DNF @ 50pg

I DNFed this one so fast that I won't be rating it, but I think I'm doing the book a mercy in this decision, because if I'd read enough of it to justify a star rating, I'm pretty sure it would've been a measly 1 (maybe 2, at most).

I received this as an ARC from the publishing house without requesting it, but it sounded like an interesting premise, so I decided to give it a try (plus, the cover is kinda gorgeous, and I'm a sucker for a pretty cover). Unfortunately, the writing is a disaster. It's jumpy, feels unnatural and stilted, and every action feels utterly inconsequential. Even in the first few pages, events occur that should be a really big deal, but they just get tossed aside and breezed past for no apparent reason.

On top of that, the sexual aspects of this book... oh, boy. I have no issue with sex in books. In fact, I think it typically adds a lot to the development of the story, if done well. This, however, is not a book that does it well. In the first few chapters, there's a "fake" sex scene that gave me what might have been the worst case of secondhand embarrassment any book has given me in years. Unfortunately, I don't think it was meant to be as funny and awkward as it turned out.

If it tells you anything, this book has me strongly considering creating a Goodreads shelf titled "interesting-ideas-with-terrible-execution".

Thank you to Page Street for offering me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.