Okay, I’ve enthused a lot about the worldbuilding and all that, but I really think what made this book for me was the character work. All these lead characters are so awful and I love them. This is one of those books where the leads toe the line between villain and hero. Also, if you don’t like villain leads, you should probably not read this. Lol. I know my therapist probably wouldn't have 16 Lamborghini vehicles and 27 houses. Yes, I have indeed created a life for an imaginary being (her name's Edna, by the way). Sue me, we- I mean I get bored. I was just literally chortling with happiness over all the feelings this book gave me with these two main characters because THIS is the dark, enemies-to-more kind of slow-burn I crave. Is it something I would approve of IRL??? ahahahahahaha no but it's what I love in my fiction, okay?? Also, these two clash again and again, yet are still somehow magnetically drawn to each other in so many ways. But I also loved how, even though they're both the classic definition of monsters, they still try to keep each other to some level of morality? It was these kind of attributes and dialogue that really made me realize my love for this book AND just how freaking talented this author is. What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: To Nita, the new feeling she experiences for Kovit is "this weird, amorphous thing in her."

The Svengali: Henry was this for Kovit, whom he trained in the art of Cold-Blooded Torture so he'd have a zannie around capable of keeping other employees in line. Nita and her mother, Monica, are an unnamed and rare species that can actively control their body functions. They can only alter their bodies with aspects they can do on their own. Therefore, both can control the production of myostatin—a chemical which inhibits muscle growth—and attain nearly superhuman strength but are unable to change their face or regrow body parts.

Translated by Fans

I would be freaking my mind out if I was ever in a position like that, and so I thought the novel didn't portray the horror of the situation quite accurately? It just felt like it was all well and good because that's just how the world works. I was on the edge of my throne and screenshotting the ever living crap out of the chapters and their epic monologues that would provide evidence to my friends SO THEY COULD READ IT AND FREAK OUT WITH ME. Total chakra alignment and whatnot. Heel Realization: Kovit tells Nita about a young zannie he knew growing up whose family tried to hide what he fed off of from him. When he learned the truth, he committed suicide.

Agent Quispe also was involved in a kidnapping that Nita and Kovit did in an attempt of kidnapping Fabricio Tacunan and killing him. Nita was then later was questioned by the agent, and after Nita's mother comes to her aid, Agent Quispe vows to find the traitor in INHUP responsible for all of this.

When Kovit is forced to rejoin his Family, Nita is anguished, and despite reminding herself he is a monster, feels lost without his presence. When captured by Henry, who raised and betrayed Kovit, Kovit tells Henry that he will never work for him if Nita is sold or hurt. He ends up killing Henry, who murdered his former friend and threatens to torture his internet ones. This damages his mental state greatly. With limited resources in the cage, Nita is only able to help Kovit by pressing his shirt to plug his wound. Kovit teaches Nita how to throw a knife. She does, and the knife embeds in the glass. He then teaches her how to throw a punch. Nita strengthens her muscles and punches the knife further into the glass, breaking the glass. I Know You Know I Know: Nita is able to function when she sees Fabricio at INHUP headquarters once she remembers he doesn't know she knows he betrayed her. Power Glows: Boulder is an aur — an unnatural whose only difference from normal humans is that they glow in the dark.