I really liked this one. The synopsis sounded like something I would enjoy, but when I first started actually reading it, I wasn't sure if it was the book for me. However, I decided to stick with this one, and it ended up being soo good. It goes a lot of different places I didn't expect, and I'm assuming there will be more to come which I'm definitely excited for. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you and you're okay with some touchy subject matter, I would definitely recommend it.

Oh man, this was like going on a first date and ALMOST feeling a spark but not quite, haha. From the blurb, I was all in. Dystopian society? Check. Carnivals? Check. Rival queens? Oh yes please.

However, sadly, the execution fell flat. The idea and the strong writing is there, but I think this book should have had a lot more editing. It felt long and aimless at certain points and I really had to push myself to finish the last 10% (and shouldn't that be the best part to want to read?) 

I was also sorely disappointed that so much of the book was about other characters aside from Aurora. I thought it was going to center with her and even have a first person POV, but instead there were a lot of other main characters that I did not connect with. John and Marvel felt like the exact same person to me, to be honest. I know they weren't but it was hard as a reader to sense any difference in their development, they both fell flat. I think this could have been alleviated by a first person perspective for different narratives, instead of the passive and seemingly removed third person perspective that the book has. 

I had even MORE disappointment that there was not more world-building. We never get an explanation of what exactly Bent Head is as a disease and why the setting is post-apocalyptic. What exactly happened, other than a disease? Why did all these carnival factions rise up with this blood magic and Heads? I was also confused about Kansas versus the Cape and the differing power dynamics there... The overall world was pretty unclear to me. 

So what did I like? I liked Orchid as a strong and fierce female character. I liked the (small) portions with the Green Butterfly prophetess - I wish she had been integrated more. I liked the writing and Game of Thrones-esque beauty and brutality (don't read if you are sensitive to imagery of gore and violence). But I can't recommend this as-is, I really think it could have been a slam dunk with significantly more editing and investment in the characters and world-building. 

Sincere thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC.

Fast forward 500 years and Earth is a very bad place to live. Bent Head, which seems to resemble mad cow disease, has killed off score of people. Those left have no concept of civilization and wander in bands of murderous groups called Carnivals. The object of life seems to be killing as many rival Carnivals as possible, keeping their heads, or Heads, as they are called, to prove your worth. Aurora is in a Carnival with her brother when a rival faction murders everyone but Aurora, who Mr. Capulatio keeps her as a sort of pet . In a world where science is magic and people worship the launch platforms and space shuttle remnants at Cape Canaveral, life is indeed grim. This was one of the bleakest Dystopian books, I’ve ever read, it’s also one of the most clever, plunging humanity back into the Dark Ages when anything unknown was considered dangerous and therefore subject to death. There’s a powerful analogy and connection to the world we live in today in this story, making it even more frightening.