2019: Wow this book was a struggle to get through. It’s a beautifully crafted story, but holy cow, everything bad that can happen to this poor girl happens. If you can make it until the very very end, you will be rewarded for your efforts (it’s not all totally in vain) but it feels that way for the majority of the book. I still enjoyed The Nightingale more, but Hannah can craft a hell of a narrative that kept me engaged and on the edge of my seat. Painful things happen to people, but sometimes, there are happy endings.