Nocturnal Book Reviews

2.5/5
Egalley thanks to HarperCollins

Plainly speaking I'm disappointed in this dystopia. Caution: minor spoilers ahead.

The main character, 18-year-old Eve is not only TSTL, she is sickeningly dangerously naive to the point where I kept asking myself why would anyone risk their life to help her when she keeps making stupid mistakes.

Also, the plot is absurd. You have schools which teach girls deportment, dances, how to play piano and be a dutiful devoted to the king worker. Why go into such an effort and elaborate lies when the girls end up strapped to the bed constantly giving birth to new children to repopulate the country anyway?

I also couldn't understand the need for women to hate and fear men, all this brain washing and orphan labour.

If all children are separated like that, what happens in the City itself? Who is that mysterious psychotic King? What's with the camps hiding in plain sight?

Sorry, the whole thing didn't work for me, I couldn't see the logic and I couldn't imagine the whole country with destroyed infrastructure falling under the rule of one person who just lacks resources and people to control everything.