It's like your favorite BTS member gets thrust into a spy thriller

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This was so much fun! It was fast-paced and full of excitement and danger and thrilling spy action. It was also full of popstar concert vibes. I found myself thinking 'BTS' over and over again and having to convince myself that, no, Winter Young is not modeled on BTS. And then lo and behold I find in the author's note that Marie Lu is ARMY too and was thinking of BTS after all. Ha! I knew Winter's extreme charisma and humbleness and ability to connect with people and pick up choreography and training immediately were familiar.

I loved Winter Young as a character. Yes, his resemblance to the various BTS members made me love him more, but he was charismatic and a sympathetic character in his own right and easy to root for.

Sydney was cold and hard and buried her vulnerabilities deep behind her walls, but Winter was able to bring them out and make her a more relatable and sympathetic character. They made a fabulous team and I can't wait to see them team up again.

I did guess the big bad pretty early on, but it was fun seeing how it all played out. That sort of thing doesn't bother me as I'm there for the overall experience of the story, but for people who want to be surprised by the twists it might be frustrating. Then again, Marie Lu did hide it pretty well.

I was glued to the pages the whole time I was reading and there was never a moment where I was bored or frustrated with the story. It all flowed really well and was so fast-paced I never got a chance to breathe and get drawn away from it. I'll definitely be picking up the next one.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Bookishfirst, and Macmillan Children's for providing an early copy for review.