4 stars, 7.43 on CAWPILE

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a free arc in exchange for an honest review!

So, the first thing I want to say is that I am a big Katherine Arden fan. When I first saw that this book was coming out, I was so excited! A fantasy historical fiction? I didn't read too much into what the book would be about because I wanted to go in blind.

At first, everything started fairly slowly for me. Seeing as this was tagged as fantasy, I was expecting more fantasy. It took some time for the fantasy elements to make themselves known and even then, they were much more subtle. But also sinister. And heart breaking.

What I think Katherine did exceptionally well with this book were the characters. Laura, so determined to keep going despite loss after loss and a war that appears to have taken everything from her. Freddie, so earnest and good. The things he went through made me feel so lost. And Winter. Stoic, strong, yet soft. I loved these characters.

This book definitely leaned much more on the historical fiction aspect, but it was well done and left me with an ache in my chest. And the ending! I'd call it bittersweet.

I wished we had a bit more fantasy elements and perhaps the climax went by a bit too fast for my liking. The stakes never felt that they were ever elevated as much as they could have been, but overall, definitely enjoyed this book!