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pagesplotsandpints's Reviews (2.1k)
Read Completed 2/26/24 | 2 stars
I really wanted to like this and it sounded so promising, but its ultimate downfall was a combination of plot and pacing. I understand the concept behind the style and how it was written to be a little disjointed as Sydney falls back into a cycle of addiction, but parts of it were hard to follow and the plot suffered as we spent time in Sydney's mind and didn't really get answers for most things.
The beginning of the book was very fast-paced and horrifyingly exciting as Sydney is ambushed in a burglary turned home invasion. She wasn't supposed to be home and fights off a man looking for something in her house. He ends up brutally murdered and the police think that Sydney did it but she has no memory of it. Great hook for the beginning!
As I kept reading, I got a little frustrating with the flashing back and forth because until I got the hang of it, I wasn't sure if one timeline was imaginary or real, or if they were supposed to be happening at the same time. It was a little jarring, but eventually I figured it out! I got a little bored in places and I almost DNFed twice and then it got interesting again. Sydney would find mysterious connections, odd patterns and symbols, and I got interested again. Sadly, none of that ever really panned out and we don't get a good explanation for anything. Yes, we find out what the connection IS in a sort of blurry info dump, but that doesn't really get explored beyond just telling the reader what it is. We don't really find out more about it afterwards.
I also don't really understand what the "seven visitations" were... Were those just the times when Sydney relapsed? This was categorized as horror but really once you find out what's happening, it's really more sci-fi thriller but with very little sci-fi. I expected a lot more horror and supernatural happening, but everything had a reason, even if the reason was not good.
Ultimately, I think this book just needed a little more focus and to clean things up a little bit. It is a book about addiction, tied in with another genre. What that genre was, I still can't really tell. I wish it leaned more into the horror side if it wanted to be horror, or more into the sci-fi side if it wanted to be sci-fi. The lack of direction and explanation ended up being confusing and left me -- and a lot of other readers -- lost and disappointed. The ending was even more confusing considering we don't get to talk about what this entity is and does, so while a good ending really could have helped, it just kind of fizzled out.
I really wanted to like this and it sounded so promising, but its ultimate downfall was a combination of plot and pacing. I understand the concept behind the style and how it was written to be a little disjointed as Sydney falls back into a cycle of addiction, but parts of it were hard to follow and the plot suffered as we spent time in Sydney's mind and didn't really get answers for most things.
The beginning of the book was very fast-paced and horrifyingly exciting as Sydney is ambushed in a burglary turned home invasion. She wasn't supposed to be home and fights off a man looking for something in her house. He ends up brutally murdered and the police think that Sydney did it but she has no memory of it. Great hook for the beginning!
As I kept reading, I got a little frustrating with the flashing back and forth because until I got the hang of it, I wasn't sure if one timeline was imaginary or real, or if they were supposed to be happening at the same time. It was a little jarring, but eventually I figured it out! I got a little bored in places and I almost DNFed twice and then it got interesting again. Sydney would find mysterious connections, odd patterns and symbols, and I got interested again. Sadly, none of that ever really panned out and we don't get a good explanation for anything. Yes, we find out what the connection IS in a sort of blurry info dump, but that doesn't really get explored beyond just telling the reader what it is. We don't really find out more about it afterwards.
I also don't really understand what the "seven visitations" were... Were those just the times when Sydney relapsed? This was categorized as horror but really once you find out what's happening, it's really more sci-fi thriller but with very little sci-fi. I expected a lot more horror and supernatural happening, but everything had a reason, even if the reason was not good.
Ultimately, I think this book just needed a little more focus and to clean things up a little bit. It is a book about addiction, tied in with another genre. What that genre was, I still can't really tell. I wish it leaned more into the horror side if it wanted to be horror, or more into the sci-fi side if it wanted to be sci-fi. The lack of direction and explanation ended up being confusing and left me -- and a lot of other readers -- lost and disappointed. The ending was even more confusing considering we don't get to talk about what this entity is and does, so while a good ending really could have helped, it just kind of fizzled out.
3.5 stars
This was interesting but I really didn’t like the ending so I ended up going with 3.5 stars instead of 4
This was interesting but I really didn’t like the ending so I ended up going with 3.5 stars instead of 4
Read Completed 2/22/24 | 4.25 stars
THE STARLESS SEA meets RABBITS meets THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY with a touch of THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR and CALL DOWN THE HAWK
I took a chance on this book after feeling in the mood for some more fantasy and seeing some good feedback on social media and Goodreads. I really had no idea if I would click with it and I'm really pleased with my experience! I'm not going to lie, I was really hoping this would end up being a 5 star read for me and I can absolutely see why others loved it so much, but there were just a few things I didn't connect with as much as I wanted to.
