Karen

I'm new to sci-fi genre, I struggled to follow some of the key plot points at times. The world is dense and rich, but also confusing to keep track of. The premise of the book is extremely interesting, it covers important topics such as race, identity, misogyny, classism, and motherhood. This book makes many great points about the reality of womanhood today and what could be. Even though I did enjoy this story something felt flat. I wish it was told in a story I loved more. 

This is my favorite book in the series by far! I think Helene is my favorite character! She is brilliant, loves her people and ready to make sacrifices for the benefit of many. I think the biggest strength of this series has been the constantly turning plot. There's always a new development, a new wrench thrown into the best plans, that the characters have to find a solution to. This book was non stop action, betrayals, reveals, and heartbreak.

Finding out Cook is Laia's long lost mother, sad part of the story, but a neat piece to tie things together as well. We get inside the Nightbringer's head and what object is the last piece of the Star. Elias now fully embracing his role as Soul Catcher, ugh a bit sad. How will this series end?

The imagery of literally eating the white male gaze. I love weird books. This was an interesting perspective on the serial killer genre. This one is very focused on the Korean American experience, heavy character focus. Ji-won is unapologetically crazy and prone to hallucinations, adding an unpredictable and thrilling element to the story. But it is really her or the tumor? I could see Ji-won losing herself to her desires and  getting caught. Some men are trash and being a woman is hard and even harder if you are a woman of color.

I don't really know how I feel about this book. I liked it, but maybe my timing was just off. It took me awhile to get through it, due to work and and falling asleep from exhaustion. Sometimes I only read a couple of pages per day. But... The story was a lot darker than I expected, it's a cruel, harsh world. I did enjoy the dual narration, it worked really well in this book. It was a bit repetitive in the middle. I really liked the ending though, because that's when the characters decided to do something for themselves rather than wait for things to happen to them. By the end it feels like they is a lot of potential going into the next book. The last quarter of the book was very good and I hope the next book can pick up and maintain that momentum. I will continue the series.

What a fun read! I do think if this story had a few POVs from the other characters while on the island, it would have made it that much more interesting. I was rooting for Maddy and felt horrible for her throughout the story. There are a few loose ends and the pacing slows down in the second half, but I still found it to be a compelling read with enough twists to keep me hooked.