I thought the premise of this one sounded really cool, and I enjoyed the first part of it, but ultimately it didn't end up working that well for me. A lot of it was pretty slow-paced for a dystopian book (with the exception of a chunk in the middle where a whole lot happens), and it just went so *dark*. I know with a dystopian you can't expect all rainbows and butterflies, but a little more levity in some places might have helped. I also started to dislike most of the characters as the book went on — I found Greta's voice melodramatic in parts, I wasn't big on either of the romantic relationships she is involved in, and for some reason I really found Talis irritating (although maybe we're supposed to?). I would have liked to have seen more of Greta's relationship with her mother — we are only given a glimpse of that, and yet the premise of the novel hinges on a parent's love for their child. Admittedly, I took a break from reading it towards the end, and when I picked it back up again I just wasn't really feeling it. If I hadn't gotten most of the way through it already, and felt like I should finish it and write some thoughts on it, I'm not sure I would have. The last few chapters are definitely more interesting, since Greta undergoes a very important change (spoiler, highlight to read: she is transformed into an AI... weirdly, I think I liked her better with her AI personality/voice versus her human one), so my curiosity is mildly piqued for the sequel... but I'm not sure it's really enough to keep me going with the series. I'll have to check out the general reaction to book 2 and see how other readers respond.
2.5 shooting stars.
*Note: I received this book as an ARC from the publisher for review.
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