|| ARC received from HarperTeen in conjunction with Shelf Awareness || 
 This is the most conflicted I've ever felt about rating a book. There were so many things I liked and yet SO many things I didn't... I think I'll settle on 3.5 stars...? 
 Firstly, how is this like Graceling at all? Beauty and the Beast I get, but this was no Graceling. This is why I get upset when people make book comparisons and proclaim them to the world. 
 Secondly, why is there NO mention of mythology anywhere in this book's synopsis? It actually plays a pretty big part in the book and that's probably something people should know. It's a mix of fantasy and mythology. Absolutely. 
 And thirdly, just how in the world do I put what I just read together? I really did not like Nyx (the MC) for a vast majority of the book. Even in the end I didn't LIKE her but she got better. For much of the book she felt whiny, rude, and repetitive. She became a better person overall but I still wasn't a huge fan of her. Or any of the characters really (except Ignifex because HI, demon lord. Bad has never been so good (okay well it has but I love snarky "evil")). 
 The world building...... It COULD have been awesome -- I mean the castle was awesome. It sort of reminded me of the moving staircases in Harry Potter except the whole house kept changing, essentially. I loved the castle itself but as a part of the book... It just never seemed to all REALLY come together. 
 The plot and general idea of the book could have also been awesome too but I felt like the book was written in pieces and somehow these pieces just didn't quite all fit perfectly together. They all came back to create one story, but they didn't seem like they fit well. 
 And I'm upset with the ending. Everything seemed to happen so fast and yet not. It was not a satisfying ending and just didn't seem to work with how the rest of the book went. 
 Yeah, I think overall, the book just felt very pieced together. The characters didn't feel very developed. The world building could have totally blown me away but it felt very unfinished. Nothing felt cohesive. It was still an interesting read but this should have been a book that totally wowed me and it just didn't do that much at all. 
 Want to read my full review? (Yes, there's more) Check it out at The Book Addict's Guide!