I loved this book.... and I don't know why...
But I WILL try to explain:
(But first I should say that I am the pickiest reader who has left a review so far. Note the fact that everyone else loved the book 100%, 'cause that says something)
First, I think we need to keep in mind that this is the author's VERY FIRST book. There are bound to be major flaws simply because the author is still refining her craft, so if she continues to focus on growing, every flaw listed below will be corrected in future works, and every strong quality will be amplified.
With that said, here are my honest thoughts on...
---THE STORY'S ELEMENTS---
The book itself is a very trope-y YA dystopian, complete with a scrappy female protagonist and an objectified love interest. We have the standard corrupt government and death-game-for-kids.
These tropes (among others) made for a predictable plotline (to a point), and yet I found that I didn't mind at all. Yeah, I laughed at some of the clichés, but it was nice to have a story that I could possibly "figure out" if I tried hard enough.
---THE WRITING ITSELF---
This is where the fact that the author is new can be most clearly seen. While the writing isn't BAD, per se, it is quite rough for most of the book, especially in the areas of emotional transition and emotional immersion.
There were a few times when the characters switched emotional states wayyyy too quickly, and it was a bit jarring to me as a reader.
My problem with the immersion is that I was TOLD what the characters were feeling (emotionally and otherwise), but I rarely had the opportunity to feel it with the character(s). I know what it's like to be bone-tired, what it's like to get an injury, what it's like to become furious, and what it's like to feel jaded and cynical... but it was more like I was watching from the outside as the characters experienced it, rather than feeling it with them on the inside.
Obviously, this is something that will change as the author grows, but for now, there was really only one section where I can remember feeling much of anything WITH the characters (that section was chapter 30. Great job on that part, MC, it made tears come to my eyes).
The dialogue is a little wonky in places where emotional shifts should have happened yet didn't, but it wasn't terrible.
The pacing was pretty good.
The main characters were not flat (admittedly, though, most of the side characters were), but without the descriptive immersion I referenced a couple paragraphs ago, they couldn't be fully three-dimemsional. Also, only Tessa seems to have any kind of character arc at this point.
I think my main beef with the writing was the fact that Tessa would sometimes make assumptions that were spot on... though there was no way for her to know they were correct... and I was left wondering whether the thing she "knew" was a legit fact, or if it was just her theory.
Again, all this will come with practice. There were no dealbreakers for me when it came to the writing, just some things that I wish could have been better.
---THE CONTENT---
For those wondering, yes, this book was clean. There was blood and death (of course), but nothing gory, and nothing on the romance front other than some (clean) jokes and a kiss or two.
This part did irk me: The main character was an absolute jerk for almost the entire story, and yet, instead of calling her out for her immature bratty behavior, every side character adored her.
Maybe it's just because I have worked with the public for a couple years, but the inaccuracy of that really gets to me. A person can be snarky or abrasive and others will still try to be friends with them, but if those qualities are never balanced out with genuine empathy and genuine respect, others will stop trying, and end up deciding to avoid that person.
With that said, most of the plot was quite interesting, and even though there were parts I didn't like, I never once wanted to stop reading.
Even though Tessa irritated me sometimes, I liked her as a protagonist.
I can join everyone else in saying that Nurse is fantastic, and if he doesn't get to be in a whole field of flowers by the end of the series, I will be sad. I will pout.
Beck and Ehrys became very interesting side characters after a bit. I would like to know more about them.
And as I said at the beginning, I loved this book. Despite its flaws, I want more of this story. This series is near the top of my TBR right now, and I fully intend to purchase the rest of these books as soon as my budget allows.
And MC Pending, if you are reading this: despite my nitpicking, I am NOT saying that you are a bad writer. You're inexperienced, that's all. To use a BJJ ranking metaphor: when you wrote this story, though you may have had a few stripes on your belt, you were still white belt level. Keep going. You have a good imagination. You have talent. All it takes to get from white belt to black belt is consistency and TIME. You're doing great so far. I point out your flaws because I know that you can overcome them, and I look forward to seeing what happens when you do just that.