Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with the eARC of this book!

DNF at 15%

I had to stop when the book erroneously said that daisies were also known as narcissi when in fact they are not. Narcissi are often called daffodils or jonquils, but not daisies. I also noticed there's a mention of a character moving to "Columbia" and marrying a coffee plantation billionaire; was this meant to says "Colombia" like the country and not "Columbia"?

This is just the final straw though. I had a hard time getting into the book and connecting with the main character. I think the book needs some revision regarding the pacing and structure of the writing, and utilizing the "show, don't tell" advice. Show us the financial struggles Sidney is facing and how bad it must be for her to accept the offer to locate the missing artifact just for the money instead of just telling us. Show us her complicated relationship with her family, instead of just telling us. Show us why the takeover of VR and AI in this world would be a negative thing and how it's been affecting others to the point the discovery of this artifact is an urgent matter.

Perhaps some of these are further elaborated, but it feels as if it should have been done sooner than later.

I might continue to read this book in the future as I was enjoying the mystery aspect and the puzzles, and I'm curious to know how witches tie into this story, an element in this book that I feel has been lacking in spite of what the title might suggest.