I read this book like two years ago and was so confused. Not sure why this one was so hyped up it made no sense to me and I didn’t feel like the guy cared about her at all.

I can’t believe I finished this disjointed, very poorly written train wreck of a book. The entire time I was either a) rolling my eyes, b) saying, “no shit, Sherlock!” because the MC is soooo naive and dumb as a brick, c). Confused. So confused d) pissed off that I wasted my time with this, hoping it would get better. Spoiler alert: it did not. e) cringing

Also adding this bit that I texted to a friend:
The worst thing about this book is the stupid and absolutely mind numbing inner dialogue of this complete idiot of an MC. And it can go on for PAGES.

Ok so it's a no from me. 🚫 Evangeline has the personality of soggy cardboard and her narration soggified the entire story for me. Teenager me would have 👏eaten👏this👏up but adult me is so sick of these super young FMCs and MMCs that are hundreds of years old.

This was some ASS, and that is saying something, given that before I went into this book I gave myself a literal pep talk of like "don't pick it apart, it's gonna be bad, just enjoy it and let it slay" and it still blew chunks.

I want to preface this by saying I think I might have ate this up when I was 11.....although idk because even 11 year old me had taste.

-MC is hugely annoying here, literally so boring giving me nothing
-i understand the intention of the writing style but it did not give what it was supposed to give, the story is told very internally and is supposed to show how MC's thinking changes over time, but it's sooooo one note and simple that it's boring and therefore annoying. Sooo many metaphors and for what girl. I know she's sad and insecure, tell me something new
-this effect is doubled because there is just....not much happening outside of MC's internal world. This book takes place in a dystopia as an afterthought, and there's lots of sort of lazy exposition for the sake of the real money scenes (high emotional payoff and high tension, romantic tension/sexual tension, action scenes, suspenseful scenes, etc). There are very few characters outside of the main 3 and it makes the "fantasy" aspect of this feel like it was tacked on for an extra shot of drama
-so many weird scenes where she's getting objectified by men. And the point of these scenes is usually to have a white knight moment by another man or to serve as a means of showing the audience how hot and desirable MC is
-the pacing????? Was so weird?????? Like there is no gradual tension building???? I haven't read anything like it that I can remember. It's like, I'm reading 3 chapters that are all the same, unnecessary, not moving the story forward whatsoever and I'm getting bored because the text is narratively useless and then BOOM the whole house is on fire, grandpa's pacemaker is failing, we're calling 911, we're being shot at, etc. It all just seems random at times, like miss mafi just picked plot points out of a hat and was like ok hell yes let's write this one

Overall, I was confused, bored, riveted, cringing, and rolling my eyes at various points throughout the book. This is like wattpad written by an exceptionally literate 5th grader

I’m very much struggling to understand the hype around this entire series. I found Juliette to have an incredible lack of self-preservation for someone with her powers, as well as extremely self-absorbed and childish for her age. The entire time, I was thinking… does Juliette have an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex? Juliette acts like an 8-year-old. She has no logic, no reasoning. Warner is a dick, and I will stand by that because no trauma can excuse the way he’s treated Juliette thus far. I mean, again, maybe this is good for a 13 year old but, (un?)fortunately not me.

i feel like 14 year old me would have loved this but for 21 year old me this is just incredibly mid. i will still read the next book because y'all told me it will get better and i already own the next three books. maybe i'll start loving it! i didn't like the cruel prince too when i read it for the first time and now it's my all time favorite series

DNF.
I recommended this book for a newly formed book club with my best friends.
It's a shit show. It's SO BAD.
The plot is almost non-existent, like it's not even in the room with us.
Evie's thoughts are ALWAYS as follows: "wow his forarms are so big, his chest is broad and hard, his hair, his paslnfoi uasBFPIsdajfmn^..."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
There is no substance to this book. I can't even continue reading, each and every time I sit down to read this book I end up falling asleep or trying to do something else, ANYTHING ELSE.
Girls, I'm sorry our first book was SHITTY, never again am I recommending a tiktok author :'))