I had high hopes for this novel, simply from the cover itself. It's absolutely one of the prettiest covers I've seen in a while.

Overall, this book was enjoyable. I'm a sucker for anything even remotely related to Arthurian Legend, and this one did not disappoint. It was a take that I've yet to see, new and exciting.

I think the biggest thing I struggled with was Lee's world building. The action and detail in the moment was strong, but I couldn't picture what the world looked like other than drab and gray. My mental picture was more floating pieces rather than an entire world.

The novel being told from the perspectives of two of Arthur's Knights was definitely an interesting one. Even more so that neither of them wanted to bring Arthur back.

All in all, I'm glad I read this book and I will recommend it to others.

3.5 rounded to 4

This unusual look at Arthuriana begins with Kay bursting from underground. We learn that in times of peril, the Knights of the Round Table will come again.

So begins this often humorous, more often very serious, blend of the beloved legends with a near-future setting. Kay is the main protagonist, but every one of the familiar figures gets air time, and an involving backstory.

The pacing began brisk, but gradually, as we get more warnings about the dangers of global warming, the pacing slowed--highlighting the awkwardness of the present tense voice. Present tense has become de rigueur especially in YA, but when there is a lot of backstory and exposition outside of a headlong pace, the forced present can really grate.

But other than that, it's a worthy read. I really appreciated the dry humor, and look forward to seeing what this author does next.

I received a copy from NetGalley for review.

I feel like this requires more brain power to comprehend than I care to give. DNFing at 6%. Probably won't go back to it, but if I do at some point, I'll update.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the early read. I'm not going to lie. When I scrolled through NetGalley, the cover is the reason I selected this book. As I read the plot, I knew I didn't mess up.

This is a dystopian/sci-fi/Arthurian retelling. It was a fun and sometimes quirky read. I enjoyed the book as it hit on major climate issues, but my one complaint would be the author's writing style. He would write a full sentence, then hit you with a bunch of fragments, and then a full sentence followed....a lot.

Overall, I'd give this a 3.5, but as there are no halves.....4 stars.

Thomas D. Lee brings past and future together in Perilous Times, his witty debut novel featuring Arthurian knights waking up from sleep to help Britain in its time of peril--as they've been doing for a thousand years. But this time when they wake up, the world is nearly ending from climate change. Sir Kay assists Mariam as she's blowing up a fracking facility and joins her group of eco-warriors fighting the oil oligarchs who now rule England. Meanwhile Marlowe, whose deal with the devil in Elizabethan England has kept him alive all these years, wants Lancelot to carry out some very sketchy missions for him. When the knights don't live up to Mariam's expectations, she has to look beyond legend for the world's savior.

Perilous Times is full of violence and intense themes, but it's also full of hilarity and absurdity. Lee draws on his expertise in Arthurian legend, the subject of his doctoral study, to comment on ways of understanding legendary stories of the past, especially stories upon which the fabric of a nation like England has been built. No prior knowledge of Arthurian legend is necessary to enjoy the novel, but Arthurian aficionados will delight in seeing bits of lore verified or debunked by Kay, Lancelot, Morgan, Marlowe, and the others. Featuring a diverse cast, including medieval knights who are Black and gay, Perilous Times takes readers on a wild adventure as Mariam, Kay, and Lancelot figure out how to save the world and what being a hero truly means.

This was a. big swing of a book, but I don't think I am the right audience. I don't know much about Knights of the Round Table, so the characters within this story weren't anything I could connect to.



I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I was sent a free eCopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


The book is alright, and I’m giving it 3 stars so I don’t mess with the review numbers terribly. I think that the topics and the retelling just ended up not being my thing. I thought I would love it, but surprisingly, it just didn’t stand out to me.

However, that’s my preference and if you are interested in a comedic Arthurian retelling with some twists, I think you’ll have better luck than me, and enjoy this. It’s well-written and I can’t pinpoint anything objectively bad about it. Everything I don’t care for is just my subjective taste. Try this out if it interests you!

