DNF at 60%.. though I don't standardly rate/review books I DNF since this was from Netgalley for my honest review and I read at least half/more than half of the book.

I tried really hard to like this book, I am standardly a fan of enemies-to-lovers, fated mates, slowburn etc. but this story just kind of kept pissing me off. The pace of this story was awful, too fast for the tropes WAY too slow for the story plot to even know what the heck was going on in the world. The author was very descriptive with expressing the emotion of the characters but when it came to world/plot building it was just 'told' to us story mode narration style and that annoyed me. MMC needed to work WAY harder for any type of redemption from the FMC though it seemed like she gave it way too quickly for what the MMC did to her... there are certain unforgivable actions a character can do that I don't feel makes them redeemable or morally grey or anything... and this MMC did one of those things. Slowburn didn't exist... for this to be a 7 book series I believe... we shouldn't have even had anything even close to to-lovers happening in book 1. FMC is also only devastated about the things that have happened or that have been taken from her when its convenient and other time she is happy/bubbly/simping with MMC and it made it cringey and insufferable for me. Also, your FMC and MMC do NOT have to go through EVERY SINGLE WORST THING IMAGINABLE and or be the most special beyond special unique from every single other character to feel attached to or relate to or even make sure they got that main character energy. FMC didn't have to be the 'different' girl in the real world but strangely so very good at everything, be the most beautiful (which the toxicity of needed to wear makeup or she looks like death warmed over even though she is described as insanely beautiful was EXTREMELY annoying), etc... it was all just too much. When MMC has things revealed to him about his life and his story was already bad enough to have him tell FMC about things I felt like we just needed a check list of making sure every bad thing possible was there... cuz why not??? I dunno it didn't work for me at all. FMC simped too hard too fast about EVERYTHING... MMC only had to do bare minimum for redemption.. YUCK! I am glad to see from other reviewers that this hit the spot for them and they loved it but in this day and age I expect better from characters with these tropes this to me just projects too much of what is wrong with the mindsets of expectations/romance/love/relationships to me. Motto: every single book is the best thing since sliced bread to someone (there is a reader for every book) but not every reader needs to love every single book and that is ok!