I really enjoyed this one! The only thing I thought was missing was a better explanation of the magic and how it works.

Spoiler

(Although, now that I think about it, the Belles probably didn't know much about it either, so naturally we wouldn't know.)

I identified so much with these people wanting to change how they look. Granted, I was never as extreme as this, but up until I was about 16, maybe 17, I hated the way I looked. I hated being black. I wished every day that I was full Greek like the rest of my family. Part of that was so I wouldn't look like my father, but that's a different can of worms. I hated being one of the only black kids in my school, half or otherwise. I hated my curly hair, hated the fact that I was reduced to a petting zoo because "oh my gOD your hair is so curly! It's so soft! I thought it would be nappy. Why is it so soft?" Like you've never seen curly hair or a black person. Get over yourself, please. Also, get your nasty ass hands out of my hair. The worst times were when teachers would do it. I just wanted to fit in, not be turned into more of a spectacle than I already was. It was a difficult journey to accepting the way I look, and some of the things these characters said, how critical they were of their own bodies, reminded me of my struggle. Thankfully, I learned to accept how I look. More importantly, I learned how to love it. (I mean, it helps that everyone who made comments about me looking different ended up wanting skin the same colour as mine and spent hours fake tanning to get there. Karma may be a bitch, but she was on my side.) I hope the next book shows these characters learning the same things I did for the sake of anyone else out there who feels the way I used to. It's one thing to identify with a struggle, but what's really important is to see that things do get better.

On a less personal note, I got a ton of Hunger Games vibes with the fashions and how outlandish some of them were, and I'm not mad about that. The magic also kind of reminded me of the small science in the Grishaverse. Not mad about that either!

The ending has left me wanting the next book right now! I definitely predicted some things, but I enjoyed how everything played out.