DNF'd at 52% 
 1. Abusive Love Interest: 
 I really tried to love this, but when it was apparent that it was impossible, I would have settled for "like" instead. Unfortunately, none of the 52% that I read convinced me to stick it out until the end. Instead, I was given Malek, the abusive asshole, who I'm told later, is a part of the love triangle. It's possible that this could be a bit of Stockholm going one, but I couldn't care less at this point because I've lost interest. He throws her against a wall hard enough to cause a knot to form on her head and bruises her arms. Nalia makes excuses for his behavior, Malek feels guilt and I'm sitting here fuming. The way the novel was going, it conveniently had a reasoning for his behavior (he just can't help he's a violent (view spoiler)[half-Ifrit (hide spoiler)]!) and I just could not. 
 2. Boring: 
 NOTHING happens in the first half. Nalia goes shopping, talks about her past life, goes dancing, talks about her past life, goes to a party, and talks about her past life. There was just way too much set up and not enough action. 
 3. The World-Building Didn't Feel Organic: 
 The characters would be in the middle of dialogue and all of the sudden we have to have a 3 page flashback or history lesson. It felt out of place and disrupted the scenes. They also felt forced, and for this to feel like it was upper YA, I was constantly underwhelmed. It's like Demetrios spent so much time trying to build an atmosphere, describing so many things at once that they ended up conflicting with the story she was trying to tell. 
 4. Just... NO 
 From her fingertips to her elbows, the henna-like tattoos of her race crawled over her cinnamon skin 
 I really, really hate when a non-white character's skin is described with food. I was excited that this book featured diverse characters, but disappointed with how they were described. 
 As much as I was looking forward to this book, it's just not be for me.