2.5⭐

✨ "Take it from someone who's lost people: what you're feeling now, this is it. Forever. They will tell you it get easier. It doesn't."

The Hunger Games meets Station Eleven? Umm not really. There might have been a bit of Snowpiercer vibes but just very mildly. Appealing premise, but the execution just seemed lacking and the story wasn't propulsive at all. It's a supposedly dystopian universe but didn't feel cut-throat. There was action but I didn't feel tense. There was a body count but I didn't feel sad.

I didn't care for any of the characters and found Esther particularly annoying. There was one part where another character thinks, "She's pathetic — a jelly mess wallowing in self-pity. I resist the urge to kick her." LMAO I felt that. The only interesting person to me was Hadley.

There was also a lot of wasted opportunity: Unsatisfactory world-building as I wanted so much more details and background. No twists, turns and morally grey characters despite an intricate plot. Highlighting of social issues as such racism and displacement that didn't really go anywhere.

Overall, this was a dull read that I slogged through. Ugh, the cliffhanger!

Thank you to the publishers for the Netgalley ARC.