beautiful descriptions of medieval england, and accompanied by the discussions of a woman's autonomy in this time of history which can also relate to the modern world. the relationship between cass (our main character) and the other women in this sisterhood is warm at the beginning, then fraught with tenuous loyalty and secrets as cass realises the ones who have saved her aren't the one dimensional 'good' that she first thought. i did enjoy that part though, learning the other characters' intentions and the care they had for each other made them more multi-faceted.

however, i felt that the beginning was very rushed, with little expansion on cass' familial relationships. nothing of much importance to the plot happens, so don't expect the classic hero storyline, yet it's still enjoyable to read and watch cass' growth. it was more of a historical book than a fantasy, with the fantasy elements very vague and barely hinted at, in particular with the mystery of cass' supposed power. the power itself is never really explained, even when its in use, and the reason for it remains unclear until quite literally the last pages, which begs the question on if this is truly a standalone or part of the series. if it is, i'm not sure i'd read the next book.