I started this book as a young woman I finished old and wrinkled, it was that long and dull. I want my youth back ! I almost quit it so many times. I didn't, I held on because I knew she had some secret BOOM moment coming that would make all the nodding off and forced reading worth it. No, it was 400 pages of slow conversations, inner dialogs, dressing and hair, boring meetings and even more boring problems. I thought the last 40 pages were picking up. Gods that sounds so sad. Well I thought they were picking up but I was foolish again. It built up to a huge semi better than bland so obvious resolution. I know you're thinking, wow that sounds boring. YES it was ! 400 pages that could have easily fit into 75 pages and not missed a bit of the story. I never liked the spoiled Countess, the MC, never admired her stupid choices, or attitude.
What was the book about ? A rich Countess doesn't want to marry her cousin to save her class standing so she runs away and sells herself to a group that will train her to be an good upper class wife in the new world sold to the highest bidder. She decides not to follow those rules and fall fro another. Then she must lower herself even lower and do actual labor.

I will not be reading anymore in this series

Unlike many other 2-star books I've read, there was nothing outrageously bad about this book. The characters are dull and generic; despite the fact that some characters (like Meg's parents) are pure tropes, I do not hate anyone outright. Some characters are annoying, but nobody in this book grated on my nerves so much to warrant and full-on profanity-laced rant regarding their character. Mainly because the characters and their characterization is just severely lacking, and there are so many side characters that I can only recall four that stands out. My use of profanity within this review will be quite limited where this book is concerned.

My main complaint about this book is that it's just so insufferably boring. The characters are dull. The world-building and the mythology of the shape-shifters are so vague. The main character spends much of her days and night prowling about town on her little foxy paws investigating some mystery about some fog that goes around town tentacle-raping and killing those of her kind. That's pretty much it.

A lack of any likeable characters, most notably a charmless and self-centered protagonist, makes this a disappointing read. It's too bad, as the premise was excellent and the potential was right there.

While I did like the use of the occasional intriguing vocabulary word, Grant's strange metaphors were literally head-shake inducing. An example:

"...that he would drop this surmise into the current of gossip that ran through the school, like a hippo releasing a turd into a fast-flowing river, was too grisly to contemplate."

I mean...what the fuck?

An incredibly dull book with a promising premise. The pacing was dreadful and it was hard to follow. I can't imagine recommending it.

This is not nearly as malevolent as the jacket leads you to believe. Grr.