Beattz
October 2020
It was outstanding. Really. The first time since The Night Circus that I've had to force my self away from a book, to be able to savor the magic just a bit longer. The pendulum swung at just the right moment, every time. A supremely well crafted story, full of detail and whimsy. Go read it. Go appreciate it.
August 2025 Re-read
Turns out, I still love this book. All in all, not surprising. But I love it for different reasons this time around. The first time I read it 5 years ago I was completely wrapped up in the magic of the story - Of how the cursed worked and how Addie and Henry learned to move in the spaces left for them. This time, however, it was the characters that sunk their hooks into me so sharply. I'm not typically a “self-insert-er” when it comes to books/characters, but when I tell you that every interaction from Henry's POV left me gasping for air, trying not to choke on my tears, I am not exaggerating.
Last time I parceled out the story, savoring the beauty and the otherness it presented. This time, after getting to 50%, I strong armed myself to the end because I just needed the emotional torture to be over. I cried for like 90 pages straight. I had to put a cold compress on my face this morning before work so I wouldn't show up to the office looking like I'd had a terrible allergic reaction that caused my eyes to swell shut. Honestly, I can't wait to read it again in 5 years and see what it does to me then.
TL;DR: I am not a masochist and I love this book anyway.
October 2020
It was outstanding. Really. The first time since The Night Circus that I've had to force my self away from a book, to be able to savor the magic just a bit longer. The pendulum swung at just the right moment, every time. A supremely well crafted story, full of detail and whimsy. Go read it. Go appreciate it.
August 2025 Re-read
Turns out, I still love this book. All in all, not surprising. But I love it for different reasons this time around. The first time I read it 5 years ago I was completely wrapped up in the magic of the story - Of how the cursed worked and how Addie and Henry learned to move in the spaces left for them. This time, however, it was the characters that sunk their hooks into me so sharply. I'm not typically a “self-insert-er” when it comes to books/characters, but when I tell you that every interaction from Henry's POV left me gasping for air, trying not to choke on my tears, I am not exaggerating.
Last time I parceled out the story, savoring the beauty and the otherness it presented. This time, after getting to 50%, I strong armed myself to the end because I just needed the emotional torture to be over. I cried for like 90 pages straight. I had to put a cold compress on my face this morning before work so I wouldn't show up to the office looking like I'd had a terrible allergic reaction that caused my eyes to swell shut. Honestly, I can't wait to read it again in 5 years and see what it does to me then.
TL;DR: I am not a masochist and I love this book anyway.