I was so excited for this book, but it ultimately didn't live up to my excitement. Maybe that's on me. I mean, queer dark academia? I was so pumped for that kind of story. This story leans more towards thriller territory. There is a romance arc, but not at all a romance. The story moved super slow for almost two-thirds of the story, and then everything felt rushed to get to the end. I liked the characters, and the premise of the story had so much promise, but ultimately, the pacing just didn't fit to keep me engaged. I wanted to love this so badly, but it just fell kind of flat for me. I don't think this will be the end for me with this author, though. Like I said, the story has promised, and the characters were intriguing (like Luke), and Cal, especially, was easily likable.  I think a lot of people could like this easily, but this story just didn't end up being for me.

Now, I listened to the audiobook for this one, and overall, it was a great experience. My only qualm is that Cal is from Mississippi, and his accent is mentioned frequently, yet the narrator never used one for either the internal monologues or the external dialogue. It just didn't feel right. Cal tries to suppress his accent, so it may not be a heavy one, but it's still there in the story, yet we didn't see it in the narration.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.