Super fun read! Love a cozy mystery, with a good dose of gore for this one lol. I love that the author is an expert in medical history so you feel really engrain in a believable setting.

I would've rated this higher but I thought the reveal at the end

Allardyce being the murderer of Mary was out of left field for me at least. It didn't feel satisfying considering how little time you spent on that character/

I also didn't really get

Jem's sudden possessiveness of Will. Perhaps it's because I wasn't aware this was the fourth in a series and there's more to their friendship I don't have context to, but it felt a bit forced to me./

Otherwise, I had a great time!!

This is definitely not the story I expected when I picked up this book, but I'm not complaining! Just know when you go in that this isn't an action packed magic & fighting kind of book. It's slow and literary, but it's beautifully dark as well.

Read if you want lush prose, feminine rage, and revenge leading to a rebirth of sorts. 

I also really liked

that Lux isn't a protagonist who always on the Right side. She's not a heart of gold MC. She's still a child really, one who has been through some horrific shit, and every decision she makes feels so real. The temptation of survival over justice is a difficult choice, and though many want to claim they would do the right thing, her portrayal feels very honest. People are selfish sometimes! And her coming to terms with the truth really unraveled well for her to become her own person.

Wonderful prose. Very surreal and dreamlike, but also whimsical in a way that makes the content more eerie. 

Sadly though, I wanted more from this book. I wanted it to really scare me, which I suppose is a high bar to set. The only time I felt a little spooked was when

she first holds the bark up to her eye and sees the garden for what it really is

. The tension built up to that scene and it's payoff were well deserved. After that though, I felt nothing really.

I think this works better as a dark fairytale than horror, which I've seen it described as such. I can tell it's rich with symbolism that I'll need to sit on a bit longer to find what I need out of it. If I do, I'll update my review I suppose. For now, I feel very...meh.