LacyLeeReads's Book Journey

👰‍♀️ ARC Review 💞

"I stepped forward, avoiding the mess, and pulled a tissue from the pocket of my dress. I'd never had a dress with pockets before, but now that I know about them, I could never go back." (👏 Amen, sister! 🤣)

❤️‍🔥 Think The Handmaid's Tale meets The Selection plus a side of Hunger Games stylist vibes. ❤️‍🔥

I absolutely loved this book. I devoured it! I think I read it in 2 days, practically cover to cover. It is under 400 pages so that helped, but it was the story that drew me in - that and the characters. Reading is political and this is no humdrum dystopia!

The patriarchal society with this super competitve atmosphere for the women was such a vivid place where you have "friends", but do you really? Because, they're competing for the same men you are and if you don't get married, you're going to have a terrible life - manual labor - or maybe even death. It's not good. It does not facilitate sisterhood. Only backstabbing. Friendship is rare - treasured.

The way Caz wound the story around, over, and under had me in knots. I was thrown for a loop so many times - in the best way.

I've been thinking about this book since I finished it and I can't get it out of my mind. The strength of the women, the bonds they were able to forge, and the love developing through this cruel situation had such a narrative tension with where the women came from, who was from the "it" circle and who was looked down upon.

Elias seemed to want to be a good guy, but his Dad has his ideas of who should stand by his son's side. He seemed to want to really find love and tried to make these beautifully curated dates, but he was also held back by the politics and the situation of having to conform to this Rite of Unity as well as the women.

I just - loved everything about this book. This has to end up as one of my favorite books of the year, easily. 😍

If you like The Hedge Witch books by Denise Critchley, Vox, or dating shows, you may like this book.

Triggers: Violence/Death, Sexual Assault, Mysogny, Domestic Violence - the author has a full list available