3/5, DNF

I couldn’t resist the lure of this book. A little bit Prachett, a little bit of influence from the BBC’s Merlin TV show (if you know where to look), a plot that simultaneously does and doesn’t sound like a good Arthuriana tale (which are usually the best ones!), an admonishment against the older generations (ancient, even) for their inaction and misdeeds, and a rallying cry for the younger generations to not let history repeat itself once more and that if no one else is going to step forward and take up the mantle of leadership then it’s up to you to make sure it gets done instead of just relying on someone else to solve the world’s problems. It’s a call to action, to do something, even if all that something amounts to is a willingness to try.

Some reviewers are calling this a feminist take on the King Arthur legends. I beg to differ. It’s actually just a reflection of reality. There are more women on Earth than men. More females live past the age of 10 than males, which is 1.1 males born to 1 female babies born, on average. That 10% is accounting for the male mortality rate before the age of 10. Men also die earlier than women, on average. Wives tend to outlive their husbands, and so on. Since this book takes place in the future, who knows what the demography looks like? How many kids are people having? What’s the population pyramid look like? Do they even take the census anymore? Are kids dying in larger numbers earlier in life due to the dire climate conditions? Are people dying younger? Even in the present day, younger generations (or even me, a Gen-Xer) are sick and tired of old white men being in charge of everything, sitting around and talking about making laws but never actually making them; or, if they do, those laws aren’t the laws that really need to be passed and enforced.

Every nation is a swamp full of pollution, and every generation ends up just passing that pollution on down because problems like global climate change are complex concepts our minds can’t entirely wrap themselves around without first learning about global competence concepts first. The generations coming down the line in more liberal countries are already being taught about global competence, but in capitalist strongholds like the US we can’t even agree that every person is a person no matter what, so it’s no surprise global competence isn’t high up on our list of things to teach the kids (not that books teaching it wouldn’t just end up being banned someplace by some people anyway).

This book teaches all these lessons and more, with a great deal more wit and a lot less of a dour outlook than I just painted. I’m a pessimist through and through, but books like these make me smile and hope that eventually the old white people (for clarification, I’m white) who keep trying to fight to stay in office long past their expiration dates will eventually lose their power to make way for young people who are impassioned, ready to take action, and ready to lead so your average person can find it in them to look up to their governments again and to make the sacrifices that need to be made to make this world better for as many people as possible. It might be tough. It might hurt. It might mean a whole lot of compromise until we truly realize what works and what doesn’t. What matters the most is the willingness to put our differences aside and try.

You can’t help but love the characters in this book, both bad and good. Or, rather, not too bad and not entirely good. In this book all we have is people trying to survive. Sometimes that means doing stuff that’s not exactly nice. Sometimes it means doing something really messed up. Everyone is just trying to find a solution, even if that means doing unspeakable things.

Kay, Arthur’s foster brother, is the first character we meet. I can’t tell you how, because it’s a huge spoiler for the whole book. But it seems that Britain is in great peril, and he’s got to do something about it. That’s the vow he and select other knights of the Round Table made with Merlin over the dead body of King Arthur on the battlefield of Camlann. He’s straightforward, honest, chivalrous, gruff, and tends to go where the wind takes him. In his experience, he always ends up where he needs to be, somehow. He misses his beloved wife, fears Arthur ever coming back even as he misses the brother he once was, and hopes he never runs into Lancelot again because he hates that guy.

Mariam is the female protagonist of this book, and she’s splendid. She’s fed up. She’s frustrated with the world, with her friends, with every so-called “leader” who says they’re willing to work together to make the world a better place but somehow it just seems like history repeating, and no one but her seems to want to take any kind of solid action. She’s tired of waiting for someone else to save the day. She’s tired of watching the land and people die.

Lancelot is vain, complacent, and perfectly content to just follow orders. He hates the stories of him and Guinevere since he and Galahad had been committed, if secret, lovers. He doesn’t much care for valor, truth, or being straight with people. He’d rather just do as he’s told and look good doing it. He hates Kay as much as Kay hates him, if for different reasons.

Merlin is crazy as a loon, Arthur is an absolute boor, Morgan is chaotic neutral, Nimueh has her own sad story and agenda, and at some point Christopher Marlowe made a Faustian bargain.

