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tw: rape, physical/sexual/emotional assault, mentions of suicide & self harm

There were things I really loved about this and then there were other things that legitimately turned  my stomach. Because of that I've been struggling on what to rate this book. I simply can't justify the things I loved without shedding light on the topics I had trouble with because HOLY TRIGGERS, there's a lot. But at the same time I can't write a review on the things I had trouble with without recognizing the things I enjoyed.

My main and biggest concern with this book is that it is YA, meaning 12 year old children who read YA can easily and unknowingly get their hands on this. And by no means am I dictating what children should be reading but there are no warnings about any of the triggering topics in this book. I personally understand the reason for all of these topics to be a huge part of the book, but I think a younger audience may not pick up on it so easily. (We're talking about a 10+ year gap between myself and 12 year old children)

Initially, I really loved this story. The writing was phenomenal, and remained phenomenal throughout the book. I absolutely cannot take that away from the author. There are very few if any fantasy novels that I can devour in just about one sitting. However, as we got deeper and deeper into the story and got to see Prince Emory for who he truly is I became more and more unsettled that this was a YA book. I do have to admit though this was super unique and the ending kind of blew my mind (in good ways and super unsettling ways).

All in all, I think this book would have faired better under the NA category to make sure it falls into the right hands.

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