i would have liked that ending even more if its realistic tone had been part of the characters and their relationship from the beginning. it was a plausible conclusion to a non-existent development. the world-building is inconsistent at best, but it's a fairy tale retelling and you'll hardly see me reading one of those. gayness and touch deprivation were the only concepts i was looking for when i picked this up. however, the plot still depends on the story the author chose to retell, so it ended up being one more thing that didn't convince me in this book.