The worldbuilding is absolutely apocalyptic and frightening, showing an all too possible world where global climate change has gone full-bore hellscape. You either have money and can live in skyscrapers far above the pollution or you live in tent cities or shanty towns. There is no middle ground.

There are puppets and puppet masters. It’s all about who’s pulling the strings.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, thoughts, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Arthuriana/Dark Comedy/Dystopian Fiction/Folklore Novel/Folklore Retelling/Literary Fiction/Paranormal Fantasy/Satire/Secret Society/Standalone Fantasy Novel/Urban Fantasy

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books Pub for this earc.

I got one thing to say. All this felt like is author’s way to write about real life issues and his single pov on what should be done.

All this book did is left bad taste in my mouth

A big thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't how I end up reading Arthurian retellings, as they're never quite suit my taste. But here we go again.

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee is a contemporary fantasy novel that takes the familiarity of the knights of the roundtable, and flips it on its head with throwing the archetype into a apocalyptic modern day. Sir Kay is an immortal defender, that has been through many reiterations and battles that it's like second nature to him. But things begin to change when he wakes into a world where oceans are steadily rising and half of Britain has been sold to other foreign powers. No big deal, right? But as time goes on, more of the world is in ruin. And the world doesn't need another knight, but a king. Which leaves the question, who is worthy enough to bear the weight of the world's crown?

As neat as this premise was, I really wanted to love it. But found it difficult to do so with its hidden agenda of climate activism instead of fighting dragons between skyscrapers. Not to mention the triggering content that wasn't previously listed in a trigger warning. The only thing that saved this book from being one star, was the wit and humor of the characters. But even then it was hit or miss.

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee

Published: May 23, 2023
Ballantine Books
Pages: 485
Genre: Dystopian Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

THOMAS D. LEE is an author of fantastical and historical fiction. In 2019, he completed an MA in creative writing at the University of Manchester’s Center for New Writing. He has now embarked upon a Ph.D. at the same institution, specializing in queer interpretations of the Arthurian mythos. He frequently considers emulating Merlin and becoming a hermit in the woods who speaks only in riddles.

“Don’t listen to them.”

Kay is awoken again and sets out on a quest. He is ready and willing, though he would rather stay asleep. But adventure awaits, and a knight fulfills his duty.

This was a creative and interesting take on this mythology. I enjoyed the modern spin and the way things were developed. The whole concept was well done.

The writing was good, and there was a nice mix of new and old English. I enjoyed the character development. There were many characters to follow, but they were all well done.

I appreciated the humor mixed throughout; it helped break up the seriousness of the plot. The general theme was well represented, and the point was made.

This was a fantastical read for anyone who enjoys medieval lore and dystopian fiction!

“Sir Lancelot:
We were in the nick of time. You were in great peril.

Sir Galahad:
I don’t think I was.

Sir Lancelot:
Yes, you were. You were in terrible peril.

Sir Galahad:
Look, let me go back in there and face the peril.

Sir Lancelot:
No, it’s too perilous.

Sir Galahad:
Look, it’s my duty as a knight to sample as much peril as I can.

Sir Lancelot:
No, we’ve got to find the Holy Grail. Come on.

Sir Galahad:
Oh, let me have just a little bit of peril?

Sir Lancelot:
No. It’s unhealthy.

Sir Galahad:
I bet you’re gay.

Sir Lancelot:
No, I’m not.”

Reader, he absolutely was. But that’s beside the point.

Okay. So. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is not my only experience with Arthurian legend, but it makes for a fun starting point when diving in to Thomas D. Lee’s Perilous Times, which came out this Tuesday. A long time ago, after the death of their king, the Knights of the Round Table made a deal with Merlin to be resurrected any time the realm (that is England) finds itself in great peril. Over the centuries, Sir Kay, Lancelot, and the rest have come back to defend England from whatever threats may have arisen. This time, though, it’s something none of them could have foreseen (except Merlin, of course). When Kay, Arthur’s brother, awakens beneath his tree and pushes his way to the surface, he finds a fracking facility nearby. Upon investigation, he meets a young climate activist named Mariam who is in the process of planting a bomb at the facility. After rescuing her from the private security firm guarding the site, he accompanies her back to the camp where he meets the rest of her group. There, they explain to Kay just how dire the Earth’s situation is. Climate change has flooded almost half of England, and there are no signs of it slowing or stopping on its own. So, Kay has found his peril. But how do you fight climate change with a sword and shield?

