“To the quiet girls with stories in their heads.
To their dreams—and their nightmares.”

Dark, atmospheric, and a bit romantic; the perfect book to make me stop thinking about life for a bit.

I'm always hesitant to pick up books once they get super popular (not because I have a superiority complex), but I do have a track record of not enjoying most super hyped books, though I really want to. Thankfully, this was one of the cases where I had a really fun time.

It wasn't without flaws and there were moments I rolled my eyes at the convenience of the plot but overall? It was a really good debut. I've been struggling to stay engaged with quite a few of the books I've read recently, but this one took no effort at all. I loved the setting, the world-building, the character interactions, the writing style; it all worked so well together and made an enjoyable, pretty unique book.

This actually saved me from the beginnings of a reading slump and I now have borrowed book 2 from the library to keep these vibes going lol.

I feel like if you enjoyed the Caraval trilogy and are looking for something similar but more mature, you'll really love this. Conversely, if you didn't like Caraval's world-building and overall vibe, you may not enjoy this one. They're very different stories (other than the card magic) but the goth, whimsical vibe reminded me of certain aspects I really enjoyed about Caraval.

Overall, I had a fantastic time with this. It kept me interested from beginning to end, and even though I predicted where the story was going, it was never in a way that made me feel annoyed.

Though it did take her way too long to realize what the Nightmare was.

I look forward to reading whatever Rachel Gillig writes in the future, especially if it's as atmospheric as this one.