Spoilers
Pretty good, I enjoyed the plot, the world and most of the secondary characters. The main character, her love interest and their romance were lacking though. There was also some parts at the end that felt a little rushed and unrealistic.
-Misty was an okay enough protagonist. She was pretty much the typical bland YA heroine, only not as insufferable as most. She had a do goody personality, she didn't think she was beautiful but she was, she had zero experience with guys, and she acted like a hormonal twit as soon as she saw her love interest - it was the same old, same old. There was nothing really interesting or complex about her. She needed some depth and flaws, her blurting out all sorts of rubbish and being insecure about her love interest just wasn't good enough.
-Didn't like Alex much, he was stuck up, smug, and mean. He really didn't deserve Misty, he more or less said he would never date her because she was ugly, embarrassing and not good enough for him. Him saying he didn't mean it later didn't excuse his horrid remarks.
He got worse throughout the book, when he found out she was his soulmate he was happy for all of five seconds and then he wasn't even bothered about her. It was like he was more interested in his friends and creepy uncle than the person who was meant to be his other half.
-Alex was Misty's first priority, nothing else mattered to her, but she definitely wasn't his, he was more concerned about himself and his needs. It was pretty obvious he didn't feel as much for Misty as she did for him, all he did was push her away, ignore her and feel ashamed and annoyed by her. He was such a lame, wishy-washy love interest.
-I despised Alex's mum, she was a total bitch abandoning him and choosing her racist-bastard-pathetic husband over him. She abandoned Alex at age three because he had powers like her and she thought her husband would hurt him if he found out. Why didn't the silly cow leave her husband instead of her son? Why did she love and choose a man who would happily reject and beat their own son? Why didn't she tell her husband that she had powers too and try to make him understand that having them wasn't evil?!
Ugh, she didn't love Alex at all, she only cared about herself, her husband and other son. She was a selfish fucker, she didn't deserve any kind of happiness.
-The resolution at the end between Alex and his mum was so unrealistic and rushed. After thirteen years of abandonment Alex should have been resentful and bitter, not grateful and desperate. But nope, after a lame apology and explanation that lasted all of two seconds everything was forgiven and he was calling her mum. Ugh, he was daft to let her in his life and excuse her all the unforgivable things she did.
If she had really loved Alex she would have left her wanker husband instead of dumping him. Why Alex would want to have a mother/son relationship with her when she wouldn't ever love him as much as her husband or other son, I don't know. She was a horrid bitch, she could have easily found another solution to her problems without ripping away Alex from his family and leaving him to be raised by any old psycho. Ugh, she made me sick.
-Roger was the worst, he had no redeemable qualities whatsoever. It was his fault that his brother, Johan, grew up to be a serial killer and that Alex grew up with no home or family. At least Alex's mum felt guilty for the part she played but Roger didn't feel guilty for all the hurt and mayhem he caused. Johan was a far more sympathetic and likeable character than him even though he was a remorseless serial killer. I really wish Roger had suffered.
-I was so irritated with Alex's reaction to his parents, it was ridiculous of him to forgive and forget everything. Why would he want people like that in his life? His mum chose his dad over him, and his dad showed nothing but disgust towards him. Alex's brother was the only one that deserved a chance, he should have cut the rest out of his life.
-Loved Misty's friendship with Summer and Angel, it was one of the best aspects of the book. Her relationship with her family was good too, it was refreshing that she had close female friends and a normal family instead of the usual female-hating heroine with a sob story of a crappy family.
-I got tired of Misty constantly apologising to Alex, she hadn't done anything wrong yet all she did was apologise for things she wasn't at fault for. It was Alex's fault she was kidnapped and almost killed, yet she was the one apologising to him. It should have been the other way around, since it was his crazy family that was responsible for all the crap that happened. I'm really bored of all the overly apologetic, martyr-type heroines.
-Loved most of the secondary characters, especially the new ones (Summer, Angel, Tarryn, Misty's younger cousins). The savant world and powers were also really good, it was fun and easy to immerse into.
-Liked the serial killer investigation, it did get slightly predictable at times but it was still pretty entertaining.
-Liked that the Benedicts took more of a back-seat, and other families were explored.
-I wouldn't mind reading a Victor or Summer book at some point. Well, as long as Victor doesn't become cliched or Summer doesn't turn out to be another inexperienced, goody-goody Mary Sue.