I believe Ashton received some criticism for how many queer characters she wrote in this, but I loved the heavy emphasis on gender and sexuality as a constant undercurrent throughout the story. Many of the author’s writing choices really worked for me and I appreciated the varied female characters in this fictional world of Foel.

My favorite bits:
-the Elin reveal
-how the necklace was woven into the story
-the vicar’s secret
-Sophie’s alibi photo
-everything about Rhian

My main frustration was the slow pace of the first half of the book and the lacking clarity on how things would turn out for Beth in the end. The focus on all the disgusting men—who seemed to never face any consequences—REALLY annoyed me (but that was kind of the point, wasn’t it?)

the audiobook narrator was new to me as well and their performance was lovely 4.25 stars