An easy read at 288 pages - about five or so hours for me. I had a long couple of days and wanted something brainless to read, which this met. Just a "meh" read with enough seggy-time to keep the reading happening.
Straightforward plot, just moving from point A to point B with no side plots or things happening to characters other than what appears on the page. Nothing happens behinds closed doors - not the kissing or the baddies plotting. Pretty much everything is advertised in advance.
Speaking of advertising, the blurb says "prize in the Bride Games" and if you are hoping for either a reality show feel or a Hunger Games action, you will be disappointed. This is just a Cinderella set up where Daddy throws a party weekend for the prince and invites EVERYONE who is eligible to attend, and his son must leave the weekend with a bride on the arm. No gossip, no interaction between contestants (mostly), no commentary, no audience, no real stakes.
Also involved in the "meh" is the main character. From the first chapter she is a complete contractionary creature - if a person says "peace", she says "war". If they say "hit", she says "hold". If you said the sun shines brightly, she will comment on the moon - well, flashlight, she has no poetry in her - but at least she is consistent. Added to the fact she makes friends WAY too easily for someone as isolated and abused by society as she has been. I mean, how she makes friends is really how you make friends in real life, someone sits by you during a meal and you hit it off - you get assigned rooms together at college and you click to best friends forever. Mean girls are mean-ing, good girls are good-ing. It's real, but just is ... easy? No real drama or growth for the MC.
The story is promised as a medium burn - and it delivers on that promise perfectly.
Overall an okay ingenue thrust into a fairly basic magic society into a predictable plot. A good brainless read, exactly what I was after.
(read through kindle unlimited)