I heard a lot of mixed reviews about this book but I honestly thoroughly enjoyed it. It was everything I was looking for in a fantasy romance and just really hit the spot.

I always love a good Marley gray character and that’s exactly what we get here. Prince Cyrus is a character that you won’t really understand what’s going through your head, but you love every interaction with him. Does he want her? Doesn’t he want her? Why is he mean or why is he kind? Who knows. It gave me a very light version of prince Cardan from The Cruel Prince.

Violet is that unapologetic main character that’s enough to see in a fantasy. She is from the poor slums of this world and uses any power. She can get to raise her status. Knowing full well that it can be taken away from her from any moment. But she plays the game.

I’m not gonna lie, as I was reading this book I felt like I was constantly confused on what the overall plot was. What the main character was trying to do constantly change, depending on certain things that happened. And it was kind a hard to follow at times. However, the interactions between the characters and the desire to want to know what happens keeps you entertained throughout the story.

I will say, I found the ending to feel slightly rushed, and there to be a little bit of it is still love at the end of the book. However, I think how the second book is crafted, and where it goes is going to play a huge role in my feelings on how this book ended.

Thank you to Penguin Teen Canada for sending me ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.