I bought this book because it seemed right up my alley: strong female lead, eerie setting in the unforgiving yet beautiful Icelandic landscape, and a creepy and mysterious plot.

The plot is simple: A woman leaves her village to marry a wealthy widower who sends food to her sick mother but has some dark secrets to hide. But like most incredible novels, this story is so much more than what it seems. The "villains" are as multi-dimensional as the main character and the book took some turns that were unexpected but made for a deep and engrossing read. I couldn't put it down.

This book reminded me so much of The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Turns out Iceland in the 1700s is as brutal as Norway in the 1600s as both cultures struggle between the old gods and sagas and Christianity while trying to survive in brutal environments that sometimes demand desperate acts of survival.

The last thing I will say is the writing is absolutely superb. This book was completely immersive and I attribute that to Caroline Lea's incredible storytelling. It was 400 pages of straight-up poetry. I'm so glad I bought this book because I intend to read it again just for the prose.