3.5 Stars

I enjoyed this far more than I thought I was going to in the beginning, which is why I rounded up on my rating. This is not the best book I’ve ever read, but I thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience, and isn’t that really what matters in the end.

This is a Rapunzel re-telling. Ever since I was young I have been a huge Rapunzel fan. So when I jumped into this story I was already prepared to love it.

There were a few stumbles with the writing that I thought should’ve been caught in editing. The author uses the phrase ‘blood-swollen insects’ or ‘blood-engorged insects’ several times within the first 50 pages or so. We are also reminded over and over again by Luna that we are NOT in a typical fairy tale, which was unnecessary.

However, I really enjoyed the story and characters, for the most part. Parts of it reminded me of Ann Aguirre’s Razorland trilogy, with the terrifying ‘dwellers’ taking the place of the ‘freaks’ from Agguire’s story. And while there were several nods to the source material, I felt like enough was different that this story stood on its own.

I have the second book and can’t wait to jump in and see what happens after that crazy ending!