Messy as fuck-- plot and writing.This story definitely needed a strong editor. I'm no grammar guru (the opposite in fact, and I'm sure many of GR friends have noticed) but at times even I knew there was something distinctly funky going on. And there were also some words that weren't meant to be there/didn't sound quite right, and a novel-long confusion where 'latter' should have been used instead of 'later' (I'm not entirely sure I'm right though). And the quality of the writing wasn't the of the highest standards I've seen, but it was still adequate.
As for the plot-- geez Louise were there so many twists. I felt almost as if they were meant to trap me in my confusion, rather than entertain me. It was still rather enjoyable, especially when events and characters from earlier on in the novel ended up being yet another twist. Despite how fun it was having my mind turned inside out, it was, yet again, quite messy. I feel that the story would have benefitted from a more clean and neat execution.
Likewise with the
However, in between all of this chaos and befuddlement was a surprisingly addictive and engrossing story that I was extremely emotionally invested in. A distinctive and rather unique world was weaved and some very decent characters and ideas were created (though the it wouldn't have hurt to have the ideas more fleshed out).
Do not be fooled by the Brothel setting-- the sex, though it is present, is not the main purpose of this story nor was it mind blowing. And apart from that, the character development was done quite nicely and I did enjoy watching the characters, especially Sebastian, grow.
Oh, and a quick mention to the length: It was long and somewhat tiresome, but I never felt the need to put it down (which makes for a very very tired Vivian).
All in all, this was a good story with a solid premise and potential, only it lacked sophistication and polish that would've made it much more superior. I will definitely go on to read Jade's spin-off-- god knows this was entertaining enough to want more, and I want to finally see Jade's Happily Ever After.