There are things that worked for me here and things that didn't. I crave more world building and development/explanation for the way society is set up. I really didn't appreciate the romance subplot at all. Interesting premise but I think the heavy themes ultimately crumble with the YA framework.

It is rare that books live up to the hype. The more hype, the more nervous I generally I am to read it. So when I saw five star review after five star review for The Grace Year I was hesitant to even pick it up. But after barely putting this book down to sleep and finishing it within like eighteen hours of starting it, it’s safe to say I loved it. This book focuses on Tierney, who has been trying to get details about the Grace year for ages, but it’s finally her turn and she still doesn’t know what to expect. She knows that she and the other girls her age will be sent into the woods for a year to get rid of the magic that the men say they get at this age, and that when the girls come back, if they come back, they’re different. This book was so different than I expected, it had elements of mystery, parts where you are unsure what is real, and lots of commentary on the way women treat each other and the way society treats us. I have heard this called a female lord of the flies, and that was definitely in my mind when I was reading it, but it’s more than that. Have you read this book? Tell me your thoughts, because I have so many! I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. #netgalley #booksharks #thegraceyear #bookstagram

This is a powerful book. If you were hoping for a spoiler free review, there is no way for me to do that with this book. First things first, thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think I am going to recommend this to every woman who asks for a book recommendation. This book showcases the power of women. Whether that power is used against each other or together to conquer the world. In the beginning of the book, we are shown the restraints the county places upon the women. They are the property of the men and in their 16th year they are sent out of the county to live together in what they call The Grace Year. To speak of The Grace Year is forbidden so each year, girls go out unprepared despite all their older siblings and mothers knowing what horrors they are about to face. There are poachers who hunt the girls if they leave the barrier of their encampment.

I don’t want to spoil the entire book but that is the foundation of the story. You can see how the “hive mind” of a clique can cause damage to the girls who are outsiders and sometimes even themselves. You see the power of lies and delusions. You see how whenever someone goes against the norm, how it is frowned upon and even destroyed. Change is forbidden therefore it is feared.

This is a very important read. I’m glad I read it. I could literally keep going on and on but.... I do want to leave some of it for a new reader to discover. 4.5 stars but only because I had a tiny problem with the ending.

This is the dystopian novel I have been longing for since finishing The Hunger Games trilogy!!! So good. Tierney is the fantastic strong heroine that we all need. I hope there are more Grace Year books to come!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book.

St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Grace Year. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

The Grace Year falls into the genre of speculative fiction and is touted to be in the vein of The Handmaid's Tale and Lord of the Flies. I do agree with those sentiments, as this dystopian novel includes elements of both novels. Women in this society are subservient, meant to do the bidding of men with severe consequences for disobeying. Young women are said to emit a powerful aphrodisiac, with sixteen year old females being especially potent. These teenagers are sent out into the wild to rid themselves of their magic, called a grace year. It is the survival of the fittest, however, as not all of those sent out will make it back.

Main character Tierney James dreams of a different life than the one that has been set out before her. If the author had stuck with the essence of her character, I would have enjoyed the book more. Instead, Tierney becomes predictably like all of the rest - worse in some ways, in fact. The biggest problems that I had with the book are that it comes off as preachy, that it is long winded in places, and that it is too brief in others. Because of this, the pacing is all off and does not make for good reading. As this novel is meant for a YA target audience, I expected a little teenage angst and melodrama, but the book as a whole was a little over the top. The author had a great premise and good world building, but The Grace Year represents a missed opportunity for me. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend it to other readers.

