MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Ch 1-4

• Clever use of media to set up characters and show how the rest of the world sees them.

• Wow, they were so young when they were recruited from what sounds like not stable homes, no good parents would allow their children to do this.

Ch 5-10

• Sloane and Matt are NOT on the same page in their relationship; you don’t spring The Question without at least talking about marriage.

• “He feels like we all went through the same thing, so if he’s okay, I should be okay.” Relate.

• Sloane killed everyone getting her artifact. She was 15, that’s some real PTSD shit.

• Bert is sassy and she took it the wrong way. Oh, Sloane. You need a chill pill.

• Wow, Matt does not know how to stand behind his lady. She punches that POS and he’s mad at her for sticking up for him. Throw the whole man away. He’s a good leader, but not husband material. I miss Rhysand.

Ch. 11-15

• Oh Albie, this was truly heartbreaking. Overdosing after being clean for so long due to the death of a guard during experimenting with the new weapon ARIS developed. Poor guy couldn’t carry it anymore.

• This team really works together so well in the face of such trauma. They really knew how to get back into their roles even 10 years on and away from each other.

• Oh Sloane said nah I’m gonna wreck that thing before it wrecks anyone else.

• Interesting insight to how magic works. No wonder they didn’t become gods among men. They can only channel magic through the artifacts and they aren’t even reliable.

• Oh Albie, even when he was injured, he took a cab to the final battle and cinched it for them. These flashbacks are giving this story life right now.

• Is the Dark One in love with Sloane? Stop it. This is not Reylo.

Chapter 16-19

• Wait, so magic has been known since 1969? There are textbooks and a whole field of magical theory research? Laws being passed about the use of magic? I am confused.

• Alternate dimensions!!!! YES!!!!

• So this new dimension is some weird mashup of Rome obsession with siphons controlling magic.

Chapter 19-25

• These siphons are dividing society like Apple products.

• Oh, Mox is intriguing. Clearly Adam Driver inspired.

• Wait, the Chosen One in this universe was discovered before the Resurrectionist?

• I keep picturing Bert as Coulson.

• Yeah, knew that wasn’t going to go well.

• Is Mox supposed to be Kylo Ren?

• I feel like Sloane is going to want to stay in this dimension.

• Matt rhymes with brat. I can’t with him.

• Sloane not mastering siphons is getting boring. Move the plot.

• Sloane is always passing out like Arthur in Merlin.

• The Resurrectionist is giving serious Vader/Kylo vibes.

Ch 26-29

• No Mox, don’t be a spy for the Resurrectionist!

• They need to stop teasing about this Chosen One.

• Why do they keep trusting these people? Sloane is correct.

• Jeez, they are the fifth “Chosen One” to be transported and failed to kill the Resurrectionist.

• Duh, the Dark One is alive. That was not a shocking reveal.

• 2/3 of the way through and this middle is very slow, no break in tension. Too serious. If this is adult fiction, I don’t want it.

Ch. 30-37

• Nero is the Dark One. Bet.

• I ship Sloane and Mox, they belong together in their brokenness.

• This man is just walking around with a hunk of metal stick out of his body NBD.

• Oh the zombies aren’t mindless, well that’s different.

• Finally, we get to meet Sybil the prophet.

• Aw, this giant doesn’t know how to function in a crowd, but commands an army of the dead. He can’t do normal things!

• OMG she’s Rey. A broken and bitter Rey with a hunger for power, but Rey nonetheless.

• This is some weird Reylo AU and I’m living for it.

• So Mox was their first Chosen One and was trained/manipulated by Nero. Someone watched the Last Jedi a lot, I see.

• Dang, Nero killed Mox’s army and Mox raised them from the dead to fulfill their destiny.

• Ah so there’s the cause of self-loathing, Sloane chose Albie to be tortured instead of herself. Yeah that’s not cool, Sloane. You should hate yourself for that.

• Girl, stop passing out!

• Yessss get it! Boo, fade to black.

• CALLED IT. Nero is the Dark One.

Ch 38-End

• I can’t stop thinking Genetrix is the Capitol.

• I have no idea what the plan is to defeat Nero.

• Oh boy, she’s finally back with Esther and Matt. Time to explain.

• This was all about the Needle?

• Oh he wants to die and the power of the Needle is the only way to do it. But his death would cause the destruction of both Earth and Genetrix; this is a lose-lose situation.

• So the Dark One is a world hopping destroyer of worlds because he craves power to die but can’t die on his own.

• But Sloane can with the needle? That was disgusting but also anticlimactic.

• Aw, Mox let his army go and all he has now is Sloane.

Final Thoughts

• So the death of the Dark One unmade the two worlds, but Sloane unintentionally remade the world based on her desires and so they all ride into the sunset at the end?

• But there’s a sequel? I am so confused.

• So all the beginning stuff with classified files and Bert, what was the point of all of that?

• What was the point of that little side quest to see alt Bert?

• I don’t like how it went from newspaper clippings and classified info on Earth and then philosophical textbooks on Genetrix.

• I will ship Sloane and Mox forever. I hope the sequel has a lot of him teaching her how to control her powers and her teaching him basic nonmagical skills.

• Matt needs to get over himself.

• Ines and Esther need more personality and character growth.

• I have no idea why this book needs a sequel.

• I learned far more about Chicago’s geography and layout than I ever thought possible.