I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Glitter by Aprilynne Pike
Series: Glitter Duology #1
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on October 25, 2016
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Source: the publisher
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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike comes a truly original new novel - Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette in a near-future world where the residents of Versailles live like it’s the eighteenth century and an almost-queen turns to drug dealing to save her own life.

Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.

When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.

Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed.

But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.

From the second I heard about Glitter, I was really excited to read it – it sounded amazing! And it definitely didn’t disappoint! It was crazy good, with an intriguing world, characters you hated to love and Aprilynne Pike’s epic writing. This book had me so enraptured, I barely took review notes, so apologies if this review is a bit rambly!

Like I said above, the world in this book was so intriguing! Modern-day outside the palace, 18th century France inside the palace – but with advanced technology. It was such a crazy mash-up that it worked beautifully and flowed seamlessly.

The characters in this book are not good people. They are selfish and self-serving and make horrible decisions that hurt other people. While reading, you’ll often find yourself asking, “Why do I care about them so much? They’re horrible! So why do I care?!?” The answer is… I don’t have an answer. But I did care – I cared what happened to them, even the manipulative and conniving characters.

Danica was horribly selfish, but I loved her (again, I have no idea why! Haha). She was bold, pushing to get what she wanted and needed in life. She didn’t care who she had to hurt and step on to achieve her goals. I’m still not sure how I feel about Saber, or their relationship. Sometimes I liked him, sometimes I didn’t. But he had a complicated past and I understand why he behaved as he did.

Molly was a great character. I wish Danica had trusted her more. I’m incredibly sad with the way her story ended. I also adored Lord Aaron. He was a good, loyal friend. Another character I loved was Giovanni. He felt like the only truly kind, selfless character in the book and I loved the relationship he and Danica had.

Justin was SO horrible, nasty and vindictive. I totally pictured him as Prince Theo from Guilt. Danica’s mom, Angela Grayson, wasn’t much better. I totally pictured her as Catherine de Medici from Reign.

The ending was CRAZY and INTENSE!! I COMPLETELY should have seen it coming – it was SO obvious. But it was still insane and I CANNOT wait to see what happens in book two! With the way things ended in book one, I’m eager to see where everyone’s stories go next. I HIGHLY recommend this book to fans of Pike’s previous books, as well as to those who love books set in the 18th century. This book was described as being Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette and it’s a spot-on description; so, if you like those things, you’ll LOVE Glitter!