Meanwhile, elsewhere in England, Sir Lancelot has awoken as well. He’s accustomed to coming back for wetwork and other clandestine purposes, and his handler Marlowe (yes, that Marlowe, having achieved a sort of immortality by his own means) has a new target for him. Someone he knows who has recently gotten on the wrong side of Marlowe’s bosses. Someone he’s known for a very long time: Kay. The realm is in grave danger, and it may be time to bring about the prophecy of Arthur’s return…

Thomas D. Lee’s love for Arthurian legend shines through every bit of Perilous Times, as Kay learns more about the current state of the world and what new evils are caught up in it. Mariam and her friends are a sympathetic and diverse crew of women bent on saving Earth, but they don’t stand a chance against dark magic without Kay’s help. Cam he explain himself to Lancelot before finding himself dying yet again?

My utmost thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of Perilous Times in exchange for a fair review. It’s out in the world as of Tuesday, May 23rd. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

This review originally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2023/05/26/perilous-times-a-review/

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the eARC of this hilarious yet hard-hitting retelling that takes the Arthurian Legend to all new highs and lows! I thought I knew what to expect; having read many tales of Arthur, the legendary sword, and all the hijinks in between, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Perilous Times delivers a dystopian type fantasy that will knock you off your feet and have you more worried about your own future-- and making you laugh the pain away while it's at it.

We meet Sir Kay, who is resurrected because the country is in dire peril, as he begins on a journey to understand the new land he finds himself in. Mariam discovers him as she attempts to skirt around mercenaries that want her head... and having released a dragon upon the realm with her band of eco-terrorists. The two must band together in order to put their experiences to use; one having lived in the apocalyptic landscape for her whole life, and the other having lived through countless unmentionable wars and seeing just how humans can hurt each other and the planet they live on through millennia. The two band together to help heal the world before the climate change or the terrifying monsters hiding just beyond the veil bring England to its knees for good.

This tale expertly takes history, legend, and uncertain futures and creates a brave and stunning plot that will hit your funny bone while making you think. I very much enjoyed all of the modern aspects of the characters and how diverse they became. Thomas D. Lee has taken a much beloved classic and shone new light on it, and I think readers will not only relate to the fear of the setting but also to the very human protagonists and antagonists. It is an easy read that will have you questioning what you can do to stop this very plot from happening... because our world needs heroes too.

Sir Kay is reborn as an immortal warrior, rising to fight for England at multiple world wars. Now that he's clawed his way back to life, he's in a world where oceans have risen, the army’s been privatized, and half of Britain’s been sold to foreign powers. He can handle the dragon, but the rest is new. In the meantime, Mariam's been fighting against a corrupt system and is exhausted. When she meets Kay, she hopes that the world has finally found the savior it needs.

Kay isn't the only one that rises when England needs warriors; other knights from King Arthur's court had been bound in magic by Merlin himself. He's swept up into Mariam's journey when he sees people shooting at her and later finds out that she's an eco-terrorist, working to try to reduce the pollution that led to the melting polar ice caps. Magic is still in the world, and the stray wisps resolve itself into the creatures of fairy tales. This allows Kay and Lancelot to rise, for the dragon to form, and for the people necessary to take action coalesce around each other. Mariam's fight is a difficult one, when businessmen and politicians want their money and racism grew worse as resources dwindled and much of England was privatized and sold off. Kay thinks it's going to be an easy enough task, to find Excalibur and slay the dragon. Of course, it's not that easy. If it was, we wouldn't have a novel to read.

There's social commentary built into this novel. The poor are always the ones that suffer when things go wrong; those with privilege will work to ensure that they keep their position. The text makes it clear that this is selfishness and greed, and it only makes the overall situation worse. It's by coming together and truly wanting to ensure change that it works. Magic doesn't make everything easier, and that's something that Mariam and Kay realize by the end. Magic is there, but it's a tool. The real way to reverse the damage is to put on the hard work and get it done. The easy path, relying on anger or someone else to solve problems, isn't the right one. It's hard work to make the world a better place, but it's worth it.

