Nobody talk to me for the next 6-10 business years. This book was EVERYTHING I hoped it would be and yet utterly original and unpredictable. I was riveted from start to finish. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I’m so gratified that it was every bit as special as I knew it would be when Caitlin first started teasing it.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this novel was secondary world fantasy! It’s rare that we find truly disgusting little horror novels set in different worlds, and I thought this one was utterly compelling. There isn’t a lot of detail given on what kind of world we are in, however, the universe’s rules and laws are less important in this instance than the immediate sense of setting and place within Aymar’s walls. Its ambiguity, in this sense, is a strength, because there is nothing outside the castle to comfort us about what is happening within it. And holy shit is what’s happening inside this castle unhinged.

In terms of prose and characterisation, I thought this one shone. All three of our POV characters felt very distinct; each other their own voice and vernacular and unique sense of viewing the world that came through in the writing incredibly effectively. It was truly spectacular to see three different takes on how to survive everyone’s worst day.

I knew before going into it that the horror was going to be no joke and I was equally surprised and unsurprised by the guises the horror took. I expected the girly pop cannibalism and generally icky body horror but what I wasn’t prepared for was the exploration of how power can rob people of humanity and how precarious autonomy truly is in a world without limits. I think some of the scariest moments in this book came from wondering exactly how far total submission and obedience can go especially in the context of religion and fidelity.

The narrator for this one was solid, but I would have loved to see a larger cast. I think she was great for Voyne, but her steady and even keel was less effective in portraying some of the novel’s more full-tilt mad moments. Wouldn’t steer people away, but I’m also planning a physical read of this one when I get my copy.

Religious ideology, isolation, cannibalism, and magic - what more could you ask for in a gothic horror? This book absolutely delivers on all and has some fantastic sapphic pining as well. I really enjoyed the story and how it unfolded and wrapped up, however the pacing was a bit off in the middle bit for me. This could likely be solved by simply stating who's POV we were getting at the start of each chapter as we do have three POVs in the story, all female, which can sometimes be difficult to differentiate. That being said, the stakes of this story are very high and I really appreciated how it all wrapped up and resolved.