Full joint review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books 
 In brief, RHG and I both loved this book for the high quality of the writing, the craftsmanship, the characters, and the emotional whammies. I thought it was a little overstuffed but RHG saw the book as less of a stand-alone and more of an introduction to a larger series, which I agree is a fair assessment. The remainder of this review is mildly spoilery and slightly incoherent as Redheadedgirl and I attempted to out-squee each other while our computers took turns crashing. 
 Milan gives us all the feels: 
 RHG: What Milan does at her best is have the emotional climax be a FEELINGS BOMB. And when she scores a direct hit with a FEELINGS BOMB it's like, shit Dude, let me get this character a blankie and a cookie and maybe a scotch and let her sob it out because holy fuck. 
 CarrieS: I totally agree. She really hits the angst, but it doesn't feel melodramatic because it's so rooted in these deeply sympathetic characters. I feel all the feels with her books because her characters seem so real, I feel like I actually know them, and I feel like the things that are happening to them are happening to my best friends. At the same time, I feel incredibly triumphant when they get their HEA. Her books are full of pain, but they feel uplifting, not sadistic. 
 RHG: This book is kind of like the pilot (plus a few episodes) of a TV show: it set up the main world, and introduced the over-arching concept, introduced a bunch of characters who will get a whole book for their full story later, and that took away from the attention on Judith and Christian a little bit. 
 CarrieS: It hadn't occurred to me to think of it as a pilot but I'm so glad you said that because now the book makes so much more sense. I loved everyone's individual issues but at the same time, it just seemed over-stuffed with trauma. It works so much better if I think of it as a pilot as opposed to a self-contained book. 
 - Redheadedgirl & Carrie S.