Slow start to a quick wrap
Ivy is exhausted. At 18 her mom passed from cancer. Her dad had devoted everything to her mom and just disappeared when she passed. She was left alone, barely an adult, with only a crappy boyfriend and a crappier apartment. It took her 2 years to climb out of the hole and just when she lands a great job, she dies. Sort of.
Spoilers ahead.
Oh, there's so many questions.
*I'm guessing her dad may show back up. Thinking with that reveal, that whatever bond he shared with his wife broke, he faded but is still around.
*What all other beings exist?
*How did the other shifters come to be if wolves were there first? Is it like canine evolution? Just down the road foxes and coyotes and others splintered off?
*What's the difference between witches and the other ones mentioned at the end? Both have magic.
*Are all the races immortal? But why did some of the wolves look middle aged? Is it a choice? Is it strength?
*We never really see this ghost realm and the ones in it.
*What caused the big reveal? A cell cam? A predetermined decision? Just a lack of being able to hide anymore? And why only shifters and vampires?
*Did they have elected officials in place beforehand?
*Rights seemed iffy. Is it just vamps because of the dead but not thing? Or do all supes have rights issues?
*How do family units usually work among supes? Because the wolves seemed to be 1/1. I can't tell if this is leading into a love triangle (which I loathe) or a RH.
*Is she just staying to milk him financially? She cares for him but is denying him the same relationship she's happy to have with (no spoilers). She's a supe now, that argument sailed. In fact, if (not spoiling) ages the argument she made against dating Alex is a bit hypocritical.
*If there's a Council, how are the crimes in the fighting ring allowed?
*Who makes up this mysterious Council? A rep for all? Strongest? Voted on?
*Goblins are a type of (not spoiling).
*This realm she was pulled to, how does it exist? Did the only other create it themselves? Are there more? Because creating it, and the place mentioned seems excessive for only 2.
*Are vamps and shifters created virally? Blood born pathogen? Shifters were explained as being born, but then said they could also be created by a transfusion. Magic in the blood? Because I can understand vampires drinking blood and then donating theirs to create another. But shifters? I have questions.
It took a long time to like Ivy. It also took a long time to get into the story. There's no immediate hook. And the story starts with a dead body and disposal. Also, Ivy holds a mean grudge. Either she forgives him and still cares and wants to be near him, or she's greedy, holding a grudge, and just using him for money. She needs to pick a side. But it did pick up. Eventually. The only problem was it was almost the end before it did so. And then you're left with a million questions about this world that wasn't explained. Stories are plot driven, character driven or world driven. The plot shifted- ironically, the characters never really grew- just danced or snarked around each other, and the world was barely described. I'll grab the next because I want to see if things get explained. But if this is some academy love triangle nonsense, I'm out.