This one caught me by surprise. I know it released back in 2018, but I had obviously been living under a rock and hadn’t heard about it. While browsing a book outlet store I stumbled into it, saw a few friends had read it (and they had positive reviews) so I decided to give it a whirl. It did take me a bit to get into, the setting felt a bit young for me personally (they’re a bunch of kids at school, there’s some bullying going on, everyone sort of rubbed me the wrong way – but I pushed through this).
The writing is fantastic. Holly Black easily pulled me into her world, and I enjoyed every second of it. I appreciated the darker / more sinister side of the fairy tale realm where it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I did have a difficult time connecting with the protagonist at the start (Jude) but by the end of the book I felt like I understood her better, and could see her growth as a character enough that I purchased the rest of the trilogy.
A few TW for the book would have been appreciated, as it does deal with some heavy subjects such as murder, sexual abuse, suicide, physical abuse.
I’ve always been a fan of political intrigue in my fantasy books, and I feel like Holly Black did a great job with this one. Highly recommended.
4.5/5 stars
The Nomadic Reader 