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Actual rating: 1.5

Do you ever just hear about a book and know without a shadow of a doubt that you will love it? That’s how I always felt about this book. I had seen rave review after rave review. Everyone I know LOVES it. So I always just knew that I would love it too.

I was wrong.

This book was painful to get through. From the forced writing style to the lackluster plot and flat characters. To say I am disappointed with this book is an understantment.

I know a lot of people praise the writing style but for me it did not work. At all. I am all for flowery writing, but this went beyond that and actually took away from the story being written. I had a hard time seeing past metaphor after metaphor after metaphor. If I have to see the phrase “flashing eyes�� one more time I am going to scream. What does flashing eyes even mean?? Why are everyones eyes flashing?? All it did was build a wall between me and the story and caused me to feel no emotional connection to the characters. My biggest problem regarding the writing was the fact that she kept TELLING me things and not SHOWING them.

Another thing that really bothered me about the writing was the use of foreign language. I fully appreciate that the author made an attempt to add foreign language to the book but she would just casually thrown these words in with absolutely zero context clues to decipher what the heck they mean. I had to constantly keep flipping to the back of the book and look up words in the glossary and every time I did it would stunt the flow of the book.

Shazi was such an annoying main character. First of all, she volunteered to be the kings bride and willingly went to the palace with no plan as to how she would kill him and knowing nothing about him. Then as she is there she talks a big game in her head about killing him and getting revenge BUT SHE NEVER EVEN TRIES. And the one time she even thinks about doing it they end up making out instead. SERIOUSLY? Her thoughts and actions do not match up and that was so infuriating.

Which leads me to the romance. Why do Shazi and Khalid like each other? When did their love happen? Did they meet of page and develop this relationship because it sure as hell didn’t happen on page. One second Shazi wants to murder him and get vengeance for him murdering her best friend and the next page she is talking about her fluttering heart. Seriously? TWO DAYS! Two days is all it took for her to fall for her friends murderer.

And as for her friend, we never see their friendship. So I don’t get the emotions behind Shazi wanting revenge. I don’t care her friend died. I don’t feel the feels. If there was just one scene of her and Shiva I would have understood more, but alas we were just TOLD they were friends and not SHOWN.

The only character I cared about in the slightest was Shazi’s bodyguard who never spoke. Other than him I couldn’t care less about these characters and their problems. Until about page 340 nothing happened in this book plot wise. It was just chapter after chapter of Shazi having conversations in her bedroom.

For as much as I didn’t like this book, I will be reading the sequel. Maybe not anytime soon, but I need to know if it gets better. I’m really hoping it does.