The Grace Year is aptly introduced with quotes from The Handmaids Tale (Margaret Atwood) and Lord of the Flies (William Golding), two classic works that obviously acted as strong inspiration for Kim Liggett’s new novel. Although marketed as a YA title, The Grace Year would also appeal to adults who enjoy dystopic fantasy along the lines of The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) or Divergent (Veronica Roth). The action takes place in either a pre-industrial past or possibly a post-technological future-it is unclear which. Regardless, is a bleak world in which women outnumber men but are subjugated due to superstition and fear. Liggett’s narrator is Tierney, a young woman on the verge of adulthood, who is preparing for a ritual practiced in Garner County where she lives with her family. The Grace Year refers to the rite of passage endured by Garner’s young women who are sent away to a locked encampment for one year. During this time, they are left to fend for themselves as they rid themselves of emerging magical abilities believed to be brought on by adolescence. Their potential power is highly feared, and the danger inherent in the girls’ emerging sexuality is used as justification for their exile. Many do not return, and those that do often come back with deep scars-both physical and emotional. No one knows what happens during their time away, since speaking about the Grace Year is forbidden and punishable by death. Before they are cast out, the girls are selected by marriageable men and will be consigned to their houses when/if they return. Male offspring are the priority, and the women who do not produce them are regularly discarded, cast out and replaced by others. Those who are not married are destined to be servants or are sent beyond the gates of the County to be hunted by predatory men. Of course, Tierney is very different from the other girls in her Grace Year- she has survival skills she learned from her physician father, keen intelligence and an iron will to resist the path that tradition has paved for her. When her trial begins, she seems uniquely advantaged, but what she could not have prepared for is the cruelty of her fellow exiles and a mob mentality that can suffocate even the brightest of independent spirits. The Grace Year is a good example of nice pacing and character development that can often be absent in the ubiquitous landscape of YA dystopic thriller offerings. Tierney’s adventure and challenges are exciting to follow, and the book’s setting as pitted against its strong feminist viewpoint makes this story at once infuriating and satisfying. It is unfortunate that the author chooses to position her heroine in ways that are ultimately subservient to the males that assert dominance in her world. If Ligett is paving the way for a sequel, hopefully Tierney’s story will continue in a way that feels more vindicating for those readers who demand a heroine worthy of admiration and respect.

Thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Books (Wednesday Press) and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

DNF at 45%

"To be at odds with your nature, what everyone expects from you, is a life of constant struggle."

I know people are raving about The Grace Year, so I'm going to preemptively apologize for any toes I might step on. What can I say? I'm a terrible dancer.

First of all, the setting was vague. Did they live in some sort of secluded community? A compound? Where they a cult of some sort and the girls just didn't realize it? What is going on in the rest of the world? Vikings are occasionally mentioned, so does this book take place shortly after that? They don't have cars or electricity from what I can tell, but even the people that live on the outskirts seemed connected to the community. Surely they would have left if they had other options? I needed more details about the world they lived in, and how their community originated. I felt like I was playing a video game where only part of the map was visible to me.

Secondly, the characters made me batshit crazy. People aren't supposed to talk about what happens during the grace year, but details and stories trickled through the cracks. Parents and siblings send their daughters and sisters away to succumb to madness and death every year, and for what? Nonexistent magic (guessing here)? A way for men to exert control over the women? There were way more women in the community, and they should have done more to protect their families. They've survived hell on earth, witnessed unbelievable cruelty, yet stand idly by as it happens to others.

The girls in this book are sixteen, and I felt like they were incredibly violent for teenagers. What sane person wants to willingly hurt someone else? I get that these girls were likely drugged by the water supply, or the rations they were given (just a guess), which is what led to their madness, but they were catty and cruel long before that. Small spoiler: Girls were committing suicide before they even reached the encampment. Also, why was everyone so willing to drink from Kiersten's cup of crazy? Surely, they could logically see that Tierney was trying to provide for the group and make sure they survived for the entire year? Why didn't the unveiled girls stick together and prevent Kiersten from asserting "God-like" powers over everyone else? And their magic? Pshh. Why would they believe any of that? I know, I know, I know... they've been conditioned their entire lives, and sometimes it's easier to just believe what you want. However, was there not a single working brain among them? Even Tierney made stupid decisions. She should have taken the axe and lopped Kiersten's head off the second she started hurting others for her own sick amusement.

Thirdly, what purpose to the poachers serve? Where did they come from? They obviously have some connection with the community, but I cannot fathom how they can hunt and kill young girls for pleasure. It was a game to them... the brutality and death. They would torture children for hours, but why were they hunting them in the first place? (I'm sure this is answered later on in the book!) It made me ill to see how quickly people turned on each other. It wasn't necessarily to save themselves, but for the joy of hurting someone else. Girls go through this every year, and no one talks about it? I know it's "forbidden," but the parents should have done more to protect their children.

