This book starts off with a BANG!

Seriously, I couldn't believe that the book just jumped into the action, like some epic movie sequel! I loved this sweet surprise, since it's a major change from the books I have been reading lately.

Ruth Miranda, the fantastic author, opens up the realm of fantasy even further in this book. The slow unraveling of this fantastical universe seemed to work really well within the story. I don't think I would have liked this series as much if she would have thrown all of the elements at us at once. The way she gives us the secrets to this world piece by piece felt... flawless. Each little piece of information that was released made the story slowly fall into place, and gave some awesome added effects. The information about Nora was what really had me in awe - Ruth knows how to tell a great tale.

If there was a con to this point, I'd say that it sometimes felt like those super villain monologues when all of the information was being released. But, for me, it still worked well. I liked the long descriptions.

When looking at the overall book, it's definitely the darkest of the three. As a reader, if you felt that the last two pushed the limits, then this book might not be for you. It's past the PG-13 rating for some of it's deep content, such as the rape scene. So in my mind, it's a hard R rating. This scene is brutal, but shows some deep insights into the character it's following. The plot line gets crazier as it goes on, which boggled my mind. The insanity Ruth introduces to the back stories of these characters... One word: WOW. Just... Wow. A good wow, of course!

As the book progressed, I really liked the depth of Marianne and Marcus's relationship. It's a unique dynamic, but it held me tight to this book. I wanted to know more about this pair, and I was so tempted to skip to the pages that they were on! If anybody stood out in this novel, it's that pair! At times you feel bad for them, and then you hate them, but then you feel empathetic... This roller coaster of emotions is from Ruth's epic writing. Seriously, I haven't felt this exhausted from my emotions about a book in a LONG time.

In some weird way, I could relate and emphasize with Marianne. The humiliation, the desire to fit in or be loved by someone, and her emotions being painted on the page all hit me in just the right way. I felt like I've been there before, in different ways. And, in my opinion, I think this is where the book is really going to draw it's audience. I don't often feel and relate to characters in books like this, but with Marianne... There's something there.

Nora and Cai's side of the story is also intriguing - the characters are changing throughout the story as they try to find Marcus. While Marcus and Marianne stood out, the journey Nora and Cai go on is a nice parallel. It brings us away from the brutality of Marcus/Marianne, which is much needed in this story. The romance, the drama and the beauty of their story is the perfect mirror! Kudos to Ruth for making this parallel so good!

Overall, this addicting story of pain and growth is mesmerizing! This series is definitely a must read if you want something darker and fantastical. I'd highly recommend it! It's hard to find a dark series that takes on so many tough topics, and comes out on top!

There is one big con for me, and Ruth said it herself - I wanted to throw this book at the wall when I was done with it. But I was reading it on my iPad, and that is too expensive to throw. So, I didn't throw the book at the wall, but I would have liked to.

Five out of five stars! Wowza!

I received this book for free from the author Ruth Miranda in exchange for an honest review. ( )