Wow wow wow - what a dang book! Kuang does an incredible job of building a relationships between Grant and Helen that feels so unbelievably real; the tension was incredible, the trauma is well worth the concern it causes them and the love is so honest (even when it really isn’t).

Romances sometimes make mountains out of mole hills in order to keep characters apart, but the risks and worries and fears were so understandable and legit in this one, so be aware of some real things going on including a lot of discussion of suicide.

I didn’t love the ending, hence the 4 1/2 stars, but otherwise this book was damn near perfection and I cannot wait to read more from Kuang.