This was surprisingly good. Towards the end I had a bit of trouble going along with the story. There comes a point when the agency's cruelty is just plain stupidity. Also, all of a sudden the sadistic guards are fired? Really, they couldn't have done that any sooner?
But aside from that, I actually enjoyed the characters. The missions are pretty much background to the characters and their interaction, but that was fine with me, it's not like I'm that interested in counter-terrorism.
Obviously there were some misunderstandings between Sin and Boyd due to lack of communication, which I am generally not fond of. But in this case, both have very good reasons to be bad at communications, since they both have serious trauma and abuse in their pasts and presents, so neither one of them is a well adjusted individual.
On to the 2nd half. ( )

RATING REMOVED (only for respect to AIS I removed my rating rather than downgraded it)

https://www.goodreads.com/user_status/show/164624031?comment=177504787#comment_1...
https://ingloriousbitches.wordpress.com/2018/03/04/crossing-lines/
https://twitter.com/i/moments/970716633017790464

Statement from Riptide: http://riptidepublishing.com/a-statement-on-sh
Summary of all this sham/fraud/catfishing: https://thesaltminers.tumblr.com/post/171680546960/the-santino-hassell-debacle

I actually tried to read the original version of this years ago, back before the authors edited it and cut down nearly half the text to make this new Director's Cut version-- I believe I got to about 50% before putting it down due to the sheer tediousness of the prose and story. Anyway, this volume 1 of Evenfall is the 50% of what I previously read, so I already knew the story. This version is definitely a lot more polished than what I remember of the original, which was completely overwrought. Actually, this version is still pretty overwrought, but not so much so that I wasn't able to get through the book. The authors clearly have some writing abilities but they really need an editor to further cut this text down. In addition, there is a ton of telling, rather than showing, although it's less aggravating in this new version of the text.

In terms of the characters and story line, it's all over the place. Again, much of what we know about the characters are told to us through the narration, but the characters don't always act consistently with the way they are described. Their personalities, particularly Boyd's, tend to change depending on what type of conflict is needed in the narrative. I felt that the two main leads often had over-the-top reactions to situations and to each other, and so much of their conflicts were due to simple miscommunication. I get it, they are both supposed to struggle with social skills, but it made them seem like completely immature morons most of the time and made for a really frustrating read. The premise is pretty ridiculous (a depressed civilian teen is brought into a CIA-type agency to become the partner of the most dangerous assassin) and I wasn't really invested in the whole cloak and dagger stuff.

That said, despite all my criticisms, I completely get why this series gets rave reviews. It's weirdly addictive. There is this incredible emotional intensity to the story and the characters-- whether they are on another dangerous mission or they've gotten into another dumb squabble with each other, the emotions are always running high. When they're anxious, the anxiety seeps through the pages. When they're angry, it's explosive. And when they're feeling angsty.. oh boy, it's painful and heart-wrenching. The writing conveys this really well, as it alternates between the two leads' POVs, so we get inside their heads and really see what they're feeling. It's an effective technique and it totally sucks you in. I definitely want to read to the end this time around. ( )

Rating and review removed

I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time, but the length of the original version has kept me from it. Now I finally got around to it, and I have to say, for a free book it’s great. How the authors have handled the concept shows they have skills many even traditionally published authors can only hope for.

As to the story itself, I found the first half a bit dull. Not much happened. There were glimpses of something more, moments that made my heart beat faster, but for the most parts it was all very slow. The latter half was much better. Boyd and Sin interacted more frequently with each other thus creating tension which helped the story along. The last 20 % were the best part. The ending left me wanting more. I can’t wait to read the second newly edited part. ( )