In Perilous Times, an immortal Knight of the Round Table faces his greatest challenge yet — to save a politically divided and rapidly warming world. Sir Kay, once a loyal companion of King Arthur, finds himself in a new reality where rising oceans, privatized armies, and foreign powers ruling Britain have become the norm. When he meets Mariam, a fighter against the broken system, they embark on a journey through a strange and dangerous land. As they confront dragons and Kay's old foe Lancelot, a magical plot of apocalyptic proportions unfolds. In this contemporary Arthurian retelling, Excalibur becomes the key to finding a true leader. With a cast of reimagined characters including Merlin, Morgan le Fay, and the Lady of the Lake, Perilous Times is a subversive and humorous fantasy adventure.

From the beginning, I loved the way Lee stitched together pieces of the Arthurian legend, injected with some freshness, with a near-enough-future to be recognizable. The emergence of Kay from the ground in the opening salvo is exactly the hook to pull you into, what is basically, a fantasy road trip adventure. Lee's dry humor is part of that newness, and he wields it with a practiced hand that added a wonderful dimension to these characters, particularly the ones resurrected from a much older tale. Kay is a fantastically developed character, with a grounded quality that made him feel as ancient as he was written. The addition of Mariam, a present-day fighter, rounded out Kay while allowing his tethered connection to the time in which he's awakened be best explored and relayed to the reader.

However, following their wonderful introductions, the narrative lost steam throughout the middle third of the book. While the bones of this story were really great, and I absolutely cared about the characters, their outcomes, and the unfolding events, the lost momentum never quite recovered in the last act. Part of the problem remains the thorn in my side that is present tense.

The choice of present tense for this narrative created a juxtaposition that interrupted the natural forward propulsion of the road-trip plot. With a plot-driven story, there is an inherent desire in the narrative itself to move forward, to propel characters towards their end destination. The use of present tense here, despite being handled better than by many authors, generated a false sense of urgency that paradoxically slowed the narrative down to a crawl, particularly in the second act. This created a sense of narrative weight that, rather than adding depth, resulted in a feeling of stagnation that hindered the story's natural momentum.

While I understand the appeal and rationale of deciding on present tense to convey the timeless or immortal nature of the characters, I have often found that this decision stifles a story that is, at its core, about journey and movement. The immediacy of the present tense might serve to highlight the actions and emotions of the characters in the now, but it can also tether the story too tightly to each moment, restricting the narrative flow and, in this case, undermining the forward motion that is central to a road-trip tale. In fact, part of the slowness in the middle could potentially stem from too much being crammed into the small space of the second act only to be impeded by the tense choice. Dare I suggest that this might have been better served as a duology — with past-tense narratives, of course?

That being said, I did enjoy the characters he created and the ways in which he sought to expand and develop their personalities. Lee handled the agelessness of both Kay and Lancelot, along with all the long-standing feuds and disagreements, particularly well by having them viewed through a variety of points of view changes. He struck just the right note to signify how old they are and convinced me of the ability given to them by Merlin to adapt quickly to the new and changed world in which they constantly find themselves. Kay was especially fantastic as the world-weary warrior.

A captivating Arthurian retelling, Perilous Times skillfully blended familiar legends with a near-future setting. Lee's adept use of dry humor and well-developed characters, Kay being the tired star of the show, brought depth and richness to the narrative. Although the story lost momentum in the middle section and the use of present tense hindered the flow, the characters and their interactions kept this debut above water. Despite its flaws, Perilous Times delivered a fairly entertaining fantasy adventure. I look forward to what this debut author has in store next.

I'll admit that I am not super into dystopian books, but throw some Arthurian legend in there and I am very intrigued. The Knights of the Round table are awoken throughout the centuries whenever the world is in peril, and this time their challenge is taking on the climate crisis. This book takes places in the future, the Earth is ravaged by the climate, everyone is fighting with each other, and we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of all of it.

