I echo the sentiments of most other 3-star reviewers on Goodreads. The first half or two-thirds of this book was well-done dystopian fiction that leaned heavily on elements from The Handmaid's Tale, The Scarlet Letter, and (not sure the exact chronology of publications) the "color hierarchy" of individuals present in something like Red Rising. In the first half, Jordan presents a bleak, yet realistic, picture of how religious conviction and self-righteousness could lead to an authoritarian society specifically around issues such as homosexuality, abortion, and gender roles yet, at the same time, mask over serious hypocrisy. The Bible consistently reminds its readers of the fallibility of humankind and the innately sinful nature of people and perhaps the most alarming aspect of a theocracy (which is what has arisen in this future United States) is how the gilding of righteousness and piety provide an outlet for the most base instincts of human nature—violence, discrimination, and lack of fellow feeling.

The second half of the book felt rushed—some of the rapid developments in the plot were jarring and out of place—and concluded in a way that left you thinking: "Ok...wait, what?" In my opinion, this should have probably been at least a two-part series so that Jordan could have taken more time to develop some of the backstory, world building, and character development to make this a truly excellent piece of fiction. This will be one of the rare occasions when I advocate for a book to be longer or broken into parts.