4.25 stars I’ve been looking forward to reading this for a while and I’m glad it didn’t disappoint. Although I’ve enjoyed Liang’s past few books, this felt like more of a return to how IYCSTS and IHTDFY were written. Chanel was so fun, she’s rich, vain, yet self-aware, and caring toward others. She’s highly calculating and she met her match with Ares. I appreciated how Liang wrote Ares’ character, it was very refreshing. There was no acting with him, he was honest and him and Chanel made so much sense together. I loved their relationship dynamic. This is the first time that the author wrote a dual POV story and I thought she did a good job. It was interesting to see his perspective, my only complaint was that I wish his chapters were written in first person instead of second person. I do hope that Liang writes more dual POV books.

Chanel’s relationship with both of her parents was explored and I thought it felt very realistic. Chanel’s mom drove me crazy at times, but I appreciated the growth written into her character.

I enjoyed the plot itself. It was high stakes enough to keep the tension going, yet there were slower moments in the story that allowed the character’s relationships with one another to develop well. The pacing was great, I never felt bored, and the humor was understated and never felt forced. I do wish a few plot points had been expanded on a bit more, to make it feel more realistic, and that we had gotten a proper resolution on one important point. There was one detail with Ares and his dad that I just felt was very unrealistic, and I wish had been changed.

I’m so glad I got to read this arc and I think people who loved Liang’s other books will love this one too.

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book!