Ahoy there me mateys! After I read this Finnish author’s debut novel, memory of water, I knew I had to read her next book when it came out. And while I enjoyed her first novel more, there was a lot to be enjoyed in this one as well.

The world building in this novel was wonderful. The story takes place on an island where everything is deeply regimented. One of the main rules is that dreaming is not allowed. It is treated like the plague and if discovered to be a Dreamer then the person is thrown into House of the Tainted never to be seen again.

There are other Houses like the House of Words and the House of Webs. Our main character, Eliana, lives in the House of Webs and weaves. She has secrets, among them being able to read and also being a dreamer. She tries to stay invisible and safe in her structured world. Then one day she discovers an injured girl, Valeria, who happens to have Eliana’s name tattooed on her palm. Eliana can’t help but be drawn into the mystery. As Eliana begins to become closer to Valeria, will she give up her safety and worldview to solve the puzzle?

The relationship between Valeria and Eliana is one of the highlights of the book for me. Their connection is slow burning but wonderful and kept me avidly reading. While not the focus of the book, their relationship drives the story. It was sweet and endearing. I also enjoyed the loving relationship between Eliana and her brother Janos. There is also a kick ass healer whom I adored too.

The details in this novel were as stunning at the ones in the author’s first novel. The circumstances and explanations of the tattoos were fun. The glimpses into the other Houses felt realistic and left me wanting to know more about the purposes of them all. I adored how the island would flood. Those descriptions were so vivid and stark. This author’s writing feels magical.

While I loved the world the author created, I did have some issues with the dreaming aspects of the novel. The dreaming is very fantastical and even though there is an explanation for why dreaming is dangerous, I didn’t really love it. The ending of the novel in particular seemed extremely odd. I wouldn’t say that I hated it. It just left me sort of confused.

Despite that I did find this novel thought-provoking and am glad I read it. I will be reading whatever this author produces next.

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