Nicole
This is my first time reading a book of this genre and it pulled me in from the very beginning. I knew based off the concept that it would probably be very graphic but my jaw still dropped at certain points in the story. There were so many layers that were being added or peeled back that I had to keep reading until I finished.
I was skeptical to read this at first because of all the references to different plays. I'm a STEM kid and never really understood the old English writing when we read Shakespeare in high school. But the way M.L. Rio uses scenes from plays and the context she adds for the characters actually made me understand the scenes better. I loved the Act - Scene structure of the book and the twist at the end with James had me devastated and then left staring into space at the hint that he might still be out there. I loved this book and I'm glad I read it. It definitely is a foundation of the dark academia category.
I related to a lot of the things the characters felt. I have yet to find another book that conveys what it's like to be Asian-American as it's conveyed in this book