This is THE BOOK for the lonely-touch-starved-introverted-but-desperately-wants-to-be-included-in-a-friend-group girlies.


Things I liked:
• I loved the build up between Alessa and Dante. I'm an absolute sucker for slow touches and romance that builds up slowly.
• I loved the eventual friend group. Each character had such a fun/individual personality to them. My favorite scenes quickly became ones that involved Alessa, Dante, and all the Fontes.
• Adding on to the previous note, the character development we see from major AND minor characters is a treat. The way I was wishing for someone's death at the beginning, and then he became one of my favorite characters by the end was a wild ride.
• I thought this was a really great first book to a duology. I love that we had a clear obstacle to overcome and something new/additional opening up at the end to tackle in the sequel. I'm looking forward to the next book!
Things I was "meh" about:
• The world building felt like it took a little too long to become clear. The set up for Finestra/Fonte had me scratching my head for a while before I really started to get the whole picture.
• Some of the writing in certain scenes also felt a little muddy. Like, it was hard for me to picture exactly what was happening/who was where.
• I also feel like it took a bit before I was engrossed in the story, but I was also fighting a reading slump while reading this, so that might be more of a me-issue than a book-issue.
Things I didn't like:
• Alessa thirsting over Dante got A LITTLE much at times. It wasn't so aggressive that it really bothered me/impacted my reading experience.
Just once or twice I had to give her a little side-eye like, girl - relax you're embarrassing me. ( )

I loved everything about this one!

The Characters Alessa is a fantastic protagonist, especially for a YA book. She begins the book accepting the scorn of those around her as her due. She sees herself as a failure and is beginning to listen to those that wish her gone. (Spoiler level low, but marked for those that avoid them entirely.) Dante cuts through that. But she doesn't suddenly start valuing herself because a man tells her too, she takes his words and truly thinks about them. Allows him to introduce her to a different point of view, and then makes her own choices to change and grow and thrive. This is a wonderful progression for a book aimed at youth. We follow along as Alessa fights against a system that does not serve her, something that's likely to resonate with many teens.

The Plot This is a largely character driven book, though the plot is also very engaging. We are along for the ride as the countdown to the end of the world ticks by.

The Writing I found the writing to be very good. The banter and dialog was all fantastic. The prose were well crafted and interesting. My only critique is that the supporting characters did not have particularly distinct voices. ( )

* I got this book for review*
I realy loved this book. The touch someone and they die troupe is not always my favoite but i really loved how emily crafted this story. I also loved this story was also super poltical elements at the heart of this read! It was suepr fast pace read. It also in addition to be it also had find your mate eleement with magical twist. I overalll loved this book. I think the world building had soem confusing moments but first books in the series it was very well done. I am really excitd to see where book 2 goes! i also really loved the main romance in this book and also really enjoyed the focus on friendship elements as wel!! ( )

* I got this book for review*
I realy loved this book. The touch someone and they die troupe is not always my favoite but i really loved how emily crafted this story. I also loved this story was also super poltical elements at the heart of this read! It was suepr fast pace read. It also in addition to be it also had find your mate eleement with magical twist. I overalll loved this book. I think the world building had soem confusing moments but first books in the series it was very well done. I am really excitd to see where book 2 goes! i also really loved the main romance in this book and also really enjoyed the focus on friendship elements as wel!! ( )