YMMV / The Starless Sea

• Strangled by the Red String: Zachary and Dorian, considering they barely know anything about each other - Zachary doesn't even know Dorian's real name - and seem to fall in love because a bunch of stories and a painting has already dictated they will (of course, when the personification of Fate is involved in your life...).
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Kat, Zachary's university friend, proves to be an intelligent and proactive person as she tries to uncover the truth about Zachary's disappearance and doing some real detective work instead of being handed all the clues like he is. Many readers of the book opined she would have made a much better protagonist than the extremely passive and reactive Zachary.