4.5 stars. What a fascinating book. Kacen Callender did such an amazing job creating an incredibly sad but complex world where no one is innocent, even those who have been horribly wronged. The story takes place in the Caribbean-inspired islands of Hans Lollik, which were colonized centuries ago by the Fjern, who have enslaved the native Islanders. The story starts with the slaughter of one Islander family that was rare in their ability to earn freedom and work their way to some power and then evolves into a mystery as someone starts killing off the ruling Fjern one by one.

The story is partly about revenge and how corrupting it can be. The main character, Sigourney, was a child during the massacre and the only one who managed to escape alive. She's since been forced to live her childhood on the run but has slowly been working on a plan to return and seek vengeance on the Fjern who killed her family. But while it's easy to apologize for her actions to start with, especially as they target the Fjern who have terrorized the Islanders, it's quickly apparent that she's willing to allow the rest of the Islanders to continue to be terrorized and enslaved if it means she can get her revenge. She's not a character who really can be loved, but Callender still does a wonderful job of getting the reader to at least want her to seek some redemption.

The other characters are all also compelling, whether the Fjern who are terrible but still have some shred of humanity, or the Islanders who have suffered so much and yet are still ignored.

My one problem with this book was the mystery, partly because it was very slow in coming, and partly in frustration with how Sigourney went about trying to solve it (basically making no headway and never really seeming to do anything to find answers even though it's what she kept claiming to be doing). It made the story a bit frustrating to read, especially as I could start to figure out the answer myself and got frustrated with Sigourney (which I suspect was what the author wanted, but still frustrating). But really, this is a fairly minor complaint, and overall I think the reveal still held enough surprises to make it worth it. I'm excited to read the second book.