I have just finished this novel and am sat here stunned. This is a novel to savour, as the writing is so stunning, but in the end I felt like I raced through the second half, compelled by the dark thread running through it and I am left emotionally spent by the visceral ending.
The writing is incredibly visual and conjures up place and characters very strongly - and the mythical/folklore aspects are beautifully interwoven.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this eARC!

This was a really interesting read, and also a difficult one for me; not just because of the content at times, but because of the very distinct voices of some of the characters, and the native Nigerian language and colloquialisms used. I think this is a story I would need to read a few times over to truly ensure that I am understanding and getting everything out of it, but that's not a bad thing.

With strong themes of witchcraft/country specific folklore, this was as educational as it was fascinating! The writing itself is very strong; emotive, mostly accessible, descriptive, but also accurate for the voices it portrays, namely the two main characters, young girls of only about 10 years old.

There were some really graphically disturbing moments of gore/horror that I didn't expect going into the book, and I think it's a testament to the writing that I had an actual physical reaction to some of these parts. There was an ominous tone throughout the novel that just built and built until culminating in that ending - the twist not something I saw quickly at all, only realising what was happening just before it actually happened. I loved the twist, especially, and it was done SO well.

I think I enjoyed this? I definitely didn't read it as quickly as I might have, mostly because it wasn't the easiest read for me, but I do think this is a really good novel for that nu-wave horror/fantastical vibe, and I always love reading books where the setting is part of a culture or heritage that I am not as familiar as perhaps I ought to be.

I thought this book started really strong. It started to drag a bit towards the middle, but the characters were really well fleshed out and I loved the magical elements. Overall it was an interesting read.