I really enjoyed The Wild Wynchesters series by Erica Ridley, so when I heard she wrote a sapphic gothic horror, I jumped at the chance to read this and was lucky enough to receive an arc.

This book is ya, and I have such a soft spot for ya horror. I truly believe ya has some of the best horror out there. That being said, the writing was a bit disappointing for me. Not necessarily bad, just a bit more simplistic than I was expecting. Not sure if part of that is just Erica Ridley adjusting to writing for a younger audience, but as I mentioned, I do read quite a bit of ya horror and I do not think writing has to be so on the nose in order to be accessible to teens. I did have a bit of a hard time feeling immersed in the world because of that.

I liked our main character, Catriona. She’s a young girl that so badly wants an education and is trying to escape the confines of her place in the world as a young girl who is also not wealthy. After a wish her brother places, she is whisked off to a boarding school where she is eventually attacked by a group of boys. Due to this attack, she is changed. She grows claws, hooves, and the physical capabilities to defend herself and the other girls she lives with. And she struggles with what she is willing to do in order to obtain protection and freedom for herself, her mother, and her friends. The story incorporates a lot of Scottish mythology - from the wishes that people make to the creature our mc eventually turns into.

The sapphic relationship was cute, if a bit underdeveloped. I did really like Ishbel and how assured she was in who she loved, despite the many barriers working against her during the time period when this novel took place. She and Catriona were very sweet together.

Overall, this book is definitely worth the read if you’re looking for a fast-paced gothic horror set in a Scottish boarding school with monstrous queer girls!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Books for the eARC!