objectively speaking this should be a 4 star because one of the twists felt more ridiculous and unnecessary but i enjoyed every line and had such a fun time reading this that i’m awarding that last star not to the plot, but to how much fun this experience was. truly a book i could not put down. it might seem slow to some people, but i rather enjoyed that and i enjoyed the pacing a lot. incredibly complex and well-developed characters, impeccable writing & an amazingly tense, unsettling, and fascinating setting. this is the only book i’ve ever read that was so heavy on irish/gaelic mythos and culture and i loved learning about that. just a really good read, i can’t recommend it enough to people who just love to bathe and marinate in tension and mystery and truly fucked up characters.