I wanted to like this book because I am a fan of the author. But I have to be honest and say that I was not sure where it was all going at any given time.

First, there appeared to be a mashup of reality and fiction when it came to locations. Unless I missed something, it got confusing as to how the monarchy fit into the world at large. For example, Derrick/Theo’s mom lived in New Jersey, but most of the action took place on an island? The mixture of the two made it difficult for me to get into the plot.

I also thought that the relationships, as explained at the beginning, were too complicated as if there were previous stories with these characters so I should have already known who they were. (Maybe this was part of a series, and I didn’t know it?) But there were several times throughout the story where I made notes that relationships were overly complicated or didn’t make sense.

What I did like was the role reversal of the female being the bad-ass and the male needing protection. I thought that part was well-done, and the author could have gone stronger with it. Actually, having the agency that Zia belonged to be a real one would have been more exciting.

I did like the plot point regarding Theo (Derrick), although I did guess at least parts of it very early on. I thought the whole tech aspect to his participation was interesting but still didn’t buy into the entire over-arching “father as detractor” scenario.

In looking at the notes that I made while I read, I have “too complicated” and “uneven” more than a few times. I guess that is what it all boils down to – it did not feel like a smooth read. Here is hoping that the next book answers some questions and is more comprehensive.