I had a lot of fun with this book and was so invested and entertained the whole time. I’ve seen some reviews that say the characters were bland and the stakes not high enough (and I find all their opinions valid), but I actually found the characters to be refreshing and well developed (or developed enough for a first book). You can sense the kind of stereotypical character each person is based off of to some fegree (the quilt best friend, the badass warrior woman, etc) but the dialogue was not overly cliche to me and felt decently natural. The FMC and MMC have a nice relationship and it doesn’t feel forced or annoying (like it’s kind of a trope but not as obvious or overdone). I enjoyed the gothic setting and darkness of the overall story. I felt there was depth to the overall story, main character, and relationships of each character. The FMC is invested and has independent interactions with the characters that aren’t the MMC (though there definitely could’ve been more) I’m excited to read the second book!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The pacing was well done and I was curious how this story would unfold. I am left with a few questions but none that plague me with unsatisfaction. The detail and descriptions in this book are visual and evocative. I loved the setting and felt the heat of summer and the crisp freshness of the stream in moonlight. I enjoyed the length of these chapters and felt like there was still a lot of development and details regardless of these short chapters. I felt struck by the tragedy of Etties life and still compassion for Tata.