This book has been on my TBR since high school. The concept/plot sounded really cool. And it is really cool. I love fairytale retellings. I love love urban fantasy. The execution, however, left a little to be desired.

I was so so confused the whole book. While I do think some things were explained, it was done so gradually or so vaguely that I am still not sure why or how they happened (how's this review for vague, lol??) I do not like being spoonfed lore/plot, but this book was too far to the other extreme. It was too frustrating for the little payoff we got. I am still unsure if the magic of the world is an open secret, an obvious fact of life, or completely hidden from everyone except a select few. At different points in the novel, any of these could be true.

The characters were interesting, but I'm not sure I liked Vassa. No offense, but she was so stupid. I don't know if I found the book so confusing because she was so confused the whole time or because it was just confusing. Like, I get that we had slightly more bg as the reader, but I feel like certain things were really obvious and she just didn't get them.