I really enjoyed the concept of this story and thought it was an intriguing setting but unfortunately some aspects did felt a little flat in the execution and I felt that the dialogue jarred with me as being too modern. Perhaps it was the author’s intention to use modern dialogue and at least there was not a whole host of “thou” and “dost” etc, which would have been equally jarring.

I enjoyed this book as it had well written characters and portrayed, what I believe, is an accurate representation of sometimes your chosen family being the ones who get you through life. The heart and soul of this book is more based in the characters themselves than the actual plot line which is why I am giving it 4/5 stars. I would be willing to see a second book with the same trio with a more interesting plot.

**Thanks to the NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review**

A charming slow-burn of a book. I grew to love the central characters (especially Asta) and admire how determined they were to live their own lives despite strict social expectations. Some big issues (sexuality, disability, life-altering injuries) were tackled sensitively and, reading the author's notes, mostly from an "own voice" perspective.

I hope there will be a sequel, I'm not ready to leave these characters behind.

While there were a number of things I really liked about this, especially in regards to the queer and disabled rep, there were a few choices the author made that I wish had been done differently.

Firstly: the romance. I think it would have been better if it was already established instead of happening super quickly 40 pages in. In fact, that’s what I thought I was getting from this book based on the jacket copy.

Secondly: Gunnar and Erlend call each other by their last names which felt awkward most of the time. There was a good beat as a result of this later in the novel, but I don’t think it was worth the 200+ pages before it.

It felt more like these things happened because the author wanted to do something later in the plot, than them being a natural occurrence due to these characters in these circumstances.

Asta, Gunnar, and Erlend forge their own paths and craft their own family in rural Scandinavia in 1904 - a time and place where being queer and disabled makes many locals - including their own families - treat them like outcasts. The richly-detailed setting, the love and compassion for animals, and the MCs' devotion to each other shine! Thank you to Soho Teen for the eARC.

This was a very sweet short read. I loved reading the author’s explanations, both at the beginning and end of the book that detailed her decisions in creating characters that represented a variety of deviations from the societal norms of the time period. It’s so rare to get diverse representation in historical fiction, especially in regards asexual representation and disability representation. The book was slow paced at times and I found myself more interested in Astra and her storyline than I did with the boys. Overall, if you’re looking for a fluffy found family read about a group of imperfect different “sinners” working together to save a family farm, this is the read for you!

I have been unable to read this book. Every time I open it on my phone - where I read all other books from NetGalley too - I only see blank pages. It's annoying. I tried downloading it on my laptop but it says the file is not supported. I reached out to the publisher, they don't seem to know a lot about this too and clearly couldn't resolve the issue. So, this ain't a review but just something I had to highlight. This is why I have not deducted any rating from 5 stars as I haven't read it. Thanks!