This book had such great promise but it really hit the mark for me. I struggled to get through to the end. That's not to say I quite enjoyed the magic system and the different type of post-apocalyptic world. I'm not sure if this series is for me but I will definitely check out what else this author releases.

A very interesting LGBTQ+ series starter. While some elements of the world-building were a little confusing, for the most part I really enjoyed this novel. The plot was intense and get me on the edge of my seat, and - this sounds weird - I appreciated the level of violence too. You don't really get that in a YA novel, even a fantasy.

Tenn was a compelling protagonist - he has a lot of inner struggle, which was a little difficult to read at times, but I found him to be quite relatable. I just adored the romance, and the queer rep was fantastic.

A little irked at the reliance of the chosen one trope, but it's fantasy, I get it. The writing, while occasionally awkward, is easy to get used to, but it is a debut. I really look forward to the next book in the series.

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

Cover Art:
Well, I don't love it. As I have said many times before, I don't like covers with people on them and that is still the case with this one. But it's not horrible, at least the character is how he is described in the book! Well as much as we can see of him anyway.

Writing:
The writing took some getting used to. I prefer 1st person POV is most cases but this book was 3rd person POV and it was a little hard to follow at times. Also, there wasn't a huge amount of explanation in this book which annoyed me and I will talk about that a bit more in the plot section of the review. 

Plot:
Okay, so it wasn't the best. It felt very tropey (I'm making that a word, okay?!) and it also felt similar to other books I have read! At the time I was also listening to the audiobook of Half Lost by Sally Green and I felt like they were similar. I don't know if it was that they are both following the Chosen One trope to some degree, magic and both had GLBT main characters. I don't know exactly, but it was a weird similarity. 

Also, on the topic of the Choose One Trope, it was never explained as to why exactly he was chosen. Maybe this will be explained further is book 2 but after finishing this one I am none the wiser which is annoying! I would have liked even a little bit of explanation or a theory as to why like is done in most Chosen One books! 

I also found the book a bit predictable! As soon as a certain thing happened I thought 'I bet ....... will happen' and then a hundred pages or so later it did and I guess you could call it one of the big plot twists. There were also a fair few other things I guessed too! It doesn't make for an extremely exciting book if I'm guessing most things that happen. 

Characters:
So this will be the smallest characters section I have ever written! Because of the 3rd person POV I feel like I still don't know the characters and I definitely didn't connect with any of them!

So this is the small opinion of I have of each of the major characters
Tenn was okay, a little annoying at times
Jarrett was okay but felt like the kinda typical charming, attractive love interest
Tomàs was just creepy and they way he spoke was infuriating
Dreya was pretty cool, she was a bit of a badass I guess
Devon was also the typical badass but shy/quiet character
Leanna was simply the typical bad guy character

Yes, I am using the word typical a lot.

Overall:
Overall, there wasn't too much that impressed me about this book. I didn't hate anything but it was just a little 'meh' for me. The writing wasn't my favourite. The plot was predictable and felt like the same thing I have already read 10 times. The characters were unimpressive and there was only one charactre that I actually really liked which was Dreya.

This book is very different. It has a dark storyline to it. Full of monsters and evil but also love and strength from those trying to fight back. But the biggest difference it has is in having it's hero be a young gay boy.

I absolutely loved this book. It's different from anything that I have read in the past. It is well written and easy to follow. You just get caught up in the story and can picture everything that happens. There are some twists to the story. And a cliff hanger ending that will leave you wanting to know just what happens next. Fingers crossed Tenn and Jarrett can get their happy ending.

If you can't handle reading a book that has gay references then this book isn't for you but if you can i would definitely reccomend this book to read.