Having been on my to-read list already, I was excited to see this as the Vaginal Fantasy pick for this month. You can tell this is an early work for Haydon and of course it's almost 20 years old! That isn't to say there is no potential, though -- I'm adding the next one to my list, after all. But this book did get off to a rocky start for me. 
 (view spoiler)[The beginning romance was...interesting. I don't really enjoy reading about children that are 14 years old having sex only hours after they've met. (hide spoiler)]. 
 A good chunk of the middle is hard to get through, or at least was for me; there is almost too much world-building. Haydon uses way too many words to describe one thing and I found myself getting lost just in adjectives. The antagonist is just mentioned in conversation (view spoiler)[until the end, and when the confrontation finally happens, I found myself kinda bored. It was as if there was nothing to lose, yet we've spent hundreds of pages with these characters. (hide spoiler)] Rhapsody is oftentimes insufferable. She's too naive, and men constantly throwing themselves at her gets old after a while. But since she's smart and she's strong, how could she possibly be allowed to realize her beauty? /eyeroll 
 That all being said, towards the end I found it hard to stop. The story itself is fairly original and despite some tired tropes, the characters are fleshed out and well-written. Once the three protagonists find their stride within the book, they become a loveable motley crew. (view spoiler)[And I want to read more Ashe x Rhapsody! (hide spoiler)]