this was an unusual little book with magical realism and f/f romance. i thought it had a lot of potential, but both the fantasy and romance aspects weren't quite developed enough. it seemed a little unrealistic that esther and lily would still love each other after a decade apart (or maybe i'm just an unromantic bitch), and lily seemed to be way too judgemental of what esther did in the past and unwilling to really forgive her, even though what she did was perfectly understandable under the difficult circumstances she was in.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the dynamic of Esther and Lily, and the tension between them built up well. I love cats and was invested in finding Petunia. I enjoyed the fantasy elements and am all about dimension hopping. It was a pretty quick read, and I definitely recommend t.

Although I thought some of the writing in this book was done well, there were other times when the word choices just threw me off course and I didn't understand the logic behind the selections. The story itself was interesting enough, but the dialogue was awkward at best in some places and I struggled to keep reading in others.

There were likable aspects of the characters and the situations they found themselves in, but for me, I didn't feel particularly connected to any of them for much of the time. I like books that become a journey of self-discovery as much as the next person, but I also felt there were times when the author held back too much from the reader. Was she afraid to express herself fully? I don't know, but some areas of the book seemed stilted and repressed.

Still, this is not a bad book and I would recommend it to those who like to read things that are a little different and out of the mainstream.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Painful, amateur writing. Purple prose: “In the darkness, she quested for the light switch..” stiff dialogue, one dimensional characters, a plot based loosely on a missing cat, a subplot involving awkward scenes detailing how Esther denied her attraction to Lily and publicly spurned her in the past, in the present, pretty much as soon as she gets out of bed, a fade-to-black bed. No sex please, we’re lesbians? For all the reader knows they kiss and play scrabble all night in that bed.
This is a train wreck of a story I can’t recommend to anyone.

ARC received from publisher via NetGalley for review.

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

I'm afraid I didn't finish this book. I gave it a good go, but I couldn't get past the half way mark. The characters were frustrating and the writing style didn't do it any favours. I really wanted to like it as it offered an interesting perspective, but I just found it too rustrating to read.