I found this book utterly fascinating. Fairy tales meet Me Too in a thoroughly real environment. Six women assaulted and cursed by one man need to find themselves and fight back against misogyny and sexism to reclaim their lives and break the spell/ they’re under.

Super topical, loved the characters, really liked the idea of it. Great understanding of the problem with fairy stories. Sensitive understanding of fairy stories. Interesting plot.

My only criticism, is that I found the whole real magic, vs. allegory, vs metaphor confusing. I found the whole idea that magic exists throwaway, and it jarred a bit, because it wasn’t explained well enough.

That said I was intrigued, I loved reading it. And it was super interesting. I just thought something didn’t quite add up.

Great side characters. Loved the stepmother character, and Jo’s missing girlfriend. Loved the mains too. Loved the exploration of sexism in fairytales. A lot to like. Not perfect. But worth a read.