The easiest 5 stars I've ever given. This book made me feel such a huge range of emotions. I will never get over this book. Fans of dark academia, magical fantasy worlds, and dynamic and imperfect characters will adore this book. But be warned - it is not a lighthearted read and will likely rip your heart out like it did mine.

Ultimately, what sucked me in was the parallels that can be made for females in STEM-related fields. As a woman with a hefty STEM background, I felt the rage that our FMC Sciona felt to my core. This, and so many deeply relevant topics to today's world were addressed in this book (racism, sexism, religious violence just to name a few). I'm blown away by M.L. Wang's ability to so eloquently deliver some seriously impactful deeper meanings in this book.

This was heartbreakingly beautiful and enraged me in the best of ways. I feel like I could write an entire wall of text on this book, but I'll end my gushing here. M.L. Wang, you are a genius and I love this book with my whole heart.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for an ARC of this book.