I just... I can say so much about things I hate, but things I love... I just don't know what to say other than I love them. I love this book. Gaiman brought me such joy as a young person when I read Coraline and then when I read The Graveyard Book. He captured such joy and my soul resonated so strongly with his characters. I think I have been nervous to revisit him, especially his adult writing, as an adult... I just want to love his work. I didn't want to possibly question my love as I have had to do with so many other authors (I'm looking at you, Rowling and Card). But this... this book was a gasp of fresh air. I just love it.

The story, ideas, and characters are lovely and vibrant. The Dialogue was intriguing and hit all the right beats. And as I've been doing lately... I read this in audiobook which just brought me more joy than I thought possible. I don't think it needs to be in Gaiman's voice to be lovely, but getting to experience it how he reads it was just a pleasure.

There were subtle messages of hope, bravery, continuing on, and realizing what is right in front of you. And to top it all off, he was doing spicy scenes before ACOTAR and it was honestly solid. Overall just a solid 5 star read for me.