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i had to dnf at 65 pages and nothing pains me more than this. well, there's one thing: having spent money on this mess of a book. i picked it up thinking it would be a fresh take on new orleans and your typical dark, mysterious tropes, but oh boy did this book not meet my expectations.
in three words: predictable. boring. unoriginal.

the writing was half good but it did not make up for the plot. the main character is so goddamn bland, the antagonist/love interest is your typical bad boy with secrets and so on so forth. pippa? she's so obviously written to support every dumb choice made by celine and help push the story further. and do not get me started on the comic relief-i mean, sebastien's friend.

nothing is new. nothing is breathtaking and unseen before. nothing can convince me that this isn't a fanfiction of the originals that the author did not quite pull off.

the first chapter was promising but everything went downhill from there, surprisingly fast. i've had this crap on my bed stand for a month i mean c'mon i couldn't bring myself to pick it up because i just knew that the plot would not make sense and yet "something" would magically make celine take a step in the right direction. even though nothing seems realistic or even makes sense.

i mean... a very rich, very beautiful (because everyone in here is apparently a VS model) lady spends thousands of dollars on a bunch of handkerchiefs that you made and oh wow you manage to have this nun give you permission to roam free in the middle of one of the most hardcore carnivals in the whole world out of nowhere so you don't break a dumb promise you made to that rich woman? seriously?

and that's why i dnf'ed. so yeah. this sucks so bad and i'm sorry that it does because it could've been great.... but it isn't. periodt.

There is a reason why I've rated this book 5/5. There are actually many reasons, but over anything and everything, I enjoyed this book more than I think I can describe with words. I fell in love with the story, with the characters, with the places they took me to... Truly, a work of art.

I have a few things I am nevertheless going to mention, but they don't affect my opinion on the book as a whole. I'm just picky when it comes to my favourites, and I have preferences (which doesn't mean that they should be included or anything like that). These are just little things I think I'd have enjoyed a tiny bit more, had I read them.

Okay, so, first: I absolutely ADORE Victoria's style. Her writing is beautiful, precise, concise. You don't know me, but I love concise writing, with less ornamentation and precise words that reflect the exact meaning the writer's trying to convey.

But (here it comes)... I miss a few of those striking quotes. I think I've seen a handful, but I live for incredible, show-stopping, unbelievably beautiful and/or crude quotes scattered through the book. And, to my liking, there weren't enough. The ones included were great, that I give her.

Next, I'd say the beginning was a little too long. Granted I stopped reading before it got really interesting, but I stopped because it... Wasn't that interesting before. Sure, I read about Kell, learned about his trips and about the kings and queens and his background. But maybe, just maybe, I'd have devoured this book in two days if the beginning was a little bit shorter.

And finally (I only managed to find three minor and actually nonexistent flaws), the death of both Dane twins. Especially Athos. Throughout the whole story they are described as ruthless, evil, cunning and ambitious rulers, and it shows. A lot. I loved every single bit of it. But, to my liking, the way they were killed off seemed rushed. And maybe it's just me, but Athos knew perfectly (or so it seemed) how the stone worked and the magic it was capable of creating. So, if that's the case, how come he dies like that? It seemed rushed (not impossible because he was, in fact, obsessed with power and magic). Astrid's was quite cool though, I loved the irony and the social justice.

Great things that deserve a special place in my heart: White London, Rhy, Calla.

Amazing things that made my life a million times better: Lila Bard, Kell Maresh, Holland Vosijk, Lila Bard, and oh, did I mention Lila Bard?

I’m going to wrap up with one single wish for the next book (which I’m starting in a few days): give Lila what she deserves. And by “what she deserves” I mean the whole fucking world.

See ya.