We lie for all sorts of reasons. To hide our greed, protect our secrets, or hide our vulnerability. But for Flick, she doesn't get the choice. She's cursed to never tell a lie. She spends her time watching her words and avoiding trouble.

On one hand, not lying doesn't sound that bad, but the truth is more complex. The truth is a burden too heavy to carry on one's own. We bear our truth with trust, but every truth coerced from her feels like betrayal. Especially, when everyone else can lie, giving her an eternal disadvantage in a society built on lies. Communication is deeper than words, especially when half the time people aren't saying what they really need to say. No one seems to trust her enough to let her keep things to herself; they take advantage of her lack of agency. They force her to tell things they would never share themselves.

Our story starts when she ventures beyond the small confines of her life on a mission to find super-rare flowers that might not even exist. Her lack of survival skills leads her to meet her best friend's fiancé, who literally destroyed the forest, but he's surprisingly nice, so it's fine. It's time for Flick to hide the truth, if she can manage it. It's time for Flick to stand for something, speak up for herself, and tell others the truth, if they'll believe her.

This book teaches you that the greed of the powerful become the consequences of the many. The main city is within an inner protective wall, where they are kept the safest, get the most resources, and seem to have more access to the government. Everyone else is kept on the outside. The environment and resources are a large part of the story. From flowers to rotting soil. From bandits to hoarding resources and abandoning people different from you in fear that they might deceive you. The consequences of power are reminiscent of the way our electricity and oil have poisoned the resources of smaller and especially indigenous communities.

This book was brilliantly entertaining, with a beautiful romance, lovable characters, and a fantastic romance that stole the show. I would describe the writing as super flowery in its description, which was odd at first, but I came to realize that it matches the way the character sees the world.

It also defied common annoying tropes like women without female friends, which can lead to an imbalance between characters. Characters with only male friendships can feel isolated, especially when they put down other women. But every person, even those who had pretty serious flaws, was treated respectfully. The plot moved somewhat fast, but kept me on my toes and had me staying up way too late. So if you were hoping to fix your sleep schedule, think again. Because this book is calling your name. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book early.