4.5 starsI stupidly started reading this before bed. I thought I'd read a few chapters and then sleep. It didn't work that way, as I ended up staying up way too late to finish it. It had a few odd moments here and there, temporarily pulling me out of the story to feel disappointed that such an otherwise-great story was falling into such stupid tropes. But those were the exception, or the story overall was good enough that I could dive back in and mostly forget about them.I also thought the final resolution was handled a little too quickly and easily. I would much rather have seen the development on-page rather than suddenly jumping to an epilogue when all is well. But despite those niggles, this was an intense and engrossing story. I ached for Jake, what he had been through and how he perceived it. It was a little extreme, but it mostly seemed to fit the character. I loved Gabriel, though I kept struggling to remember he was only 22. He seemed much older, and the timing of his education stuff even seemed to me like it took long enough that he ought to have been at least 24 for the chronology to make sense. I think I'd have found him more overall believable as a 24- or 25-year-old. So, yeah, lots of niggles that kept it from being a perfect book. But I loved it and am eager to read more by this author.
