content warnings:

Spoiler

domestic abuse, racism, mention of torture, precanon parent deaths, memory manipulation, infidelity, mentioned infant death, necromancy, implied sexual content

rep:

Spoiler

WLW MC [Miranda], WLW Morocccan LI [Dorothea/Duriya], F/F main relationship, Algerian minor/mentioned character [Caliban]

For how much potential lies in the premise, I just found this rather flat. Miranda is a pretty bland protagonist — despite constantly labeling herself a "monster," her only personality trait seems to be worrying about how others perceive and/or have influenced her — who relies on others to save her. I wasn't interested in her pining or hand-wringing throughout the novella.

Every few paragraphs something about the prose would jolt me right out of the story: the sudden use of an olde English term in a sentence with modern syntax, or a cheesy monologue, or a weirdly modified quote from the original Shakespeare. Just didn't work for me. The structure and pacing of the novella also felt off, with the

Spoiler

chapters-long flashback/dream sequence

and having most of the action crammed into the epilogue and preceding chapter.

There is some social commentary, particularly about racism and colonialism, from Dorothea/Duriya; it's not particularly groundbreaking or insightful, but it is present ... though it also felt isolated from everything else about the narrative, an afterthought.

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CONVERSION: 5.73 / 15 = 2 stars

Prose: 3 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 3 / 10
Emotional Impact: 2 / 10
Development / Flow: 4 / 10
Setting: 5 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Memorability: 1 / 5