please read and re read all content warnings in the beginning of the book! they are very accurate!!!!!

this book reminded me a lot of the kdrama, the glory. my heart aches for the characters. the last half of this book, it felt incredibly immersive and the world around me melted away. it was nice to have that feeling of getting lost in a book so deeply.

this would be one of my favorite thrillers ever if not for how the topics discussed do affect me more than neutrally (defo abide the content warnings, i personally chose to move forward with them in mind and skim over certain parts, but the atmosphere of these topics is something that looms over every page in a way you can't really skip over.) for me, a favorite book means i am confident enough that if i ever revisit, i will love it just the same. i don't know if i can revisit this book and go through it again, but i did love it in the moment.

stick around for the author's note if you can, i appreciate the author for their work sm and i know i will look forward to their future works. i want to also dive into some of their interviews/more of the author's story too, after reading both of their current works that are out, i feel attached to their work and their art.

the very intentional use of different POVs was incredible, it was the most creative i have probably ever read. the character work was very well done, but i felt like i could have become more attached to some of the characters, which is a small reason why i personally could have loved the book more. i want to say more but want this review to be spoiler free!