First, a note: I got this book by winning a giveaway right here on the site. Otherwise, I likely wouldn't have discovered it, so huge thanks to the author and Storygraph for giving me the opportunity to read it!

This is exactly the sort of kindness-focused story that I love. It starts with a young witch trying to summon a succubus "just to see what it's like" and ending up with a somewhat confused, mostly helpless shadow creature she can't figure out a way to get rid of. Initially, based on everything she's been taught, she assumes the creature must be evil and dangerous. But the more time they spend together, working on trying to figure out a way to send Worm back to where they've come from, the more Malee's perception changes. There's a lot of Malee learning about what Worm is, and Worm learning about humans, and plenty of nice cozy domestic scenes.

I found the writing really charming and engaging, and I absolutely loved every small bit of worldbuilding the novella offers. I'd love to spend a lot more time in this world, learning more about its witchcraft, getting to explore the apothecary Malee works at and to witness more of her lessons with Victoria, seeing if/how Victoria and her son come around to Worm's existence. Sequel, please? Or a full-length novel? :)

The one thing that caught me by surprise was the late-chapters relationship development between Malee and Worm. I'm okay with it, I guess, and looking back I can see how things developed to that point, but I didn't really catch any big chemistry vibes between them? It's one of those rare instances when I fell I would have preferred them as friends. Or maybe I just would have liked a more lengthy development the novella format doesn't allow for.