I... wouldn't even know where to start in categorizing this book. It's strange/creative/not quite like anything else, but I found it engaging and entertaining (with the exception of some dream-sequence-ish passages that at times dragged a bit). 

After finishing this one I had trouble finding words. It was so good. It was dark and beautiful and comical and deep. It was Alice in Wonderland meets Nightmare on Elm Street. It was tense and gritty, but also lighthearted and hopeful. It was sprinkled with a little bit of Addams family vibes, and it had all the attributes of a gothic faerie tale. It was fast paced and full of exciting twists, and it was oh so satisfying. 

I know there's been a lot of reviews from people who felt like they were missing something while they read this one. People who were often confused by some of the elements in the writing, and story line, and became lost. And, while a lot of the time it seemed like I was wandering down a dark, deep, rabbit hole, I found that "not all who wander are lost." It all felt captivating and profound, and I was able to "read between the lines," as they say. 

I also did not feel like the story was as gruesome as some people made it out to be. It was just gruesome enough. Some of it was down right hilarious, which added to the overall feel of the story. Like Goosebumps style nostalgia. 

I didn't feel like I needed pages and pages of world building and explanations for why things were the way they were. Everything just fit, and I accepted it all because it was all perfectly done. The characters played their roles well, and tugged on my heart strings (especially Erg), and the plot, with the underlying retelling of Vasilisa the beautiful, hit all the right notes like a haunting melody.