I enthusiastically recommend this book to fans of [b:The Scorpio Races|10626594|The Scorpio Races|Maggie Stiefvater|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461209661l/10626594._SY75_.jpg|15535056]. It has an old-timey small-town setting, some dangerous magic, a perfectly balanced double-narrator romance, a daring traditional competition, and is beautifully written without being overly flowery.

Here's a link to my full video review: https://youtu.be/QsG0bWsA6AM

This is a story of Margaret and Wes, two young people who get tangled up in the world of alchemy, a demon foxhunt, and each other's emotional vulnerabilities.

I appreciate the way that this book so delicately explores a cultural/religious identity. Both of the protagonists are part of marginalized religious ethnic groups, and this fact both brings them together and provides higher stakes to the plot of the book. I also appreciated that their identities were Irish-Catholic & Jewish coded, because it felt like an extension of our own world (and history). Without spending a long time explaining why these groups were discriminated against, I could understand the big picture of it.

Additionally, the main characters are layered in their flaws and mental struggles. They find it difficult to open up to anyone, and so their romance is driven by their character growth. They (between them) have PTSD, dyslexia, ADHD (at least, that’s how I would armchair diagnose them). And while sometimes this is a thing for them to work through, most of the time it is just how they are, with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Honestly, I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like in this book. It’s flawless.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.