This book really took me on a roller coaster ride from struggling to get into it, cracking the writing style, bingeing 100 pages, then getting bored for the rest of the story.

Ultimately, this book is a bout a teenage village girl (Miuko) who is cursed with deadly power and goes on a quest to find a cure. Once I realised that I should try and read this novel as though it was a tale of Japanese folklore, my enjoyment increased. I felt like I was able to fall into the story more. Miuko, and her journey, were easier to follow once my brain clicked into this mode.

Unfortunately though, my interest waned once I reached part two of the text. Spoilers incoming!! In part two, the events of part one are repeated as Miuko travels back in time. Events I knew were coming, happened again, and the pacing became too slow to keep me fully engaged.

This was a good reading experience in that I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this before, but it wasn’t a book for me.

Triggers include misogyny, sexism, spirits, ghosts, entrapment, gravesites, death, burns, murder.