This book weaved together the past and the present together in a wonderful mix of magic, mayhem, and wit. The cast of characters are diverse, queer, lovable, and messy in all the right ways. There are parts when you'll want to hug them and other parts you'll want to fight them! I constantly found myself rooting for them to save the planet and do the right thing. I often found myself laughing at the banter and interactions of the characters. I loved seeing the modern characters interact with magic and the knights and how they absorbed it all.

I also loved the concept. It was so fascinating exploring a future that (unfortunately) doesn't seem too far off course with our current environmental path. You can tell the author really knows his history and was able to spin some things around in fun ways to make this a refreshing take on familiar classic stories and legends.

My only complaint is with the pacing, I found myself really invested in some parts and bored in others. It was an ebb and a flow.

This story is absolutely wild, and I very much enjoyed the ride. 4/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the e-ARC!

This book is an imaginative fantasy melding the past of Arthurian legend with the future of England if the climate change we've been warned about comes to pass.

Kay is tired, he's drawn out of the ground from under/through his tree once again which means England's in peril again. He sees Mariam in trouble at a fracking facility and decides that must be the peril he's there to fix. Kay is King Arthur's brother and he along with Mariam try to figure out how to fix all the problems she brings to his attention, if only he would quit spending all his time chasing a dragon.

Add in Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot and Morgan Le Fay, and other interesting characters including odd animals and insects and you have an interesting story with humorous bits. This is a long one, but totally worth it.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

When I first read the description of Perilous Times, I thought, “That sounds interesting. I might like that.” I have seldom been more wrong about a novel. After reading, I would now say, “That was amazing. I love it.”

Kay was one of the knights of the round table, serving under his brother, King Arthur. Thanks to some magic from Merlin, he and other knights were called to rise from the earth and defend England against “perils.” Over the years, these perils included crusades, invasions, world wars, and wars of colonization. “Perils” is a word with lots of meanings.

Lancelot was also one of those knights who returned in times of peril. This is not the Lancelot we learned about in the stories. This Lancelot is gay and in love with Galehaut (Galahad). Kay is also quite different from the stories. For one thing, he is black.

Kay rises near some kind of factory. Not sure where the peril might be, when he hears shooting he assumes that it might be in the direction of the shots. There he finds a young woman, Mariam, fleeing for her life from the “Saxons.” These Saxons are not the invaders from King Arthur’s time. They are a mercenary private security firm. Kay, however, is hard-wired to fight Saxons, so he jumps into the fray and helps the young woman escape before he is killed.

And rises again.

From there the story crosses England, intersecting with an immortal Christopher Marlowe, a group of female eco-terrorists, the Army of St. George, the god Herne, and Morganna. The perspective shifts from Kay to Lancelot to Mariam. Grudges from long ago still carry weight into this future England, consequences of past perils echo down the halls of time, and two knights who hate each other must find a way to work together if they are to help Mariam achieve her destiny.

I absolutely loved the take on “heroism” that author Thomas D. Lee has. Kay and Lancelot are heroes–but what does that mean? Why does it matter? What good are they, really? They have been popping up from the ground like gladiatorial tulips.for centuries and nothing seems to have really changed. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, the shadowy powers behind the scenes continue to work their schemes. Kay and Lancelot are able to help Mariam, but not in the way they or she expected. “Heroes” are people you count on to do the things that ordinary people should do on their own. It is not until Mariam and the others embrace that truth that they are able to reach the story’s exciting conclusion.

Told in the alternating POV's of Mariam, Kay and Lancelot, this is a dystopian Arthurian retelling that focuses on heroes of the Knights of Round Table clawing their way back from their resting place every time Britain is in peril. This time they are back in response to the climate change disaster. When Kay rises up out of his grave, the first person he discovers is Mariam. who is part of a radical climate change group, and he teams up with her. This story is so much fun. I loved the way Kay and Lancelot react and interact with the present day. This book is a bundle of laughs and perfect for anyone who enjoys fantasy fiction - whether they are familiar with the story of King Arthur or not.

Thank you to NetGalley and random house for the e-galley.
First I’m gonna say please check the trigger warnings before reading this book does deal with racism in xenophobia among other things. I love Arthurian legend so that was why I picked this book. I got pulled into the story and thoroughly enjoyed it it was fun it was chaotic and I was here for every second of it. This book is a wild ride worth having.