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If curiosity killed the cat, it was satisfaction that brought it back.

This is one of those rare few books that really shows me why we need a 3 1/2 star rating, and I don’t like to give 1/2 stars. This�� was so fun, and a four star book for me, and also it bugged the shit out of me to the point where I texted someone to bitch about it. But�� I honestly did have so much fun.

Let’s get the complaining out of the way: god, I fucking hate 2004 YA. I mean, this text has a bunch of homophobia and racism in there for “realism,�� and yet somehow it still managed to sound like How No Teen Talks Ever. Everything that happens with Corny kind of pisses me off a lot. And some of how Kaye’s being biracial is introduced�� rubbed me the wrong way? I can’t really figure out why. It just felt weird.

BUT.

So first of all, on the good side�� the fairies . The way Holly Black draws her fairy worlds and fairy characters is genuinely so imaginative, gorgeous, and�� creepy. Every time I dive into one of her books, I find myself both terrified and enamored with her fairy world, and I am so okay with that.

And more importantly, this is a very thematically strong book! There’s the fantastic meta-narrative about growing up, and learning to live with how others perceive you. There is no easy fix for Kaye’s life; no box to easily fit into. She is a member of the fairy world of the human world and she can’t figure out which one is which.

Kaye, though, is a really unlikable lead. I don’t mean that she’s flawed �� though she is �� I mean, I actively didn’t like her at all, and I love unlikable lady leads. I found that she was one of those early YA protagonists who’s written just generic enough that she’s easy to make into a self insert.

She’s not... awful. But she’s very selfish. And not in a delicious way �� in a way that’s really annoying because she keeps fucking up and the narrative doesn’t notice or criticize it.

Oh, but I will admit - I fucking love Roiben. I really hate reading YA sometimes because inevitably, if there’s some male love interest that everyone fangirls over, the female lead will be unquestionably the best character in the narrative. [I mean, to mention another Holly Black book, The Cruel Prince?? some of you just don’t appreciate Jude like you should.] But no, Roiben is so incredibly likable and compelling. It’s a cliche trope, but I adore it when characters who keep up walls fall for characters who encourage them not to do so. I absolutely loved him.

The main thing I want to say is that this is just�� a really fun book. It's so short that I basically bingeread it and oh, loved it. And do you guys even understand how fucking short this book is? it's 320 pages but every page is like, in sixteen point font, and also half the size of a normal book page, and I'm honestly just confused as to how this is a full novel. This would be great for fans of any of Holly Black’s current books or anyone who just wants to read a really fun, trashy YA book with a gorgeous fairy world and a really good love interest. Hey, I liked it.

| ŷ������ | | | ⭐Look out for my review of book two and my review of book three!