Maybe spoilers? Probably spoilers.

Proceed with caution.

Brain dump review coming at cha.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. There is literally no comparison to House of Salt and Sorrow. (Aside from the retelling aspect). I actually didn’t know it was. Retelling til I saw it in someone else’s review.

I liked the setting. Creepy religious town, set apart from the world. Always a great setting imo. Shows that while they’re capable of taking care of their community they also rely on the outside world as well which can be catastrophic if cut off.

I felt the pacing was a bit off. The whole book was this wave of slow burn then event, slow burn then event, which worked well. But then the climax hit and it felt really condensed and rushed. Primarily the tie to Rumplestiltskin. The foreshadowing was well done but the opportunity to guess the name was like half a page and I was a bit disappointed in that.

I also felt that both Sam and Rebecca were shit. They’re supposedly Elleries closest people but beyond her telling I don’t get that feeling at all. Throughout the whole book neither her own twin nor her best friend show her any love or kindness. They’re cruel to her at every turn and cold with her at all times. It isn’t even really fleshed out as to why these two people who she adores turn against her and why they end up being such shit heads.

I loved how central the bees were to the plot. The hive and queen. I’m obsessed with bees. So this for me was a huge yay. They’re survival is so dependant on a very delicate balance of happenings, the same as the town and elleries family.

I know many people didn’t love Whittaker. But I did. Maybe I have poor taste in literary dudes.