The book starts out quite slow, with Avery's arrival in Bardell and some elements of backstory and because the first scene is her arrival, it meant that I struggled to get started within the book. However, it quickly picks up as key characters are introduced, so the slight dip in pace at the beginning of the novel does not affect the story too much. 

Avery was well fleshed out -- her frustration, confusion, anger and joy were all well developed. Her slow navigation of her breakup and her questioning over whether or not her feelings for someone new were requited or not were all visibly new processes for her and it was wonderful to see her grow. 

The side characters were less fleshed out and thus came off as irritating sometimes; some of their decisions would seem unreasonable and at times they just seemed stubborn for no reason. However, Avery's family, friendship and relationship dynamics made all of it worth it. 

Grief plays such a large part within this book that it felt as though it was a character itself. I think it was wonderfully written; I nearly cried several times. The writing is absolutely beautiful and I loved the structure where in there are interval chapters. I think the commentary on the pandemic was quite fitting, however, I am aware some may find it annoying. 

However, the places within this book struggles are in relation to the plot itself -- a lot of it is so intricately woven that it becomes confusing. Sometimes things are only hinted at but hinted at in such a way as to still be vague or hinted at in such an obvious manner that you start questioning yourself. There were also quite a lot of different subplots which meant that the story seemed to jump from one thing to another sometimes. 

Overall, a great book with some minor issues that honestly do not detract from the enjoyment of the book to much. If you are someone who does not get irritated by people behaving irrationally easily, this will be a 5 star read for you. 

This is a rather odd book - definitely not bad but a slightly unimpressive. 

Vel and Cae are both well developed and unique characters. Even if the book did not delegate first person narration to one of them and third person narration to the other, the readers would have been able to tell the two protagonists apart quite easily. Their relationship was also well developed, they made a good pair. 

Here's the thing though, this book is quite long and because it's long, it becomes slightly repetitive. Although nothing happens twice, a pattern in the plot progression becomes clear. The final twist is quite predictable but somehow kind of makes one of the characters behave unlike themself in order to make sense.

The worldbuilding is very thorough: the world is interesting and quite novel. Magic is present within the world but is largely ignored unless convenient for the characters. The Ralia vs Tithena debate kind of lacked complexity: one is Bad :( , the other is Good :). It would have been nice to see a more complex approach. 

Overall, an interesting but rather longwinded book. Also, be aware that the book handles topics of rape, self harm and suicidal ideation in graphic detail on page.

A good concept with a good execution. 

Ash was a wonderfully developed -- I really enjoyed her character, especially in the first half or so of the book. She could sometimes be very single minded but that was the entire point, so. Poppy was a good love interest too, complex enough to be interesting but to not overshadow our protagonist. 

The side characters were largely good enough. Some of them I found mildly annoying -- I felt as though the whole found family thing was a little rushed. But, they all served their purposes. Ash's family relationships were very well developed and it made me wonder about why that was abandoned in the second half of the book.

The world building was passable; nothing intricate or exceptional, just enough to fuel Ash's journey, which I quite liked. Nothing felt overly forced within this book: everything served a purpose.

The writing was what stood out to me: a lot of the book was written in a descriptive but relatable way and I enjoyed the final message. The plot was a little bit more tragic than what I am used to, but the writing made it worth it.

Overall, a heart twisting, beautiful love story that I definitely recommend.

The Wayward Children series is one of my favourites - I was very glad to have been granted a copy of this book.

The writing and the worldbuilding was as touching and all consuming as it always is with Seanan McGuire's books. The universe of the series is well structured: there are rules that make sense and links between the books (I really enjoyed the teeny-tiny cameo of my favourite character). The writing, the effect of it is...difficult to describe, but I will try. Imagine you are playing dodgeball, and you're the last one left, right? Now, imagine dodging a ball: the feeling of relief, the adrenaline, the tiny celebratory feeling. Now, imagine that immediately upon turning around from successfully dodging you get hit in the face. That is the emotional equivalent of reading McGuire's writing.

Antsy was fine, she is not my favourite lead as I prefer the more gray ones. Antsy did have very understandable reactions to everything. This specific world is not my favourite either, but we get to find out more about the general structure of everything here so it balances out. 

Overall, not my favourite in the series, but it's definitely not bad at all!