Conform by Ariel Sullivan

From the very first page of Conform, I knew I was in for something special. From the moment I hit the last page, I needed more. Ariel Sullivan’s debut is the kind of book that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go—not because it’s flawless (there are a few pacing bumps), but because the world she builds is vivid, layered, almost a living entity.

This story lives somewhere between Red Queen, The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Handmaid’s Tale, yet it never feels derivative. Sullivan blends the best of those dystopian worlds into something entirely her own—a high-stakes society where control, rebellion, and survival intertwine.

Our heroine, Emeline, is a “minor defect” suddenly chosen to become a Mate to an Illum named Collin, one of the powerful, godlike rulers of this broken world. What follows is a dangerous descent into the courting and a love triangle that burns with moral grayness and tension.

Both Hal and Collin, Emeline’s love interests, are complex and flawed in the best ways.

They’re not clean-cut heroes; they’re men shaped by power and resistance, both capable of cruelty and compassion. The line between right and wrong blurs constantly. We as readings don’t truly know what is truth and lies. Who is good and who is bad. Sullivan leans into that ambiguity beautifully.

There are twists and betrayals, secrets within secrets, and a cast of secondary characters I’m desperate to learn more about. Emeline herself is a standout as she slowly becomes resilient, questioning, and quietly defiant in a world that demands obedience.

This is one of those rare dystopian romances that feels both classic and completely fresh. Conform delivers tension, danger, and heart in equal measure. The worldbuilding is rich, the emotional stakes are high, and that cliffhanger ending? I’m still not over it.

Ariel Sullivan’s debut marks her as an author to watch, and I’m already counting the days until the next installment of this world. If you love morally gray, love triangles, class-system dystopias, and heroines who are discovering they are more than what they have been told then whole lives, then Conform needs to be immediately added to your TBR.

Want more from Ariel Sullivan??

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Check out Amanda’s Review for Conform