I'm not really sure why I put off reading this book for so long. I loved Marie Lu's Legend series, but I never was really interested in this book. Probably because I never read a synopsis and I thought that this was about young children in high society (think The Luxe). Yeah I don't know why either.
I was not expecting the level of darkness that this book has. I was under the impression that this would be a lot like every other book I'd read about with main characters that have strange powers, but it was so much better. The main character, Adelina, struggles with a darkness inside her and this is very clear from the beginning of the novel. This immediately intrigued me. Usually main characters are good and don't feed upon fear. Her character felt almost like a villain, but a villain that was on the good side, if that makes sense. I also liked that even though she had imperfections, she wasn't obsessed with being beautiful or with her missing eye.
I really liked Enzo and Teren as side characters because you can see how their interactions with Adeline shape her. It is very clear that her actions have consequences with others and that their actions are critical in leading her down a certain path. I liked that both sides were manipulative to a certain extent, but Teren was by far the most dark and manipulative character. There was nothing really likeable about him as a character because he's so beyond saving, but I really liked him as the villain.
There was a tiny bit of romance between Enzo and Adelina, but it didn't overwhelm the plot. While it did affect Adeline it didn't consume her, which I definitely loved. It also felt there was a build up to it, so it didn't really feel like insta love. I actually quite liked the couple and thought there was some chemistry between them.
I thought that while the story itself wasn't very unique, the characters made it something different and intriguing. I also really loved the ending because it managed to surprise me, which seems to be very hard to do these days. I will definitely be looking at getting the next book as soon as I can.
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