Lastly, there are no chapters in this book! I like to read from chapter to chapter, but I think there are four total breaks in the book. Sections? Not cool. There were plenty of moments when a new chapter could have started, or at least a chapter break.

Everything about The Grace Year felt disorganized, and the characters were unbelievably frustrating. Why? Why? Why? Why go through something that horrific and then make your children experience the same terror and madness? What parent does that? I think this book had potential, but I often found myself annoyed and angry. Again, a lot of people have really enjoyed The Grace Year, so check out some other reviews first!

It’s a bit of a mix between The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hunger Games, and Lord of the Flies, and if this sounds like something you would enjoy you should definitely check it out. I have to admit that this was better than I thought it was going to be, but I did have a few issues with it ranging from the character development to the world building.

The characters were on a whole under developed. Tierney the main character was thankfully the most developed, but I was disappointed by her development in the novel. I wanted her to grow more and be more by the end of it. Her eyes “opened” by the end of it, but I still wish she could have done more and the ending gone another way. However, I can’t say too much without giving things away. As for the other girls, Michael, Ryker, and everyone else the character development was minimal and some of them were underdeveloped from the start. Most of them I didn’t really feel anything for. Live, die, who cares?

The world-building also was underdeveloped. It’s a dystopian novel, but honestly only because it’s a segregated community brought together under their own law. There wasn’t the normal science fiction or future elements to it, at least not explained. I would argue that it actually is more of a historical dystopian because of the technology level, such as the gas lamps. It has an older vibe. Also the patriarchy is in charge and afraid, which is why they send the women out for the “Grace Year.” However, I think if too much had been explained it may have lost some of it’s mystery and horror.

The plot of The Grace Year was strong enough to keep me interested and reading straight through to finish it in a twenty-four hour time period. It is as it says on the cover: action-driven. There’s fighting, running, dying and then repeat for a lot of the story. There is a bit of romance in here, but it employs a dash of the enemies to lovers trope. Which I don’t mind so much, but I know that some people absolutely despise it. However, I will say that for me the romance seemed a bit rushed.

Overall I would say check this out if you’re looking for a new dystopian novel to read. If you’re squeamish or enemies to lovers bothers you, you may not enjoy this. However, it is action-packed with an interesting premise. There is some talk of a second one coming out and if that happens I will probably read it.

This is a fast-paced thriller, supposed to be in the vein of The Handmaid's Tale and the Lord of the Flies (both of which are quoted on an intro page). The pacing did feel a bit uneven, but I enjoyed the thrill. I almost didn't want to pick it up to read at night, I found it a bit scary for my taste. The character of Tierney is not a typical girl in her community, without a son - her father has treated her a bit like a son and taught her things that girls in the county typically aren't taught. So as she prepares for the Grace Year, she's not sure what to expect. There's a nice point in here about how the system keeps girls from forming true bonds, and what women are capable of if they bond together.

I would have liked a better sense of how this system and the Grace Year came to be, and some of the things throughout the story were so vague. I don't think the vagueness worked here, it was frustrating. Still, there were enough other redeeming parts of the book that I gave it 3 stars (I'm a tough critic). The character of Tierney being the main one, I was rooting for her.

Thank you for the advanced copy, I appreciated being able to read the book and get a feel of what it is! There will be a longer review on my blog later which I will edit and tag to this post! But overall I loved the novel and cannot wait to purchase for my sister for Xmas !

I had a really complicated relationship with this book! I really liked parts of the story but some areas also felt lacking. Let me explain.

The world that The Grace Year takes place in is one where the men have all the control. The women are expected to be and do certain things. The men get to choose their wife and the women are supposed to be happy and grateful and want to be chosen. If you don’t get chosen, you get placed in the outskirts or do menial tasks or hard labor for the rest of your life. Talk about a male dominated society. And in every girl’s 16th year, they get sent out to “release their magic”.

The set up really drew me in and I was so interested to see what was going to happen and how Tierney would tackle this year out in the middle of nowhere with all these other girls and poachers – hunters who will kill girls and sell their body parts on the black market due to the supposed “magic”. All the girls have to do is not leave the marked confines.

