Welcome to Litsy!

The sheltered girl who thinks she‘s not special is a fantasy trope. But Marlinchen is a lot more Bella Swann in Twilight than Sophie Hatter in Howl‘s Moving Castle. I don‘t think I‘ll finish this.

A twisty sort of fairy tale today, with a battle between magic and industry, which sounds fascinating. I‘m hooked already, and wish I wasn‘t at work…

There are so many 5 star reviews of this book. So many. Did I like it? No. And that's okay. Everyone is different. We all can like what we like. That's the beauty of life. I thought this book would be right up my alley. Sounded interesting. Yet I did not like anything about it. The bulimia, the abuse, the sexual depravity. I'm fascinated to read all the positive posts. It's as though we all read different books. Oh well, on to the next.

Oh boy, is this book thirsty. Or should I say—hungry…

Honestly tho. I almost DNFed this. The list of warnings on this… Especially the CSA—which is central to the plot, actually—came out of the left field. This book is disturbing, but then it is horror.

Fairytale-infused… erotic horror?

Ahem.

In the end, the “disturbing-ness” was what made me like this. Although it certainly isn‘t for everyone. Beware the warnings.

4.0/5

This is a beautifully written reimagining of sorts of the classic fairytale The Juniper Tree. It‘s filled with gorgeous prose and magic, but reader be warned: the original was a Grimm tale loaded with child abuse and cannibalism, and this book is clearly labeled as both a dark retelling and a romance. There is body horror, monsters, and sex (some nice, some not). If you are down for that and go in prepared, I bet you‘ll enjoy it. I did!

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