I will cry right now! how beautiful! only a 4 star for some pacing issues in the beginning! 

one of the most endearing main characters I have ever read, in a small village under constraints, it’s hard to find your faith and what you believe in, it’s hard to try and find who you truly are and what you love. Emelie gets a chance to venture out of her gloomy normal in a marriage of convenience with her childhood best friend, but he comes from the wood, where the elders say never to go as a rabid wolf is killing villagers. 

This was such a journey of coming into one’s self and finding where you belong, navigating religious trauma and family dynamics. In the beginning it took a second for me to understand the pace, but once I did I loved it. Sacrilege is a slow and steady book focusing on these two characters and the determination it takes to learn yourself and how to present that true self to others and it was a joy to read. With a wintery, spooky forest, setting and beautiful prose, I would highly recommend!

Content warnings: disordered eating habits, emotional and physical abuse (children to adulthood), violence, catholic trauma, mild gore, body horror, gender dysphoria