I went into this story mostly blind, and I would recommend that for readers who don't want some smaller things spoiled as well! I read a very minor spoiler about something that happens midway and I wasn't shocked by it but I did end up anxious to see how it would fit into the plot. The book really takes you where you need to be and is a great combination of careful plotting and some characters you want to root for.
The magic was absolutely wonderful. I always love door/portal magic and I love bookish magic. This combined the two, focusing mainly on a magical book that turns any door into any other door. The discovery of this book was also fun to see how Cassie came into possession of the book, and we eventually circle back around to see the other side of the story and the decision to give Cassie the book. The wonderful circularity was so much fun to watch and I love when an author can loop everything back together!
I really did like the characters but I still wasn't overwhelmed by them. Maybe it was the narration, but I still very much felt like I was being told a story instead of being fully immersed in the book. There were also some times where the plot moved just a little too quickly, and I would have liked to linger on a few heavier and important points to really take it all in.
That being said, I loved all of the individual elements in this book and really enjoyed how Gareth Brown combined them all together in this lovely story! There are some excellent quotable lines as well with a sort of ethereal vibe.
THE STARLESS SEA meets RABBITS meets THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY with a touch of THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR and CALL DOWN THE HAWK
I took a chance on this book after feeling in the mood for some more fantasy and seeing some good feedback on social media and Goodreads. I really had no idea if I would click with it and I'm really pleased with my experience! I'm not going to lie, I was really hoping this would end up being a 5 star read for me and I can absolutely see why others loved it so much, but there were just a few things I didn't connect with as much as I wanted to.
I went into this story mostly blind, and I would recommend that for readers who don't want some smaller things spoiled as well! I read a very minor spoiler about something that happens midway and I wasn't shocked by it but I did end up anxious to see how it would fit into the plot. The book really takes you where you need to be and is a great combination of careful plotting and some characters you want to root for.
The magic was absolutely wonderful. I always love door/portal magic and I love bookish magic. This combined the two, focusing mainly on a magical book that turns any door into any other door. The discovery of this book was also fun to see how Cassie came into possession of the book, and we eventually circle back around to see the other side of the story and the decision to give Cassie the book. The wonderful circularity was so much fun to watch and I love when an author can loop everything back together!
I really did like the characters but I still wasn't overwhelmed by them. Maybe it was the narration, but I still very much felt like I was being told a story instead of being fully immersed in the book. There were also some times where the plot moved just a little too quickly, and I would have liked to linger on a few heavier and important points to really take it all in.
That being said, I loved all of the individual elements in this book and really enjoyed how Gareth Brown combined them all together in this lovely story! There are some excellent quotable lines as well with a sort of ethereal vibe.
Read Completed 2/20/24 | 4 stars
These books are so beautifully written, atmospheric, and etherial. I really did love Iris & Roman's story in so many ways. It's weird because normally I'm craving duologies and for series to be shorter, but I really think this one could have been longer and thrived.
My one complaint about the series is that I wish the mythology and world-building regarding the gods had been more prevalent in DIVINE RIVALS. Rebecca Ross spends a lot of time setting up Iris & Roman's meeting and romantic development, which was all wonderful, but when it came time for the gods to play their part in the plot, I felt like I knew little to nothing about them. Flash forward to RUTHLESS VOWS, where they are incredibly involved, and I just wish the series had a little bit more balance. It might not have bothered me as much had there been a book in between where the plot has more time to grow and we get some book two world-building, but being only two books, it felt very romance-heavy on the first book and very action-heavy in the second book. For my personal tastes, it would have been more satisfying to be more engaged in the world from the first book and a few plot points could have hit harder in book two.
Despite this not being a 5-star series, I do think I'll be thinking about Iris & Roman for a long time! I loved their chemistry and the romance was so tender and beautiful. I just really felt for the two of them and wanted to spend so much more time with their love story. The side characters were also excellent and really added another layer to the story in joy and in heartbreak.
