my initial thoughts on the first book were "please, why am i reading this" i'm too old to waste my time on bad books written for teens, but after reading a few reviews from other readers on here i saw that the first half was kind of a drag (which is was) and so i kept on. suffice it to say i read the whole trilogy in 2 days, so challenging it was not. Was it as "good" and by good I mean talented and unique as a story as Twilight or Harry Potter: not so much. but it was relatively fun, easy and met the minimum qualities of immersion that i appreciate in these YA "escapes from reality". plus it's always nice to think back to being in love and young where feelings are so consuming and the realities of "being together forever" haven't hit home just yet :) ahh, miss those days :) overall, good enough to waste some reading time on.