Paedyn Gray is Ordinary. Normally, this isn’t a problem for the thieving eighteen-year-old, as she’s able to slip under the radar of the Elites. Luckily so, as being an Ordinary among the Elites is punishable by death. But her encounter with a mysterious stranger is anything but normal. Sticking her neck out for someone isn’t usually her style, but Pae decides to save the poor man she had recently robbed in an alley fight, one that escalated quickly after the stranger was recognized. Kai Azer, an Elite prince destined to be his brother’s killer-for-hire, doesn’t normally interact with people outside the castle. That is, until Pae saves him and unwittingly gets volunteered by the public to compete in the Purging Trials. Kai finds himself unable to stay away from the alluring thief, attempting to sway her into trusting him. Pae’s feelings for Kai grow, but she cannot tell him the whole truth, or anything he ever thought he felt will be washed away by his duty to his king. Avoiding death would be pretty sweet for Paedyn, too.
I loved this book. One of the slowest burns I’ve read this year, but the torture was immensely enjoyable. The characters were nicely built, and I felt there was adequate growth between all of them. I wasn’t a huge fan of the very obvious love triangle, as the feelings between two of the characters were incredibly one-sided, and their relationship would clearly never work anyway because of the past and other betrayals. Other than that one note, I found this to be a very satisfying read. It took me about five hours to finish it, but only because of how long it was. Quite detailed, which I love, and the world-building was adequate for a first book. I would recommend this book to people who liked Red Queen, as I thought they were similar in concept. My rating would be five out of five stars, as I would read this book again and I look forward to reading the second book.