This was not what I expected at all, but I'm glad I read it. I first saw this when it was one of the books for BOTM and I was immediately intrigued. I've heard of the Burning Sun scandal, but didn't follow it closely, so when I heard about the outcome, I was completely disgusted. I said all that to say I was completely disgusted with what went on in this book. I was angry, sad, I even felt a wee bit murderous.

The person who said men should start out life in prison and work their way out was absolutely correct.

Just by the cover and summary alone, I thought I'd love this-and I did! (for the most part). Mikaela pulling the Death Card and having the vision she was going to die by the hands of the beautiful girl in front of her pulled me in immediately.

Although it was fun following Mikaela's journey, I did get a bit frustrated at times and had to remind myself that it is a YA novel. Some of the decisions made had me questioning everyone. Like why didn't they prepare Mikaela to takeover once Gran got too sick? Why is nobody sitting down to have a proper conversation to talk things through? I also wanted to see Mikaela's progress with her ability a bit more. It was kind of glazed over and I would've liked to see more of her testing what she can and can't do or maybe having her brother or friend help her.

I did love the tarot readings with the explanations, the setting (I think I just love anything set in NOLA tbh), and I related a lot to Mikaela when it came to processing grief. My senior year was sort of similar to hers, but I lost my grandfather the day I graduated and I ended up taking a gap year after my first year of college.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this and loved the relationships the characters had with each other. However, I wanted to see more world building, the background of the Celestials, and a more fleshed out ending. This definitely could’ve benefited from a few more chapters being added.

I really wanted to enjoy this. The premise captivated me and I love a good paranormal story, but this was not it. I don't think the writing style is what I usually go for and maybe that hindered my enjoyment. The execution was a chop for me and the subplot with Sam, Jamie, and the Triple Six was dragged out and anticlimactic.

Thank you NetGalley and Pagemonsters for the ARC.

finally finished after i dnf’d the first time lmao

i enjoyed this a lot more than when i first read it, however, i was just as frustrated with kidan