So I wasn't a huge fan of the style of writing from the get-go. I feel like given the hype that this is getting, a "literary masterpiece" this is certainly not.

But okay, I can't get my knickers in a complete twist as I love a fun book every now and then.

In no particular order:
I think I was thrown with the ya-na-romantasy vibe. Violet is 20 which makes it YA but it’s reading like NA/ mature sometimes and I couldn’t decide which vibe it was on. I’m not even sure why this throws me off. It just does.

The enemies to lovers trope definitely was not strong enough. Violet and Xaden were supposed enemies but nothing really happened to build this up. After a few hard stares and 1 or 2 weak interactions, like that was it. Not enough of a burn for me.

The world building was a bit bland to me, I didn’t feel enthralled by the academic setting or the world or the dragons. I would have liked to have felt more of the magic surrounding the storyline and plot (and less of the other kind of magic tbh).

Speaking of dragons, eh was not a fan of the weird dragon humour. I feel that such ancient species don’t think or mind-speak like that. It just didn’t settle with me. I was cringing at times at the dialogue.

And Violet herself? I think I’m personally just over the “tiny”, “weak” FMC with family issues. Just too much mehhhhh to begin with even though I can admire that she’s still a strong character in how she handles herself. I just didn’t feel like I was completely behind her as the story went on. I struggled to read her in 1st person. Reading from her POV possibly made me dislike her more.

Overall, I would say that this book didn’t feel like anything new. It felt pretty generic from a lot of other novels in a similar space.