What readers say
Buckle up buttercup because this is going to be a long one. So first of all, this book was marketed to me as “katniss but spicy”. Sure okay I’ll bite. Literally the only things you could even remotely compare to Katniss are that the FMC is insufferable and she’s a good shot. That’s it. Nothing else. There is also ZERO comparison to the Hunger Games other than the fact that there’s wards or districts that are the oppressed and then the “capitol” who are the rich folks and a revolution. And the spice? It’s spicy to be spicy but there is ZERO intention in it. I can live with a slow burn, in fact I ENCOURAGE it, but I felt like every trope was shoved into this book with not much intention behind it that some of them fell flat. I’m all for a dominant “touch her and die” love interest, but honestly it just felt possessive and not in the fun way. Now I WILL say, towards the end of the book (legitimately like the last 20%) I was finally interested enough to want to read more than a chapter or two at a time. Also, I have beef with the fact that they marketed this as a dystopian novel. It’s not. Just because they’re concrete walls and piping everywhere does not mean it’s dystopian. The uprising however many years ago is not really addressed, so that adds to the confusion of “how did we end up here in this current time and space”. Sectors across the country that do different things like farming and fishing and lumber? GROUNDBREAKING. I’m dead convinced all of the 5+ star ratings are paid actors. I do think this book had a ton of potential, but things just fell flat. Will I read the rest of the series when it comes out? Probably because I’m a glutton for punishment and I want to know what happens. I’m also hoping that the author finds more of a direction to go in rather than just what this was…messy.