So, I decided to write this review in retrospect just because I felt like it. I initially read this for an AP class I took, it being chosen in part because it would be useful for the test and that my teacher's ancestors had a certain connection to the novel's creation. That being said, that didn't necessarily effect my expectation going in. So what did I think of this book?

I honestly didn't like it, more so for personal reasons than for flaws within the writing. I will admit that the book is written rather well and has some good messages, i.e. double standards with women and men in the time alongside some commentaries about religion. However, I am also an advocate of the idea that a good message does not make the story itself good, and this was the case here for me.

For starters, the book is just too damn long in the sense that it dragged on and on rather than it being a long book page count wise (although it kind of is in that case too, at least for me). Furthermore, I didn't find myself really feeling anything for any of the characters, which is especially bad since this is a doomed romance that is very focused on its characters. The one exception to this would be Alec, as I found that the author did a very good job of making us hate the creep. I also found the ending to be rather stupid to be honest, with the ending being the part after what I would consider to be the better ending that I actually did enjoy.

Now with that out of the way, I will also say that there were certain scenes that I think the author wrote quite well. For instance,  I personally enjoyed the raw emotions with Sorrow's baptism alongside the sleepwalking sequence. However, the issue is that between those scenes is just a bunch of boring drivel

 Thus, I can only half recommend this book, as I think your enjoyment of this book is highly dependent on your own personal preferences. For instance, I generally am not the biggest reader of romance, as I'd rather they be combined with a genre I like such as fantasy or comedy. For instance, one of my favorite book series, WorldEnd by Akira Kareno is largely a romance for the first three books, but it also has elements of fantasy and post apocalyptic fiction with its unique world. In conclusion, if this book seems to align with your preference, then by all means give it a read, it is technically a classic after all. However, if they do not, then I'd recommend just skipping it and spending that time reading something else. As for me, 2.25 out of 5.