RECOMMENDED FOR FANS OF: The Winner's Curse (and sequels) by Marie Rutkoski
These books are so beautifully written, atmospheric, and etherial. I really did love Iris & Roman's story in so many ways. It's weird because normally I'm craving duologies and for series to be shorter, but I really think this one could have been longer and thrived.
My one complaint about the series is that I wish the mythology and world-building regarding the gods had been more prevalent in DIVINE RIVALS. Rebecca Ross spends a lot of time setting up Iris & Roman's meeting and romantic development, which was all wonderful, but when it came time for the gods to play their part in the plot, I felt like I knew little to nothing about them. Flash forward to RUTHLESS VOWS, where they are incredibly involved, and I just wish the series had a little bit more balance. It might not have bothered me as much had there been a book in between where the plot has more time to grow and we get some book two world-building, but being only two books, it felt very romance-heavy on the first book and very action-heavy in the second book. For my personal tastes, it would have been more satisfying to be more engaged in the world from the first book and a few plot points could have hit harder in book two.
Despite this not being a 5-star series, I do think I'll be thinking about Iris & Roman for a long time! I loved their chemistry and the romance was so tender and beautiful. I just really felt for the two of them and wanted to spend so much more time with their love story. The side characters were also excellent and really added another layer to the story in joy and in heartbreak.
RECOMMENDED FOR FANS OF: The Winner's Curse (and sequels) by Marie Rutkoski
Read Completed 2/19/24 | 3 stars
I picked this one up because I saw it on social media and it sounded promising. After seeing some pretty positive reviews, I took a chance and hoped I would connect to it.
I didn't really end up loving it, but I was entertained most of the time! There was a point around halfway where things just weren't as juicy as I was hoping they'd be and I lost a little interest. The ending had a few twists, but they weren't really as exciting as I was expecting. It did all make sense in the end, though, and while I wasn't wild for the book, it was still a decent experience, though not quite memorable.
I picked this one up because I saw it on social media and it sounded promising. After seeing some pretty positive reviews, I took a chance and hoped I would connect to it.
I didn't really end up loving it, but I was entertained most of the time! There was a point around halfway where things just weren't as juicy as I was hoping they'd be and I lost a little interest. The ending had a few twists, but they weren't really as exciting as I was expecting. It did all make sense in the end, though, and while I wasn't wild for the book, it was still a decent experience, though not quite memorable.
Read Completed 2/15/24 | 4 stars
I really enjoyed this book! It was fairly predictable in a lot of ways, but it didn't take away from my experience. Nothing was set in stone until we finally see all of the reveals in the end, which confirmed a lot of my suspicions, but I also didn't know the reasons for the actions of the people I suspected, even if I did guess the suspects correctly. There was still more story to tell and I enjoyed the journey!
I also really like P.S. Cunliffe's story-telling and pacing. This is my second book from this author after picking up their debut -- DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES -- last year on a whim. I was just as pleased with how much I clicked with the book. ONE LAST BREATH alternates back and forth between a present-day timeline to create a lot of suspense and tension, and flashes back to events from five days before present day, slowly creeping forward as we get more of the story filled in and how the characters got where they are. I just really liked the pacing of book, keeping the suspense going throughout the whole novel while filling in that mystery aspect as the book moved along, and I thought it was done really well!
There was one part of the twist that I didn't really love because I kind of felt like it came out of nowhere. Unless I missed a part of the foreshadowing that introduced it, I just felt like I had never heard of it and we didn't have any clues that it was a part of these characters' histories. If that had been interwoven just a bit more, I think that would have made for an even better experience.
I've really enjoyed P.S. Cunliffe's books and I'm so happy this was enjoyable for me as well! I hope to connect to even more of their thriller novels in the future.
I really enjoyed this book! It was fairly predictable in a lot of ways, but it didn't take away from my experience. Nothing was set in stone until we finally see all of the reveals in the end, which confirmed a lot of my suspicions, but I also didn't know the reasons for the actions of the people I suspected, even if I did guess the suspects correctly. There was still more story to tell and I enjoyed the journey!
I also really like P.S. Cunliffe's story-telling and pacing. This is my second book from this author after picking up their debut -- DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES -- last year on a whim. I was just as pleased with how much I clicked with the book. ONE LAST BREATH alternates back and forth between a present-day timeline to create a lot of suspense and tension, and flashes back to events from five days before present day, slowly creeping forward as we get more of the story filled in and how the characters got where they are. I just really liked the pacing of book, keeping the suspense going throughout the whole novel while filling in that mystery aspect as the book moved along, and I thought it was done really well!
