Extremely slow start, but exciting last 25%

Rating: 2,5 stars

I didn’t like the book as much as I had hoped, but I do have a lot of thoughts on why that is.

First of all, the book had an extremely slow start. I was only partly invested in the story halfway through. Sure, a book can have a bit of a start before it gets going. But for me, an amazing book has to grab you from the beginning. At most it can take 75 pages. This book didn’t do that for me in any way.

Then the characters. I couldn’t get on board with half of the main cast, while the characters are generally the most important thing to me in a story. So, maybe it comes as a shock to some, but I didn’t like Kaz. I am able to like morally grey characters (think Berlin or Palermo from La Casa De Papel), but Kaz was from the beginning on just a bastard for the sake of being a bastard, and there wasn’t anything about him that intrigued me enough to compensate that. His backstory is scattered throughout the novel, so we get to know more about his motivations quite late. Too late, if you ask me. Besides, his past didn’t make me feel for him. His personal motivations didn’t make much sense and were too intangible for my liking.

With Inej, on the other hand, I had the opposite. I liked her backstory and the depth that provided for her character. Despite that, I didn’t find her character that interesting, to be honest. Maybe she felt a bit like a pawn, because she did have reasons and a backstory of her own, but didn’t do much more than serve the plot in several ways.

Jesper I found funny at times, and he had some interesting things, but he didn’t feel vital enough to have his own POV, since I think the book already has too many POV’s. I think his or Inje’s POV would be the best one to cut. Just the POV, not the character.

Now a more positive part: I loved the characters of Nina and Matthias. In fact, I liked Nina right away. That could have something to do with the fact she wasn’t as brutal as most of the others. Apart from that, I think she’s a brave, independent, fierce and resilient woman who fights for what she believes in. She didn’t eat out of Kaz’s hand and questioned him regularly, which I liked. And of course the thing she does at the end is amazing. Beautiful character. Matthias I enjoyed, because he has some serious and complex inner conflict that was really fleshed out and added an ongoing source of tension to both the story and his relationship with Nina. Talking about that: I loved their relationship. A remotely forbidden love that blossoms out of defiance. Totally my cup of tea. I loved their backstory, chemistry and the development in their relationship throughout the book. Truly one of the highlights for me.

Wylan was just alright. He added some nice dynamics into the group by being not as badass as the rest, and I liked the chemistry between him and Jesper.

Due to me liking some characters more than others, I enjoyed some parts of the book more than other parts.

Overall, I liked the last 25% best. In the first 75% of the book, things went way too smoothly and easily which irritated me, because I found it unbelievable and far-fetched. In the last 25% however, things got messy and therefore more thrilling.

The plot twists great. Not mind-blowing, but they were surprising enough, yet not so much it was unbelievable.

The events near the end were really good and peaked my interest. Actually, the book ends not only with raised stakes, but with better stakes. They are far more urgent and personal, which made me care a lot more, even for Kaz. Result: I still want to read part 2 of the duology sometime.

One last thing I can't left unsaid: these characters are supposed to be 17? Seriously? That’s ridiculous. I would have believed it if they were in the age range of 20 to 40…

Anyways. These are my personal opinions. Objectively, this isn’t a bad book. If you liked it, or think you’ll like it, that’s amazing. Everyone has a different taste in reading and appreciates different things, and I think that is a wonderful thing we should cherish!