ebook review: Sugar Skulls

Welcome to Cyrene, a city where energy is currency and music is the lifeblood of its young citizens. Everyone lives on the grid, and the residents of the world’s largest playground are encouraged to pursue every physical and emotional pleasure imaginable.
Vee is the lead singer of the Sugar Skulls, an all-girl band that is Corporate’s newest pet project. Micah haunts the city like a ghost after an overdose of a deadly illegal street drug knocks him off the grid. When Micah and Vee forge an immediate, undeniable connection, their troubled worlds collide.
Trading concert stages for Cyrene’s rooftops and back alleys, they have to evade vicious thugs and Vee’s possessive manager as they unravel the mysteries connected to their dark pasts. And before the curtain falls, Micah and Vee will bring the city to its knees in their desperate bid for love, home, and a future together.

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My Review:

I received this e-book from Skyscape Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Let's talk shop, fellow readers. Here we have a book that wins on many levels but falls short on some others.
Cover: Beautiful. Enticing. I love when realistic depictions of characters are put on the cover, front and center. Which brings us to...
Characters: This book had insta-lust on Micah's part but it was easy enough to wave it away to creative license. I'm sure the story would have survived just fine if Micah's attraction to Vee had started later in the book, when they actually meet maybe. Aside from that, even 15% in both characters and the world they live in were well developed and interesting to boot. Speaking of the world they live in...
Plot: Honestly there was so much focus on the insta-love that there wasn't much of a plot for nearly the first quarter of the book. BUT there was also a focus on world building so I guess it evens out?
Writing style: It was easy to tell the voices of Micah and Vee apart, but I wouldn't say their voices were distinctive. There was a lot of description on Micah's part and a lot of angst on Vee's part, both of which fit in well with their characters.
But would I buy it?: If I was in charge of a library for a number of young adults, yes. I would. If I had a friend who was super into dystopians disguised as utopians, yes. For myself? Maybe not. Maybe if it was on sale.
4.0