I had Great Expectations going into this book, but unfortunately, I feel readers will have Hard Times finishing it, and Our Mutual Friend Emily May might agree with me. I'm sorry for the Charles Dickens puns. Who am I kidding lol? I'm totally not. 
 Confession time: I hate Dickens. I'm sure there are people who thinks Dickens is awesome. I'm sure that there are people who list his books among the greatest literary classics of all time. I ain't one of them. 
 I read his books when forced to, in high school. Or rather, I took a look at the book, said "fuck that shit" (I had a foul mouth back then, too) and read the Cliff Notes version. Had I kept any of them, I wouldn't be using them as doorstops because my door isn't big enough to need a doorstop of that size. I have no love for Dickens. 
 Ok, enough ranting, and onto this book. Sarah Rees Brennan is a great writer. I enjoyed her previous series, I loved her humor, I didn't like the love triangle, so her books have been a solid 3 for me. This book is vastly different from the Lynburn Legacy series, and that's not a good thing. 
 Oh my god, it was so boring. It was so confusing. I have no idea wtf I just read. It somehow managed to condense Dicken's convoluted plot into a tenth of the pages. That is no mean feat. 
 Sarah Rees Brennan's writing sparkled, that's the only saving grace in this book. The effervescent humor that was so prevalent in Lynburn is nowhere to be found here. Understandable, since this book is vastly different from that series, but the humor was what made Lynburn bearable despite its weaknesses, and there is no such salvation here. 
 A advanced copy of this book was given by the publisher for review.