Sallot Leon is focused on becoming Opal - one of four of the Queen's personal assassins.  Sal, a gender fluid character, takes on the goal of winning the competition even though they never received an official invitation to audition.  After a life of thieving to survive, they understand the need to survive at all cost - and that is the key, as Sal quickly learns this is a competition to the death. There will only be one survivor, who will become Opal.

Sal's drive is fueled by revenge, so as other competitors start to fail, they get more and more confident until past events begin to haunt them again. 

Will Sal be able to focus long enough to reach the end, or will they too fall?

I truly was curious about how Linsey Miller would write a trans-fluid main character. It is a section of the population that has never been clearly defined for me, and I was curious.

Also, I liked the idea of the queen needing four assassins and that they were named after jewels. It spoke to strong female characters throughout the story, without tearing down male characters.

Oh, and when it was dubbed a story for fans of The Hunger Games and Throne of Glass, I was intrigued.... I just wish it had been more flushed out all around.

The lack of character development, for the main character, as well as all the side characters. I am always drawn to a story through the characters. I want to see the characters and then be drawn into their story... this never happened.  I still cannot even imagine who Sal is, even though I read this entire book hoping I would connect at some point.

I am mostly disappointed that a book that should be advancing diversity was so confusing and unclear in the details that it did nothing to help the movement. The plot was completely expected, the characters were unremarkable, and the ending didn't leave me wanting more. 

I am going to go with a three heart rating on this because it's a new author and a new story.  It read like an early attempt and I hope that the author will use this as a learning experience and just improve.  These are the kind of ideas that fiction is important for, but stories still need to take readers away - not leave them more confused. 

I wish I could say who should read this book... but I totally don't know if this book fits in a category... If you are looking to pick up a book that is firmly in a diversity category, then this is for you.  But in all honesty, there are better diversity focused stories out there.  But since I know this is a sub-genre that needs more stories, I don't want to ignore it either... The MC is a teen, so this fits into the YA fantasy genre. As far as triggers, the issue of violence is the biggest one.  There are some hints at romance, but nothing as a major focus.  There is some traumatic flashback for Sal, that might hint at triggers for those who are sensitive to violence to children and families, but these are not clear, and part of the basis for why this book did not impress me. 

Wondering Questions to Consider