A haunting fairytale draped in beautiful prose

This was the perfect October read. A haunting fairytale draped in beautiful prose. I really have no idea to describe the experience I had while reading this book… first let me say I think this is a masterpiece, and I loved so many elements! And also I hate thrillers and horror and this one felt a bit like both and it honestly terrified me to bits. Why did I read it? Well, I love Roshani’s writing style and all her books are amazing, including this one even if I wanted to bury my ereader under a heap of clothes to prevent nightmares (spoiler alert: that didn’t work).

Okay I guess this review is just gonna be one big mess. I loved it, I hated it, but mostly I loved it. The myths and legends woven into this story are amazing, and my absolute favorite. The love story began epic, basically a fairytale, though which one is the question ;). This entire story feels like a fairytale to be true, the writing makes sure of that, but also the slightly surreal setting. You feel something is off, but can’t quite put your finger on it. Roshani keeps you questioning about what is real and if it is what actually happened. The story between the two girls is hauntingly beautiful and just a bit horrifying yet so much like teenagers, and the switch in POV between then and now is perfect and never gets dull, I also never had a favorite POV which is always a good sign, that means it’s balanced.

The plot twist was amazing! You can kinda feel it coming, and you grasp at the edges but when it’s there it hits you in the face. And the ending is perfect. Honestly, if you’re even a little bit into thriller/horror you need to read this! For me, as a very sensitive autist, it was simply way too scary and I needed to get out of the story every few pages because I couln’t handle it, which made this a very hard read for me, hence the four stars instead of 5. So, bear in mind I’m very much not the average person and don’t let my easily spooked self deter from reading the most beautiful sentences you’ll ever read in a haunting stories about… well, stories.

I received a free e-arc through Netgalley but it hasn’t influenced my opinions.