This book surprised me a little. Not because the writing wasn't great (we all know that Richelle Mead can write, right?) but because I'll admit that I was expecting something a little more VA. A little more teen, a little less adult. But this is for a more mature audience. There is a fair amount of swear words, plus more than one sex scene (I wouldn't have complained if there were more of these...), not to mention the drug and alcohol abuse. It is all handled well, though I would not recommend this for the younger crowd. 
 I can already tell you that this is going to be an extremely complex series. There are so many threads to the plot, all wrapping around each other. At the beginning, I was handed clue after clue; definitely more clues than leads. My head was starting to spin a little from all the foreshadowing. It was hard to keep from getting confused UNTIL they all started coming together. This was where I was really drawn more into the story. 
 The characters are all so brutally broken. One way or another, they are all dealing with their inner demons (or gods). Mae is a strong woman - and I don't mean strong is the classic sense. She is stronger and faster than your standard human. She is a praetorian, which mean she has been modified by the government, and serves in its military. Except that she loses her temper at a funeral, and it results in her being punished. She is put on a babysitting detail. Dr. March has been exiled from his home country, and has since been drinking and drugging himself up in the hopes of dealing with his problems. But will Mae become one of those problems, or will she be part of the solution? 
 One of my favourite aspects of this book is that it offers a different view of religion. In this future world, religions have been mostly disbanded, and are closely monitored. Churches and temples must apply for licenses, and have very strict rules to follow. And while the government has decided that gods are simply fictitious figures, the gods themselves may have something to say about that. 
 The story takes place in RUNA; The Republic of United North America. The capital is Vancouver, which is kinda awesome coming from a Canadian's perspective. Although the world is built so incredibly well, I halfway expected there to be some sort of reference to the present day Vancouver that I may have recognized. Or to Windsor, which is also mentioned. While I have spent a significant amount of time in both these places, the setting in the book was simply generic. The name could have easily been changed to any other, and it wouldn't have made any difference. Though it was a little disappointing, the world building itself was pretty good. I look forward to reading the next book to see how it all plays out. 
 A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley.