Wow, this book really hits the ground running—and then stops and walks really slowly from there. See, this is exactly why I hate prologues: Because they're a false promise for what the rest of the book is going to be. In most cases, prologues are dragging introductions that prevent books from hooking the reader right away; in this case, the prologue hooked me immediately, and then the next two chapters completely abandoned that hook in favor of two far less enthralling plots (though I'll admit that there is some intrigue in the mystery that Eliana's story introduces). I was really, really interested in Simon and his story, but instead I got Rielle and Eliana; the former is, as far as I can tell, exactly the same as every other YA fantasy heroine, and the latter is far too arrogant to inspire any feelings of fondness, respect, or investment in me. I would have given the prologue five stars, but the following two chapters were a let-down; I'm giving this excerpt four stars, because I just really want to believe that the rest of the book can get better, and bring back the passion that it touched on in the prologue.