i thoroughly enjoyed this book. one thing i adored the most is the character development, (totally was not screaming out of pure joy at the ending). this book sent me on an EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER. i was grinning like crazy one second, and just straight up shrieked out of frustration the next.

i did find the first half of the book a little irritating, so much that i did plan to give this a 3.5 or 4 rating, but the character development did make up for it. the imagery for this book was 100% beautifully done. st R's sounds like the most wonderful school (well it's a crazy rich boarding school what can i say) the characters are generally nice, they're real, and i absolutely loved the diverse characters. some parts of the book are somewhat cringy, so do brace yourself for that.

overall, pick up this book if you're looking for a fun read, in a mood for something royal core-ish, and want some brilliant world-building and use of words.