I'm definitely biased towards any book exploring butch identity, and this one does so with so much empathy, nuance, and care, especially towards how isolating the experience of gender-nonconformity can be. At the same time, the narrator's bond with the house mistress was so vibrant and formed a beautiful point of connection and growth in their character arc that I adored. The central relationship between the narrator and the headmistress, too, was electrifying, though in a very different way--I loved the slow buildup and the exploration of conflicting identity between them. 

Stylistically, this novel is probably very hit-or-miss for people, with a lack of quotation marks and dreamy, atmospheric prose. While this didn't detract from my reading experience at all, I'm also not sure that it especially added to it, either, and I know it really didn't work for others. Overall, I enjoyed this work a lot and found it to be much more of a fascinating character study about a relationship rather than a romance, which worked just fine for me. It was a beautiful little book with characters I'll be thinking about for awhile!