Tierney’s character was riveting and I really admired her strength and tenacity. She knew what she believed in and was willing to stand up for it. She was fierce and a survivor. One of the best parts of this book was Tierney.

I was also so interested to see where the plot was going to go. I think the book had a lot of great feminist themes and things to say about sisterhood, womanhood and female empowerment. There were a lot of great threads that I appreciated.

However, the pacing was not the best in my opinion. After the first third of the book the pace stutters and I felt a lot of “come on, what next”. It definitely dragged for a section. It picks up but the end also subsequently felt too fast. I almost wish that it went deeper into some aspects but that may have exceeded the scope of a standalone novel. I just felt like I wanted more.

In Short…
I recommend for those interested in a unique, dystopian story with a strong tenacious MC! Great thoughts on female empowerment and female relationships. Ultimately, it fell a little short for me as I wasn’t a fan of the pacing but I know most people loved this one!

The Grace Year is a time in a girl's life where she's supposed to lose her whole magic. The young girls are left alone in some kind of camp in the forest to fend on their own and get away from other people so their magic would not taint them.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Sounds crazy? Yes, it is. Men are above women and they state the law that it's supposed to be obeyed. But what if one girl will decide that she won't follow rules during her Grace Year? Will she manage to survive to be on her own when saying heresy?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I'm not sure what to think about the ending as it feels too sudden and too abrupt with everything that had happened. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Somehow I also expected something more from MC when it came to men, but maybe it will happen (IF THERE WILL BE ANY) in book 2 which I would be really glad to read as a premise is set in solid ground.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be read on my GoodReads account here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of The Grace Year by Kim Liggett.

In this dystopian society, women are put on an oppressive pedestal that is based solely on their bodies. Thought to have "the magic" chosen girls are sent out into the wilderness as sixteen as a group in order to expel the magic so that they can return to be obedient wives and mothers, with the main role of birthing children. There will be dangers, not just outside of the group, but in.

This is a horrifying blend of The Handmaid's Tale and Lord of the Flies. It's a staggering reminder of the dangers of a purely patriarchal society and what happens when women don't have voices. It is compelling, readable and good for a younger audience.

4.5 - 5 Must-Read Stars!!

"In that moment, I became his property. A slower death for me than anything I’d face out here."

What an unforgettable, important story. I applaud the author for writing this very powerful book. 'The Grace Year' is a dystopian novel set in a society where women have zero rights. Men control their bodies and their minds, all in the name of God. Women who disobey are either banished to the unknown out lands or worse, brutally killed in public. In this cruel world, it is believed that sixteen year old girls posses a special magic that lures men to sin. Therefore they are forced to spend their "grace year" together in the wilderness, away from their families and their homes. No one is allowed to speak of the grace year and the girls must fend for themselves in a remote camp, all in an effort to rid themselves of their wicked "magic".

Before they leave, the girls are promised to husbands in a veiling ceremony. Those who are not veiled must spend their lives in hard labor. Tierney James is one of four daughters of the local doctor and secretly prefers a life of labor to being owned by another man. But she surprisingly receives a veil before she is sent away for her grace year.

"Tonight, I became a wife. All because a boy claimed it so."

This book has been compared to both 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'Lord of the Flies' and those comparisons are completely accurate. Garner County is a very dark place for women to live in and no one, even young children, are safe. The laws and rules are brutal and merciless. No one can be trusted. The heroine, Tierney, is smart and strong-willed and rebels against these rules. She does not want to a wife but yet loves her family and does not want to bring shame or hardship upon them. This is a story of survival and was very graphic at times and is definitely not for the faint of heart.

"No matter the cause, some of us will only be returning to Garner County in pretty little bottles, but at least that’s an honorable death. The worst fate, by far, is not returning at all."

There is non-stop tension and suspense because Tierney and the other girls have no idea what they are getting into. Mob hysteria plays a big role here and Tierney must constantly protect herself not only against the other girls, who quickly form alliances, but against the murderous poachers who lurk just outside the camp's gates. Poachers see the girls as nothing more than prey. Society has completely dehumanized them so that they are merely property. Sound familiar? I flew through both the audio book and the Kindle version to find out who was going to make it home alive.

