i was so excited about reading this that i mistakenly neglected taking my time and i do think that skewed my perspective a bit. 
there’s a lot going on here, both in plot and prose, that i feel is deserving of thoughtful and evenly paced engagement. there were a few things i missed and thus the effectiveness of them fell short. 
all that being said, this is a book i’m still thinking of well after finishing (much like tender is the flesh) and i’m looking forward to giving it a second read so i can be properly heartbroken.