This book took a bit to really take off, but once it did, it grabbed my attention and made me not want to put it down until the end.

As someone who’s read Hamlet before, as well as other retellings, I felt that I would know where the story was going alongside all of the important plot points. However, the author did a great job of subverting expectations in some areas, changing up the methods and means in which certain things happened, and expanding on the story and emotions behind each familiar moment in ways that made it feel fresh and engaging, and so the novel overall never became predictable.

I also thought that the voice here was extremely unique although at times, a bit too confusing, but as the story went on, it made sense why. The magic system and university setting were decently developed, but I did wish there was a bit more revealed about the magic world outside of school, since aside from a few vague lines, not much was shown of what the characters’ futures could look like.

I found all of the characters to be extremely well thought out and they seemed like real, flawed people. Getting the story from Horatio’s perspective too really required the reader to trust him, but he was admittedly an uncertain and unreliable narrator, which created a mounting sense of unease that added to the elements in the story. The other characters, even the more minor ones, were fully fleshed out and felt original. It was hard to know who to root for or who to trust, as everyone’s motivations flipped between righteousness and selfishness, their desires ever-shifting, which expanded nicely upon the themes from the source material.

I really liked the trans representation here — it was not just an identity of two the characters, but a vital part of their development and characterization, and helped them in overcoming problems they faced in the story.

Overall, while there were a few minor things that I would have preferred to be different, this is a unique, well-thought out story that doesn’t shy away from complicated and frustrating characters, and I would gladly read more from this author.

Liked this take on cannibalism much more than the other books I’ve read about it. So much of it being from Lauren’s perspective made it quite an engrossing read — trying to understand the character who is so clearly a spoiled villain, a shitty partner, and often intruding into Alex’s culture, while also learning about her own struggles with her parents, body image, and dealing with creepy men made it compelling. I do wish it was a bit longer, and that we got more from Alex’s perspective as well. I thought the ending was done well, and it actually didn’t go where I was expecting it, which I enjoy being surprised about.

I really hope Morris publishes a full length novel, because both this book and Green Fuse Burning have shown her strength as a horror writer in novella format (which can be challenging to do). I would love to see how her characters and story expand and what new places they can go to when given more space to work with.