It wasn't FUN to read but it sure was horrifying. So I guess it did exactly what I hoped it would.

I will admit that in the beginning, it was hard for me to get into this book. Until about 2/3 of the way through, I thought it was going to be a solid 3 star rating. I thought it was going to be more subversive, but even though Cinderella was a much different character than the one we all know, at its core it still felt like a general Grimm fairy tale. However,

when the contemporary aspect started coming forward, I was thoroughly impressed by how it blended with the fairy tail beginning. At some point at the 3/4 mark, I realized that it had straight up become a modern story without me even realizing it. Even though I was told ahead of time that this was a modern retelling, it still made me raise my eyebrows and go "oh!" pleasantly out loud. And then looking back, I couldn't even find an exact point where the story had morphed. It was just fed to me little by little and felt so natural. It was a transition uniquely handled that I haven't experienced before. Looking back on it after knowing the contemporary story made me love and appreciate the fairy tale portion.

I also did love the themes of her mental illness, both in the fantasy story and the contemporary. Even after sitting with it, it's hard to tell what parts were her mental illness and what was "reality." As one who has been battling mental illness for most of my life, it felt very genuine the way that was told.

On top of it all, it had the perfect amount of surrealism for me as well.

If this was a standard Cinderella retelling, I wouldn't have loved it nearly as much. This one is such a unique take, and in some ways, unexpected.

I loved the mysterious atmosphere of this book, and how the folklore included in it melded with the real lives of the characters. The question of what was "actually" happening and what wasn't was intriguing. My favorite point of view was from Edgar.

Everything that happened to him in the Darkened Place felt like a small town mystery, and the "reveal" left a pit in my stomach.

The only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars was Sonja's story. While I know her POV was important, and was an excellent example of how people deal with grief in different ways, it was just not a journey I personally related to

(which sounds weird when her story had the least amount of "magical" elements in it, but I stand by it)

. While this book isn't exactly a horror book, it did have horrific imagery and a haunting atmosphere that was right up my alley.