The hype around this book was so large that by the time I picked it up there was no way it could have lived up to my hopes. It was well written and the twist at the end was clever and well done. I just felt immensely disappointed with a few things: 
 1. The female protagonist. I found her obsessive to the point that I wanted to throw the book across the room at times. Yes, I know that's typical for romance. But aside from her interest in this one boy, I couldn't figure out what other interests she had. There's one spot in the book where she talks about how smart she is, but I don't see an ounce of passion in her about anything except the boy she's attracted to. She doesn't paint, write, play an instrument, love to learn, or excel at anything at the school where she's been placed . . . oh, except stalking, she does pretty good at that. I almost found myself rooting for the female villian who tried to kill her because I agreed that this girl was just pitiful with her love sickness. 
 2. Unanswered question. By the end of the book there were still too many. It was as though the author gave us the answer to one big question, tied up one loose end, and then left about a dozen flowing free. I know it's a book in a series, so having it be a cliff hanger is inevitable. But there were simply too many questions unanswered for me. I felt massively jipped by the time I reached the last page. My exact words may even have been: "Is that it?" 
 All that said, the story was engaging. The concept was creative and the male protagonist was interesting enough that it almost made up for the blandness of the girl whose point of view it was told from. More than anything, I'd hoped to see some growth in her character, but there just wasn't much if any. 
 Lauren Kate does have a way with words, though. I read the whole thing in the course of two days. I'm sure, as a writer, I could learn a lot from her.