Thank you to netgalley.co.uk for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wow! Where can I start with this book? It's probably the best book that I have read in a long time, and I am so pleased that I got the opportunity to read it. The premise of this novel, I'm sure it would attract a wide range of readers. The whole book was well written, and I think the author Megan Campisi is a natural at crafting a well-rounded story that hooked me in from the first page. I really look forward to reading more of her work.

I really enjoyed the narrative of this book and the subtle yet beautiful prose. The way she used her freedom was very moving as well as her strength and resolve. Just my kind of historical novel!

Well written, historical fiction with a touch of magic

This book is dark and keeps you reading from page one

Touches the real history behind the sin eaters as well

Characters are strong and believable,

A truly fantastic read

Thank you for the opportunity to review this dark and twisting tale set in a fantasy historical period that mirrors the reign of Elizabeth I. I thoroughly enjoyed it and wonder if May Owens will continue to develop as a character in a sequel?
May is an orphan, with two different strands of family who, she discovers, have both given her character traits she needs to call on when she steals some bread and is sentenced to be a Sin Eater. The role is vital in the community but leads to the holder becoming an outcast, feared and reviled. It’s an embellishment to what the real Sin Eaters were like in history but the conceit works due to the excellent efforts of the author to build the alternative universe in her novel.
Along the way May discovers Royal Court intigue, friendship from unlikely sources and crushing disappointment from those she grew up thinking would always help her and keep her safe. Resourceful, angry, fuelled by the unfairness of poverty, she refuses to give in to her appointed fate, whilst at the same time grudgingly embracing the strange freedom being a Sin Eater can bestow when you truly have nothing.
The language is luscious without descending into Purple Prose, the sights and scents of the world beautifully made flesh on the page. Each Sin needing a specific foodstuff to be consumed is an excellent way to add meat to the bones of a now largely forgotten practice. It also allows plot development in some areas, as the meaning is not always clear to the illiterate May.
I was sad to reach the end of this book. It reminded me of books by Karen Maitland and Frances Hardinge in some ways, but was never derivative. A gloriously luscious tale.