Bitterthorn: A sapphic Gothic romance inspired by classic fairytales

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I should also probably note that this is more of a character driven story, so the pacing might not be for everyone. Talking about better; in the beginning of the book, I really hoped that the housekeeper whose name is Wolf will turn out to be a real wolf and that the servants turn into wild animals at night, but alas, there was actually a village. I hear someone use a term "popcorn book" lately which I kind of like and think might fit this book as well. I’ve read poetry and novels and listened to music and viewed art all about love but it was like another language.

Mina is a rather unbearable character, but the real disappointment was the witch, the emblem of the misunderstood do-gooder. It seems to have a lot of aspects from traditional fairy tales thrown in there, but for the most part we had fun trying to work out what was happening and what the witch’s secret was. She is afraid because she hears wolfs howling around the wood, but then she scolds herself because it's much more probable that she'll freeze to death than that the wolves eat her. Sure, it has those fairy tale trappings there - it advertised as such, but it takes them and makes them its own. At that point, her self-misery starts to match that of the witch (whose tragic fate we learn about)leading to a rather cheesy happy ending.I absolutely loved Kat Dunn’s Battalion of the Dead series so this was one of my most anticipated releases. The build-up seemed a little bit slow, but then the main character joined the witch and I was ready for things to unfold. Every once in a while, you cross paths with a book that engraves itself in your heart and bones and has you convinced that it was somehow written for you. A haunting, atmospheric tale of two lost souls finding each other, and a love that will remake the world.

Mina is struggling to find a place she belongs and is determined to uncover the secrets in the castle. I also thought the end was a bit corny and didn't really understand the 3rd act conflict since I thought it was pretty obvious what was happening to the companions? How loneliness can fester away at you, a feeling I know well (and yet I have no Witch to love me, which doesn’t seem fair).I read Bitterthorn for a book club and should add that if it wasn't for that outward motivation, I wouldn't have picked it up based on the short summary alone, so perhaps I'm simply not the right audience for this book. yes the vibes were there but I also felt like we skipped a lot of time which made this feel less slow burn that it actually was. The first time not getting more than a couple of chapters in before I'd had enough, I think maybe because whilst it is beautiful to read it is also a little confusing and nothing really happens until towards the end, plus, the main character Mina really grated on me.