"My father always told me that it’s the small decisions you make when no one is watching that make you who you are. 'Who do we want to be?'”

This is a very dark book but a very important one that I have already recommended to my 20-something daughter and all of her friends. While Tierney is a fierce protagonist, this is unquestionably a violent and sometimes gory book, that is best read by older teens. The themes are depressing although not without hope! What I loved most is how this book me think about how our society is becoming more and more patriarchal and how we must stop dehumanizing our young girls.

I also must compliment Emily Shaffer for her AMAZING audio book narration! I highly recommend listening to the book on audio. Plus at the end of the audio book, there is a fantastic, in-depth interview with the author. Don't miss it.

'The Grace Year' is a very powerful and moving tale of survival and resistance that should be on everyone's must-read list!

"We all carry our wounds, some more visible than others. "

Ok...WOW! Watch out The Hunger Games, there's a new kickass dystopian in town. If you put Lord of the Flies, The Crucible, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Hunger Games into a blender, the result might give you a taste of what to expect with The Grace Year.

This was terribly dark and magnificent. I was both intrigued and disgusted as the story moved along. The pacing felt good and there didn't seem to be a lot of down time, every bit of the story felt relevant and moved the narrative forward. Because of this, I was totally hooked, on the edge of my seat for nearly the entire thing. I devoured this book and I am really hoping that there is going to be a sequel.

Though it is listed as YA fiction, I would put it more in the New Adult category due to some more descriptive violent content. For those who are turned off by violence in their novels, this one is one you should stay away from, but the writing is fantastic and creepy and very atmospheric.

If you enjoy dystopian reads, The Grace Year is a must! It's a disturbing narrative, but it is so incredibly intriguing. This was the perfect October read.

“Look around,” Kiersten says as she stares me dead in the eyes. “We are the only Gods here.”

4 stars. Wow. This book was hard to put down! And the ending made me really emotional.

I love love loved this book! It was creepy and suspenseful and I honestly had difficulty putting it down. I was worried that it would be too similar to The Handmaid's Tale or The Hunger Games, but I was quickly proven wrong. There are so many interesting aspects to this book that it easily differentiates itself from similar books. I loved this book for Halloween time because I don't like anything too scary and I am highly recommending it to others.

Ah, it's been a minute since I've read a YA Dystopian novel. I do miss these types of reads so this was perfect for the mood that I was in yesterday and got to finish this morning. I've seen cursory reviews that say this is like The Hunger Games. Let me be the first (or not) to tell you that it isn't. These teens aren't sent to some game place to kill each other off for one lone survivor. OK.. got that? Good. (don't let the braids fool you)

What we have is a place where the girls are sent at the age of 16 for a YEAR. A year to survive... to burn the magic that is so evil within so they can come back, pure. Come back... to the men who have *claimed* them for their wives upon their return (for the *lucky* ones). Men, who can proclaim some type of magic towards a woman who defies them and ultimately sending them to their death so they can then get a new wife. Um. What. Not only do these girls have to survive this year, they have to do so among their own mean girls peers. They are forced to lay, legs apart, eyes towards god, in marriages they may be so *lucky* to have as they are veiled by men/boys staking their claim.

This year they are gone are reminiscent to Lord of the Flies - all survival. Someone taking the lead. Dealing with the elements - only they know, if they survive, they'll be heading home. Unless the poachers get them first. Is it better to get skinned alive and bottled up for parts? WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE.

I love the concept of this novel. I adored Tierney and everything she stood for. The little things peppered within the read that you realize as Tierney does. Brilliant. (I could've done without the instalove but hey, it's YA so it was BOUND to happen! *wink*). Now I'm curious about what's happening in the rest of the world - or is it just the outer area as they proclaim it to be? Is Garner County, The Grace Year's Gilead?

A fantastic read. I'm not quite sure what happened there at the ending completely. Not *quite* but I can say that I loved the entire concept around this book and how the author brings us into this world. The crazy that ensues and how everything manifests within this crazy stew of a read. While there are things I could probably nit pick on, over all, I don't care. And I want more. Hey Kim... is there more?? ❤

Well, this certainly didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. Maybe it’s because there was so much going on, or that all the parts just didn’t fit together as well as they should, but quite a few things came together in way that kept me from enjoying this book. And to be honest, a lot of the themes rubbed me the wrong way.

