Drawn in by the synopsis, but this is not at all as described. I appreciate the style this author was aiming for with the staccato fever dream stream of consciousness but I didn't enjoy it at all.
A depressing, uncomfortable read.

Because of the mention of the creature, I thought would be a feminist tale with a folk horror element to it. Instead, we got an overwritten, bleak, trauma/misery porn where three women are victimized by a cruel and abusive man.

This isn’t an enjoyable read: it’s infuriating, heartbreaking, and grim. Maybe I’ve read too many books like this but I’m sick to death of these disempowering books about horrible things happening to women.

The pretentious and overwrought writing style didn’t really work for me. The three MCs felt like stereotypes more than real humans with their identifier primarily being how the man was abusing them. The creature was underutilized, not adding an element of anything other than confusion to the narrative.

I liked the Northumbria setting and Nancy’s development but I came away from this book feeling despondent and slightly ill.

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thanks for letting me give this a try, Bloomsbury.

NOTE: This book doesn’t exist on Goodreads. Since Goodreads took away the ability for users to add books a few years ago, I raised a ticket and will update this page when I can add a Goodreads review.