Krysten’s Review

The cover was the first thing that pulled me in to this book, followed by the intriguing description. Dealing with two different timelines can be tricky, but Hillier did a nice job—I really enjoyed how the story of the past intertwined with what was currently happening, with both storylines peaking at the same time. Very well thought out. I also wondered for the longest time if the title had any significance, or if it was just a reference to the Christina Perri song. It turned out to be an important motif in the last two sections, and I like how it came together and was woven in to both the past and present storylines.

It was a little difficult for me to get into this book. It’s written in present tense, which I generally find jarring. Personal preference, I suppose. There were a number of grammatical errors as well, but as the book was an e-galley, I can’t count that against it. Part I of the book just wasn’t at all riveting. I didn’t really care what happened; the characters came off as flat—particularly Geo, who seemed so blasé about going to prison that I just didn’t find it believable. Although she had been anticipating her arrest for 14 years, I would still expect a rich, snobby executive to freak out a lot more—if not right away, at least when prison became a reality. So I read the first few chapters, got bored, and picked it back up again a few weeks later.

Then things started to get good. When the narration shifts to Kai, it was like the story was waking up. Things felt more real, more urgent. The perspective change wasn’t jarring (the story’s told in third person rather than first, which helps the shift feel more natural) or confusing, because Kai had such a different voice. It felt like the characters were becoming more distinctive, taking on shape.

I did have to suspend my disbelief at times because something was a bit over-the-top dramatic, or was wrapped up a bit too easily/neatly. There were a few info dumps in the dialogue as well—mostly extraneous details; I suppose to make the tertiary characters more real (though mostly it wasn’t necessary). That said, I was glad to see that the meat of the story was not among the info dumps, and instead, these details were sprinkled throughout the book. Once I started Part II, I also started reading much faster—things started happening quickly, I got more connected to the characters, and I finished the book pretty quickly after that!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of this book!