Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for an e-ARC of this book!

This book was all kinds of weird and disturbing but in a way that was super intriguing. Ada and her father are healers, not quite human but that have taken on human forms. In order to heal, they have the ability to literally open people up or reach into them to remove the sickness (lots of people have described this as super gross, but I found the descriptions tame). The story is told from Ada's point of view, alternating with very short interludes of people from the town describing experiences with Ada and her father. Throughout the book, Ada is striving to be human and in the process falls in love or lust for a human man, Samson. She has to decide whether to abandon Samson or try to heal him, and either choice will change the course of her life forever. Regardless of the path she chooses, this is not a traditional love story...

There is not strictly a plot, but instead a series of stories that move chronologically. Rainsford's prose is lyrical and and sparse, leaving much to the imagination. By the end of the book, some questions are answered but others are purposefully left vague and open to the reader's interpretation. I loved the world that Rainsford created, twisting a fairytale-like premise with something darker. I would not describe the story as pure fantasy but rather a form of magical realism. It worked well as a novella but I also didn't want to leave the weird world that she has created. I read this in one day because I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more of Rainsford's writing.