I became enamored with this book when I read an excerpt of the Prologue and first chapter. It had a fascinating concept with intriguing characters, and I was curious to know more. Sadly, I didn’t feel like the rest of the book lived up to those expectations. Astrid has very little presence in the rest of the narrative and Jesse wasn’t present in the narrative enough for me either. While the story follows four characters as depicted on the cover, essentially known as the Hero, the Maiden, the Monster and honestly, I’m not sure what Jack was. I found them all of varying interest and unfortunately, didn’t care much nor relate to the character of Jack who seemed to dominate the rest of the story. I won’t address the controversial issues with this character since others have done a good job of it, but I will say that undeserved family loyalty is a theme in Jack’s storyline and something for which I have zero understanding or commiseration. Not recommended.