I wanted to like this book because the concept seemed fun and fresh, but sadly, I was only able to finish this book because I felt obliged* as I was so kindly provided with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am no stranger to a lengthy book but there was no reason for this book to be as long as it is. I found myself editing the book in my head as I was reading. It isn't an irredeemable concept but the book is SO wordy. So much detail for inconsequential things, so many tangents that pull focus away from the main plot of the book. I think the setting was a bit hard to pin down in time and space, it wasn't fully fantasy but wasn't fully contemporary magical realism either.

The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading but the execution was poor enough that reading felt more like a chore.

*Felt obliged by my own moral code not by anything said or done by the author, publisher, or ARC providing platform