Glitter Never Gold

The first thing I noticed about this book was a case of Special Snowflake Syndrome. Does the main character, Ilona, HAVE to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous without even knowing it (cough, cough, Bella, cough, cough Twillight)? And, on top of that, the author HAD to make her Not Like Other Girls.  I mean, seriously. Apparently, every single one of the other girls are completely shallow mean girls. And, of course, every single male has the hots for Ilona, which makes all the girls into jealous bitches. Can you get even more anti-feminist? This book is basically saying that girls are either gorgeous Special Snowflakes who catch male attention without even trying, or they are jealous, shallow bitches who don't matter. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being a physically attractive female. I'm just saying that other girls shouldn't be shamed if they aren't. One of the first scenes in this book is where a girl is portrayed as a shallow bitch and then shamed for no...

Me before reading this: Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me after reading this: That ending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, so, here's a little context. A Deadly Education was one of the funniest books I've ever read. It was just so addictive, with its witty banter, sarcasm galore, and stream-of-consciousness narration. I was so hooked that every few days, I would compulsively check NetGalley for an arc of The Last Graduate (I know this makes me sound like an obsessive fangirl, but sorry not sorry). So when I went into this book, I had sky-high expectations. And oh, did it deliver! I loved Orion's character development, mostly centered in the last, action-filled chapters of the book. I really got to learn what made him tick. But as much as he was a hero and saved all those lives, I couldn't help but get Anakin-Skywalker-just-about-to-turn-Darth-Vader vibes. I mean, seriously. Orion wa...