This is the third book in Ed's storyline arc. It is not a standalone and you must read the other books first as Edward and Thea's story evolves throughout. It is also book nine in the Night of the Kings series. Although they are broken into story arcs (James, Lex and Ed), characters do re-appear in all of the books and there are often references to things that have occurred before. So for your complete understanding and total knowledge I highly recommend you start reading from book one. This whole story arc has kept me on the fence. It was impossible not to fall in love with The Kings as the series started and I have eagerly awaited each book and story arc. Honestly though I feel unsatisfied by Ed's books. To me the game he is playing is unkind, mean spirited and in my opinion, just plain wrong. To be honest, I expected a different Ed than the one I'm seeing. Sure he was a playboy. Privileged, jaded, entitled and a user of women like tissues. I mean that was who they were, everyone of them. And yet I could not help being charmed by them even if I didn't like them in the moment and that was how I felt until Ed's books started. Now I just don't like him. I'll be 100% truthful and admit that Thea isn't my favorite female lead in this series, I do not feel a big emotional attachment to her and she is not blameless in this game that these two character are stuck in. Still the whole thing leaves me with a bad feelings and general distaste. I mean maybe it's me, I'm not a younger person. To me though, lies and deceit are not the building blocks of a long lasting, meaningful relationship and I'm not sure that I will ever believe that this can be forgiven, forgotten and moved past. For me there are a few other issues but I do not wat to give spoilers so I refuse to bring them up. I do not feel I can without the risk of ruining the book for others. For me this is an ok read, I'm sure others will feel differently and that's how it's supposed to be. I do want to see how the story ends in the next book and I look forward to future releases from this author. This is my completely honest and totally voluntary review.