4.5-- My favorite part of the book is the world-building. The lush, southern, gothic feel is perfectly done. I really enjoyed the read. Insta-love? Well, sure, there ends up being a sort of reason for it later on. Whatever. It's a very richly drawn world with many interesting characters. It was a great beach trip read and I immediately read the second book. It took me away into the world each time and world-building like that is a lot harder than it looks. So hats off to the authors!