This is based on one of my favourite ever fairy tales, so I was predisposed to like it and I did. The world building here is done very well, I think - it doesn't overpower, but gives depth and context to the original fairy tale. I also liked Sorcha and her brothers, who were relatively well differentiated (something that I imagine was difficult to do, given that there's six of them). But Sorcha is of course the stand out characterisation here. Her agency is front and centre and the text never shies away from that. It's a hideous situation to be in, but I never got a sense of sickly martyrdom or anything of that type - just an exceptionally strong and flawed young woman doing the best she could in a near-hopeless situation. I liked her very much.

I did find the book slightly overlong, however, and I was disappointed at the rape insertion. I am sick of heroines being raped for evil colour - the curse that the family finds themselves in is horrific enough without relying on that tired old trope.