Billed as a speculative thriller in the vein of The Handmaid’s Tale, throw in a bit of The Crucible, The Hunger Games, and Lord of the Flies and you’ll have something resembling The Grace Year. The story follows Tierney James who is preparing for a rite of passage that every young woman in the village must go through once they reach age sixteen. In her home of Garner County, it is believed that girl has the magic to seduce a man, to drive other women to jealousy, and this power is in their very bones, their blood, and on their skin. To cleanse them of this poisonous curse before marriage, girls are sent off into the wild for a “grace year”, where they can release their magic before returning to the village purified.

But in the wilderness, there are many dangers. The young women on their grace year are expected to fend for themselves against the elements, resource shortages, and, of course, each other. Then, there are the hunters who live in the woods, called poachers because they believe the magic of the girls’ body parts can fetch high prices on the black market. Every year, a few young women fall victim to these killers and don’t make it home. Tierney, however, is determined to survive her grace year. Though she has no plans to marry even when she returns, she has her younger sisters to think about, who would be at the village’s mercy if she dies.

But right before her grace year, Tierney’s best friend Michael paints a target on her back by presenting her with a veil—signifying his intent to marry her. This causes Kiersten, the mean-spirited girl whom everyone thought was his intended, to become even more nasty and vindictive than ever. And now, Tierney must go into the wilderness with her, along with more than thirty other girls. Already the tribal lines have been drawn, and they grow ever deeper as Kiersten uses her manipulation to gain more support to her side.

So, I think I know where Kim Liggett was trying to go with The Grace Year. The feminist undertones came through loud and clear, as did the messages about women fighting back against a male-dominated society and female oppression. Unfortunately though, the execution was well off the mark and in some ways even more degrading than the toxic patriarchal attitudes this story was meant to take apart, and I blame it all on the pandering to YA genre conventions. YA books these days, especially those starring female protagonists, tend to play too much emphasis on romance and not enough on female friendships. Somewhere along the way, we’ve come to associate the “strong female character” with a young woman who stands alone, and worse, she’s always inevitably the one who all the men in the story are interested in, and her most significant relationship by the end of the book always turns out to be one with–you guessed it—a guy.

This is pretty much Tierney. On the surface, she makes an appealing protagonist—independent, determined, and resourceful. And yet, she is vulnerable and delicate in her isolation. At the end of the day, she still had to be saved by Ryker, a poacher. After which, queue one of the worst insta-love romances I’ve ever read in my life, so that’s saying something. I actually let out a “What the hell?” when they just decided to jump into bed. Worse, Tierney’s “awakening” to her feelings towards Ryker seemed to have come soon after the part where he verbally claims her in front of his friend Anders, so make of that how you will.

Finally, this book touches upon one of my biggest pet peeves—a story which is supposed to celebrate women coming together and supporting each other to fight against the obstacles placed against them, except the biggest conflicts somehow wind up coming down to the women tearing each other down. The two strongest women in this book were Tierney and Kiersten, and sadly, they were pitted against each other. The rest of the girls were either complete nobodies or mindless sheep, led by the nose by either character. Tierney also spends much of this book walking around with an infuriatingly self-righteous “forgive them, for they know not what they do” attitude, and her relationship with Gertie, the closest thing to a friendship she has among the grace year girls, feels more like an opportunity to exercise her savior complex rather than something truly genuine.

So what The Grace Year boils down to is a book that feels like it wants to convey a good message, but regrettable, that message—along with the ways the author tried to convey it—came across as extremely messy or simply misguided. Then there was that awkward romance which threw a wrench into the whole thing. Clearly though, I have my own biases against the certain YA genre tropes and this story just so happened the contain a few that really annoy me, so you might do better with it. I was a huge fan of Lim Liggett’s The Last Harvest, but this and her last book The Unfortunates didn’t work for me, so while I’ll still probably check out her future work, next time I’ll keep expectations in check.