There was one part of the twist that I didn't really love because I kind of felt like it came out of nowhere. Unless I missed a part of the foreshadowing that introduced it, I just felt like I had never heard of it and we didn't have any clues that it was a part of these characters' histories. If that had been interwoven just a bit more, I think that would have made for an even better experience.
I've really enjoyed P.S. Cunliffe's books and I'm so happy this was enjoyable for me as well! I hope to connect to even more of their thriller novels in the future.
Read Completed 2/13/24 | 3 stars
This book started off SO well -- highly interesting, twisty, full of interesting details that uncovered more of the truth. I was very intrigued as to what was happening and the more we got to know, the more one clue led to another to an intricate web of lies & deceit.
Until it wasn't.
The second half of this book was kind of a flop for me. The turn it took was not one I liked and I wouldn't have picked this book up had I known it would go that way. A few trigger warnings in spoiler tags, as they aren't triggers for me but definitely give away some plot twists.Grooming, pedophilia, sexually taking advantage of minors -- along with other triggers such as cancer and suicide. It wasn't even necessarily the trigger/twist itself but how much time was spent on it as well as how it dictated the rest of the book. The twisty tone completely changed and it was a sort of info dump from then on, losing all of the suspense and turning to drama. People seemed to really love it, along with the revenge/justice that went with it, but it just wasn't for me. I would have much preferred that it all got revealed in the end as another twist instead of halfway, maybe not spending so much time making all of those characters relive it.
Mostly, though, the ending just didn't make sense to me at all. And this will have significant plot spoilers and tell you how it ended: Tate, her friend Helen, and Tate's boss's wife Maddie conspire to set up the CEO of the company where Tate and Dan (the husband) work. He took advantage of Tate and Helen when they were 14 and he was 24, and Tate suspects him of grooming Maddie's daughter Emily, currently. Maddie found out she has a brain tumor that's incurable and ** doesn't want to tell Emily **. While all of this is going on, Tate ends up working with Maddie to bring the CEO down. Their plan is for Maddie to kill herself by throwing herself off the roof with an elaborate plan to pin it all on Jeff since they wouldn't be able to press charges for anything that happened to Tate or Helen due to statute of limitations and he may only get sentenced to 5 years and serve 2.5 if they follow through with pressing charges against him for what he's doing to Emily -- and Maddie won't even be alive when he would get out of jail.
Okay, first of all, this plot isn't the worst plot but I hated the way it was executed. They had to get Tate to take the fall for suspicion of Maddie's murder in order to have her autopsy done and have the CEO be none the wiser, thinking nothing could happen to him and it would all go away... but that wasn't realistic. They planted evidence but that's a LOT of faith that things will go exactly the way you planned it and that Tate doesn't go away for murder.
Second of all, HELLO??? Why did anything think it was better for Maddie to be the victim of a murder -- in her husband's and her daughter's eyes -- than letting her daughter know she was dying of cancer?!? That's just plain terrible. Emily is going to think it's her fault that her mother was murdered because she was involved with this man and her husband is going to have some guilt too. Who knows how these people will go on with life after this scheme. That's traumatic AF! Your loved one dying of cancer is pretty horrible too, but at least she could have let Emily know she was dying and spent more time with her, or made amends, or something. They were on the outs and Emily was acting out a lot, in a big way because of her relationship with an adult, but I think they'd be more likely to talk if she told her she was dying. I can't imagine pretending to be the victim of a murder was a better solution. That's horrific. I just absolutely hated this and I'm kind of surprise this hasn't bothered more people.
Anyway. It started off so interesting and the ending just really ruined everything. If I hadn't enjoyed the beginning so much, I would have been much angrier at the book.
This book started off SO well -- highly interesting, twisty, full of interesting details that uncovered more of the truth. I was very intrigued as to what was happening and the more we got to know, the more one clue led to another to an intricate web of lies & deceit.
Until it wasn't.
The second half of this book was kind of a flop for me. The turn it took was not one I liked and I wouldn't have picked this book up had I known it would go that way. A few trigger warnings in spoiler tags, as they aren't triggers for me but definitely give away some plot twists.
