Sigh, I really wanted to like this one, especially after all the hype. Unfortunately, that's what it was. Just hype! 
 The dystopian world was very different and I liked the idea of the "matching" and the aspects that went into it. However, I didn't really understand what was going on behind all of it. The Officials were kind of daunting, but other than that, I didn't see The Society as a big, overbearing threat that "the chosen one" needed to overcome. 
 I also didn't really care for the characters. I just couldn't connect with any of them. Cassia was your typical conformist-turned-free-thinker, but she also had this bland quality to her that I didn't really care for so I don't consider her a real heroine yet. I don't see what's so special about her and she barely did anything throughout the whole book. I also didn't care for Ky or Xander much, although I prefer Xander, and how Ky & Cassia fell in love was so weird and out-of-the-blue for me, it felt like the author just put that there to add the effect of the ever-present love triangle seen in almost all books today. 
 Yes, the love & romance in this book left something to be desired and the book as a whole was a letdown. I was pretty much bored after a quarter of the way through until the end. I really don't think I'll be picking up the rest of the trilogy, but if I do, it'll be way, way later & very low on my list.