“A moment passed before he peeked at my necklace, and his eyes became tender. “You know, Leen love isn’t always a crazy, obsessive emotion. Love is understanding and respecting each other, and giving space to grow and sacrifice and compromise. It’s about being there for each other, not running away. And it certainly isn’t treason.”

In the kingdom of Elpax, juveniles must walk through crossing gate to become adults. Seems very simple doesn’t it? For a young woman named Lenore it would be anything but as when the time comes her to cross through the gate, it goes horribly wrong. The young woman who was hoping to have to finally have success with crossing the gate is now being accused of trying to start a revolution and she must follows the rules if she wants to stay alive. But, following the rules is never easy and Lenore is going to find herself being tested in ways she didn’t imagine especially when a young handsome stranger shows up and she starts to feel emotions that she’s never felt before. But, juveniles aren’t allowed to fall in love so Lenore is finding herself at a crossing point as she wants to follow the laws and keep her family safe but more and more secrets come out about her kingdom that she realizes, fighting against the system and saving her family and loved ones might be the only way she will survive.

Wow! This was a truly beautiful story and the plot was so unique and that’s what caught my attention when I was looking for new books coming out. Someone called this a mash up between The Handmaiden’s Tale and Hunger Games and they couldn’t be more right as there were moments of terror, rage and anger but also heartwarming moments that made you feel for the characters and Lenore. There were so many times that I wanted to rage with her and I’m glad that she finally got to rage herself. This is so true for many of us as there are reasons why we have to keep certain emotions suppressed but all that does it create more problems especially if we longer have room to suppress them. Not only did I enjoy and relate to Lenore, I enjoyed all the characters and their dynamics with each other so I highly recommend it!