This is a really hard book to rate. Tragic had a lot of problems with it, but despite those problems I still enjoyed reading it. Sometimes when I read a book, I can list off a lot of things that should have been changed or could have been improved.. but just because I have a long list doesn't mean I hated the book. This is one of those cases. So keep that in mind!
One of my biggest problems with Tragic was both a good thing and a bad thing. As soon as I finished the book, I ran and bought book 2. Now on the face of it, that sounds like a great thing, right? But the reason I had to run out and buy book 2 was because I felt like book 1 wasn't a self-contained story. It didn't have a beginning, a middle, a climax, and an ending. I literally felt like the book was cut off mid-story, which was why I had to buy book 2.
So on the one hand, I think Tragic lacked a strong central conflict—that's bad. But on the other hand, it was interesting and captivating enough to make me want to continue with the series—that's great!
I do wish that some of the characters were fleshed out more. Antoine feels so absent from the book, which is surprising because his role is quite important. I mean he's mentioned in the freaking synopsis. And yet he was always in the background, never actually present. Same with Ronin's sister. At the beginning, I thought I was going to love her, but then she totally disappeared! She rarely makes an appearance in the story because it's just 95% Rook and Ronin. I think Tragic would have been a more solid book if the other characters had more of a presence and were better developed.
My other main problem with the book was Rook and Ronin's relationship. I thought it was too much too fast. There was just so much immediate lust, flirting, and sex. I didn't have time to catch up to it! Their relationship moved way too quickly and I didn't have time to really fall for it. It didn't win me over until much later in the story, when it just slowly wore me down until I finally succumbed and decided I actually did like it. But I think I would have enjoyed the story more overall if the romance progressed at a pace that worked for me.
One other minor thing: I feel like I've been watching too much America's Next Top Model, and as a result, I feel like Rook took to modeling too easily. She just waltzed up off the street, stood there while people took photos, and was "amazing". She seemed to put very little effort into it, and was just amazing without trying. I didn't quite buy that.
I also feel like the modeling thing didn't get as huge as I expected. The synopsis says:
Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world.
I imagined Rook's modeling career taking off and her face being on billboards and advertising campaigns all over the US. But nope. She doesn't even have an appearance or a rep in the US at all. The TRAGIC shoot just lands her some Japanese book covers. I don't feel like Rook actually makes a true name for herself in the modeling world, she just has one campaign that a few people in that select industry might know about.
But those things aside, I did enjoy Tragic. Most of my problems with the book are technicalities. Overall I did like the story. I almost can't even explain why or give specific examples. I just liked reading it! I got invested in the story and what happened to the characters. It was super easy to get through and it kept me interested! I read it SUPER quickly and it's definitely a good sign that I immediately had to buy book 2.