bello. avrei preferito che juliette le la madre di warner interagissero di più

**do not read this review if u like this book at all i did not filter myself & will hurt ur feelings (+ i didn't dance around spoilers)

i viscerally disliked this book. it was mentally painful to force myself through but there's so much community affection for it i was like surely it has to get better?? at some point???

i'm holding a grudge against everyone who recommend this book to me actually

og book boyfriend WHERE. america explain!!! what do you mean warner og book boyfriend!!! he is literally so beyond psychotic sadistic delusional asshole teeny tiny little man. he feels so entitled to juliette's body, space, affection, powers, etc & has the psychopathy to think this is love. "no one will understand her like i can no one will love her like i do she needs to be with me blah blah" bring your thick ass receding hairline tiny rat brain down to earth for the love of god

juliette is so useless and self deprecating it gets so old idc that she's traumatized, she literally only acts traumatized when she's 👉👈 about her powers. she goes from "omg no one touch me ever ive never had a friend whoa is me" to "omg adam debby ryan face i know you like were sent to live with me in my cell and manipulated me to trust you and befriend you and then pointed a gun at me and kidnapped me to bring me to warner but then you say it's not what it looks like even though you continue to trample my autonomy making me wear dresses i dont want to wear and picking me up by the waist to move me and cupping my face unsolicited while i still don't trust you but you said you love me and omg like samesies". it's so shallow and ridiculous and adam is literally such a boring ass white knight like who even are you. who is this man. also the "i've cared about you since i saw you in school & even though we literally never spoke & it was 3 years ago i joined the military and have looked for you ever since and have actively risked my life to find you ily" is soooo 😭. and they act like total children literally so infatuated with each other they kiss every opportunity they get & i get actual secondhand embarrassment from their interactions

this book literally had no substance whatsoever, 300 pages to set up her past & the setting and then instant love, run away from mad man, omg a rebellion maybe my power can be used for good "you look like a superhero 😌". to all three of these characters, i'm going to touch you're hand when i say this
 you are not special

also kenji i think is supposed to be like lovable comedic relief/goofy side character who you grow to care about (enough to have 2 novellas in his perspective of scenes we already have from mc perspective mind you) but he's literally just a creep with information ("omg psycho chick, crazy girl, wait you're hot date me. fuck off adam i haven't been around a girl in ages") that makes him have some semblance of power over juliette & adam. same with james, i think he's supposed to be like this lovable endearing kid you immediately are fond of and want to be safe and happy but he's literally just an inconvenience lmao your qUirKiNeSs is not cute

i cannot get over how genuinely i despised every page of this book, everyone has it on this pedastal i'm assuming is nostalgia but even if i try not to judge it by my standards as a 19yo in 2023 bc it's obviously meant for a younger YA audience & written in 2010 or something but then i'm just thinking how it's like 12-14yos reading this and romanticizing any and all of this shit & i'm like you know what no, it does deserve to be harshly criticized bc this is how/why young girls grow up thinking this kind of behavior is acceptable & even romantic. i cannot state enough how irredeemable warner is he is genuinely so batshit frothing at the mouth over this 17yo hes so weird & lk abusive to (as a fricking 19yo too it's so weird and gross) literally borderline torturing her while holding her against her will to break her into submission/subservience so she'll accept his love, want to be with him, and enjoy using her powers to torture ppl for him in his work as a reestablishment sector leader but saying it's love and an opportunity to help her and reach her full potential. having daddy issues does not make you special or morally gray you're just a dick. like rat brain alert lock this man up i'm so serious

so incredibly curious about how in the hell this is meant to get better but in no way willing to put myself through another word, i looked up the play by plays of the rest of the series (novellas included) and

it only gets worse lmfao only more inconsequential shit that's meant to be a plot, more silly little white knight adam and him & juliette's shallow ass relationship and "omg warner is evil but like kinda cute and maybe he's not so bad bc he fed a dog once" & whatever. i cannot take this book or series seriously. i'm balking at the idea of anyone holding it in any high regard i'm so sorry but there is no way

also the epilogue being

literally 2 pages and just an immediate continuation of the exact scene the book technically ends on is so ridiculous especially when you realize it's because the author was like yes "you look like a superhero" so badass so powerful that's the final line slay.

.there is no badassery in sight

anyway i cannot wait to be rid of this book and hope to forget about it very soon before i go insane from the experience of having to read something so terribly unpleasant & disappointing in every way <3

p.s.

"og book boyfriend" WHERE. GENUINELY. i read the spoilers of the entire series, where in the plane of hell is his character arc/redemption arc. he is just as delulu start to end after like 8 frickin books. this entire thing is so forced i could not care less about this man nevermind like him juliette is so disconnected to ever like him back. this is not enemies to lovers it’s just confused gullible 17yo develops stockholm syndrome.

sorry not sorry!