Mostly, though, the ending just didn't make sense to me at all. And this will have significant plot spoilers and tell you how it ended: Tate, her friend Helen, and Tate's boss's wife Maddie conspire to set up the CEO of the company where Tate and Dan (the husband) work. He took advantage of Tate and Helen when they were 14 and he was 24, and Tate suspects him of grooming Maddie's daughter Emily, currently. Maddie found out she has a brain tumor that's incurable and ** doesn't want to tell Emily **. While all of this is going on, Tate ends up working with Maddie to bring the CEO down. Their plan is for Maddie to kill herself by throwing herself off the roof with an elaborate plan to pin it all on Jeff since they wouldn't be able to press charges for anything that happened to Tate or Helen due to statute of limitations and he may only get sentenced to 5 years and serve 2.5 if they follow through with pressing charges against him for what he's doing to Emily -- and Maddie won't even be alive when he would get out of jail.
Okay, first of all, this plot isn't the worst plot but I hated the way it was executed. They had to get Tate to take the fall for suspicion of Maddie's murder in order to have her autopsy done and have the CEO be none the wiser, thinking nothing could happen to him and it would all go away... but that wasn't realistic. They planted evidence but that's a LOT of faith that things will go exactly the way you planned it and that Tate doesn't go away for murder.
Second of all, HELLO??? Why did anything think it was better for Maddie to be the victim of a murder -- in her husband's and her daughter's eyes -- than letting her daughter know she was dying of cancer?!? That's just plain terrible. Emily is going to think it's her fault that her mother was murdered because she was involved with this man and her husband is going to have some guilt too. Who knows how these people will go on with life after this scheme. That's traumatic AF! Your loved one dying of cancer is pretty horrible too, but at least she could have let Emily know she was dying and spent more time with her, or made amends, or something. They were on the outs and Emily was acting out a lot, in a big way because of her relationship with an adult, but I think they'd be more likely to talk if she told her she was dying. I can't imagine pretending to be the victim of a murder was a better solution. That's horrific. I just absolutely hated this and I'm kind of surprise this hasn't bothered more people.
Anyway. It started off so interesting and the ending just really ruined everything. If I hadn't enjoyed the beginning so much, I would have been much angrier at the book.
Read Completed 2/12/24 | 3 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving my audiobook review copy. This did not alter my reading experience or review in any way.
I didn't have good luck after the last FINLAY DONOVAN (#3) so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. I hoped it would pick up again, but it kind of just felt like the same thing over and over again. This series has already slid into "too silly" territory like Stephanie Plum did and I just don't need another series like that. The first two book were much more fun but still mildly believable. There are just too many zany things happening now.
I also feel like the plot is not progressing AT ALL. It's the same plot tied into all of the books, which makes for more of a series that you have to follow instead of one you can kind of pick up anywhere, but I feel like it's not moving forward. It's the same thing over and over and I'm just really not interested in it anymore. Sadly, I think this is my last Finlay Donovan novel. I knew this would be my make-or-break, and I think I'm breaking up with this series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving my audiobook review copy. This did not alter my reading experience or review in any way.
I didn't have good luck after the last FINLAY DONOVAN (#3) so I wasn't sure how this was going to go. I hoped it would pick up again, but it kind of just felt like the same thing over and over again. This series has already slid into "too silly" territory like Stephanie Plum did and I just don't need another series like that. The first two book were much more fun but still mildly believable. There are just too many zany things happening now.
I also feel like the plot is not progressing AT ALL. It's the same plot tied into all of the books, which makes for more of a series that you have to follow instead of one you can kind of pick up anywhere, but I feel like it's not moving forward. It's the same thing over and over and I'm just really not interested in it anymore. Sadly, I think this is my last Finlay Donovan novel. I knew this would be my make-or-break, and I think I'm breaking up with this series.
Read Completed 2/10/24 | 4.25 stars
This was a little different from some of my recent thriller reads, combining a few different thriller aspects and tropes. The main character works in forensic pathology and her sister has been missing for over a year -- we sort of get a little bit cop/procedural without it being an actual police officer or investigator while still being combined with a personal connection and close to home.
I really liked this read! This is my first Charlie Donlea book and I ended up grabbing it after my sister left a good review and I saw how many people commented on the twist. Even before the twist, this was a really well-written book. I love when an author can make us guess at several different things and suspect several different people without being slapped in the face or blatantly pushed towards a red herring. He placed several people in Livia's life who could potentially be suspects and I had a lot of fun constantly suspecting them all!
