Mints

I bought this book because of its reviews and the description tbh and OH does it mislead you!

THIS BOOK ISN'T FOR YOU IF

- you don't like horror (and man is gore-y shit not my genre
- you mind people dying left and right
- you were looking for Sci fi and not for weird sceleton dystopia future fantasy
- you were looking for any kind of romance (seriously all those people with their enemies to lovers.. WHERE IS THE LOVERS AT GODDAMn)

THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU IF
- you think you'd enjoy a gore filled murder mystery type of dystopia fantasy

THINGS I DID LIKE ABOUT THIS

All the other bad reviews I read (to be fair after finishing this book, sitting in my chair with my mouth wide open, trying to figure out wtf just happened) didn't like Gideon as a character, which I personally don't get.
She's very sympathetic, likable and the reason I kept reading beyond the first half of the book. Her bluntness often made me chuckle and she definetly did pass the vibe check. Her queerness is incredible well executed and believable, though her relationship with Harrow remains lacking.

The writing style is easy to read, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE

If you are a person that usually complains about overabundant worldbuilding you might not mind, but as a lover of lore and background information the entire world the author has set up was utterly confusing to me. It stayed completely shrouded in mystery till the very end, leaving me unsatisfied and disappointed. There were technical necromancer terms being thrown around left and right and it felt like sitting in a uni course on advanced physics even though you study art.
The plot twists in itself were a nice change and welcome, but by the end I was merely skimming over the pages trying to find out how it ended so I could stop reading. I mean it. I spoilered myself on most of Harrow the Ninth (2nd book of the series) so my poor brain could have a rest. I finished this book in a state of confusion, frustration and disappointment.


Without trying to spoiler y'all, for my poor brain that is used to fluff and occasional swords, I will not be reading the second part to save myself from going mad.
Maybe I'll read if once it's available in my local library, but I will not be spending money on this again, now, that despite false premises I know what's waiting for me. (not my fav characters, that's for sure cuz they all dead )
Personally I'd rate this 4 stars for the first half, and 1 for the godforsaken ending. But since I know people who like having their brains screwed by a mystery horror book filled to the brim with plot twist, humor and a decent writing style that tries it's best to avoid common tropes, I'll give this 2.

DNF

I re-read this after a few years and boy does it not age well. As in it was relatable for my 16 yo self but now I just cringe too much looking back.
Leah is the epitome of what one could define as 2016 Tumblr girl. But when you grow out of that phase (HP Fandom, certain ships, badly written slash etc) so many things that are referenced in to make it relatable just become cringe. It's like the author is flinging these buzz words in your face. Many things (pop culture, social debates) just feel obviously forced into the story and are not dealt with in a way that feels natural.

Also many of Leah's problems / issues in this book are very American and hence less relatable to me (Prom, College Fees, College Tours etc.)

Now to the plot:
I expected Leah to mature in this book and she does not. She keeps running from the problems, Garret is just sidelined without her ever addressing it properly and the whole topic just dissolves into thin air without her addressing it. Suddenly he's not into her anymore despite being madly in love a few seconds ago and Leah does not learn to deal with the consequences of her actions. Same with her being incredibly rude to her moms new bf.
No character Arc.

Next problem I had w this.
Everything exiting between her and Abby is in the past? How boring. Very little chemistry.

Also:
The entire friend group. Who is who's friends since when? I don't get it. Very messy.

What I liked:
Easy to read writing style.

An OK book. Many interesting ideas, yet executed in a way that neither makes me want to read another part nor made me care for any of the characters' story in any way. Towards the end I just continued reading to be finished with it. Sorry.

• setting I've never read before
  + morally gray, nicely written female characters (when counting Bhumika)
  + writing style I like
  - characters I feel no connection to
  - unbelievable romance
  - all but the main 3 characters (to me: Malini, Priya and Bhumika) lack depth and only exist to propel the plot