there's not a sequel I think I'll die. I definitely think this book could have benefited with some more pages to allow the story to really unfold at its full potential, but this book sets up for a great series if Reid decides to take it that direction (they better.)

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