I also liked that the twist and the conclusion was complicated. It was a layered reveal with multiple things going on and it was more rewarding seeing how it all tied in. I didn't fully love the constant flashbacks, but they really were helpful in telling the story. Mostly, I just didn't like Nicole and some of the high school maturity -- or immaturity -- was annoying, but it was all there for a reason.
I'll definitely have to check out some other Charlie Donlea books! Hopefully I enjoy them just as much.
This was a little different from some of my recent thriller reads, combining a few different thriller aspects and tropes. The main character works in forensic pathology and her sister has been missing for over a year -- we sort of get a little bit cop/procedural without it being an actual police officer or investigator while still being combined with a personal connection and close to home.
I really liked this read! This is my first Charlie Donlea book and I ended up grabbing it after my sister left a good review and I saw how many people commented on the twist. Even before the twist, this was a really well-written book. I love when an author can make us guess at several different things and suspect several different people without being slapped in the face or blatantly pushed towards a red herring. He placed several people in Livia's life who could potentially be suspects and I had a lot of fun constantly suspecting them all!
I also liked that the twist and the conclusion was complicated. It was a layered reveal with multiple things going on and it was more rewarding seeing how it all tied in. I didn't fully love the constant flashbacks, but they really were helpful in telling the story. Mostly, I just didn't like Nicole and some of the high school maturity -- or immaturity -- was annoying, but it was all there for a reason.
I'll definitely have to check out some other Charlie Donlea books! Hopefully I enjoy them just as much.
Read Completed 2/9/24 | 4 stars
I was a bit nervous to start this book, but excited, not really knowing how I'd like it or if I even would. I loved FOUNDRYSIDE by Robert Jackson Bennett but didn't like its sequel, so I was ready to dive into something totally different. I also enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories and vibes, so I was ready for that application in a fantasy setting!
I'm really happy that this one worked for me. It took a little bit to get into, as some fantasy worlds do, as I acclimated to all of the different terms, the world-building, and the magic system. Robert Jackson Bennett did a great job at really integrating all of it as the plot was moving forward so it wasn't a big info-dump, and there's a guide in the beginning of the book (as well as a map) to show the rankings of the people to further understand as you get into the story.
What I really loved the most was the character dynamics. I loved the developing working relationship and friendship between Din & Ana. Ana is brilliant, a little zany, and sarcastic and I loved her personality. Din, meanwhile, is loyal, obedient, and willing to stay in line but also willing to break a few rules in order to achieve something against and unfairness or injustice.
The mystery plot was also highly engaging! Ana truly has a Sherlock Holmes-style of investigating and it was very interesting to follow. I liked the magic systems where people can be altered to have flawless memories, brute strength, etc for their positions and professions. It made it even more fascinating to follow.
I wish I had connected just a bit more and actually connected much better once I slowed my audiobook down. I had to focus just a bit more to make sure my brain was actually following, and it really made a difference. There were a lot of moving pieces and it was really fun to see it all come together. I'll definitely continue the series and I like how this mystery was solved, but there's still so much more the author can do with this world.
I was a bit nervous to start this book, but excited, not really knowing how I'd like it or if I even would. I loved FOUNDRYSIDE by Robert Jackson Bennett but didn't like its sequel, so I was ready to dive into something totally different. I also enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories and vibes, so I was ready for that application in a fantasy setting!
I'm really happy that this one worked for me. It took a little bit to get into, as some fantasy worlds do, as I acclimated to all of the different terms, the world-building, and the magic system. Robert Jackson Bennett did a great job at really integrating all of it as the plot was moving forward so it wasn't a big info-dump, and there's a guide in the beginning of the book (as well as a map) to show the rankings of the people to further understand as you get into the story.
What I really loved the most was the character dynamics. I loved the developing working relationship and friendship between Din & Ana. Ana is brilliant, a little zany, and sarcastic and I loved her personality. Din, meanwhile, is loyal, obedient, and willing to stay in line but also willing to break a few rules in order to achieve something against and unfairness or injustice.
The mystery plot was also highly engaging! Ana truly has a Sherlock Holmes-style of investigating and it was very interesting to follow. I liked the magic systems where people can be altered to have flawless memories, brute strength, etc for their positions and professions. It made it even more fascinating to follow.
I wish I had connected just a bit more and actually connected much better once I slowed my audiobook down. I had to focus just a bit more to make sure my brain was actually following, and it really made a difference. There were a lot of moving pieces and it was really fun to see it all come together. I'll definitely continue the series and I like how this mystery was solved, but there's still so much more the author can do with this world.