This book was so refreshing after all the disappointments that I have wasted my time on. 
 The story, even the romance-and I have begun to hate novels revolving around romance, everything was well thought of, with a lot of work, and I loved, and read, and drank each word with a fever I hadn't felt in years when reading the first book of a series. 
 However, there is something about present tense point of view that simply unnerves me, almost, as if I have a phobia from it, and also, it was not very well done-too much sentences like 
 "It's a peace offering, and it warms my heart, but I'm still too furious to even think about it/to talk to someone," and it's simply unaesthetic in my opinion. 
 Also, at moments, it was incredibly cheesy, but it makes up for it in plot, cause-effect and basic chills-inducing moments and events. 
 The oppression did remind me of Hunger Games, but in my opinion, this book is a lot darker than Hunger Games-though it depends on how you look upon it, I suppose. 
 The romance-while made the plot moving-it didn't have to be there. May be Ash and Natalie could have fought hard against that attraction, but the later part in the book satisfied even those needs, so I suppose I can accept it as such. 
 Best of all, however, is that it didn't end with a cliffhanger-I can forgive anything as long as it doesn't end on a cliffhanger. I couldn't believe some of the comments around here that it was a lot to take in and should have been split-I disagree. Had it been split, it would have gotten much less stars from me. 
 Congratulations and standing ovations for the author. Extremely good job that made a refreshing read!