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3.5 ��'s

This book was a great start for a debut author! There were lots of moments that I enjoyed a lot. However, I do also have some criticisms of the book as a whole.

The writing in the beginning (and throughout much of the book) was a bit rocky at times. It is very repetitive, and I can't tell you how many times eyes I read that she was "playing a game" or that her feelings were "annoying".

Eyes were overdescribed constantly, and there was simply a lot of repetitiveness as a whole.

The first large chunk of the story could be The Hunger Games' sister �� At many times, it felt like a complete rip-off or fan-fic of the book. There are so many ways to spice up the trope of The Hunger Games, and I was excited to see where it would go, but it did underwhelm me a lot at first.




However, this book had its great moments also! Kai and Payden had some lovely banter. Especially reaching the end, I felt the author found her stride a bit. Kai's writing did feel mildly off at times, but towards the ending, it started to even out.

I loved their intimate moments. There was just something about the times when they were alone together that gave some truly beautiful scenes.

Kai and Payden's banter and slow burn really keep this story going.



Now after about 70% of the book, it honestly picks up! The writing starts to pull together. The trials get unique and intriguing. It made me wish the whole book was like that from the start. The end made me want to pick up the next book just to see what comes of it. I wanted Payden to tell Kai all of the tea SO badly!

Every character in this story ends with wild emotions. It took a U-turn, and I think the next book will have a lot of potential.

By the end, I almost forgot my problems with the beginning because I was so worked up!

All in all, I was hoping for more out of this story �� but I was by no means severely disappointed. I merely think with a bit more time, it could have been executed much better!

ALLURE's February Group Read