If someone had explained what happened in this book without reading it I would have been like meh... sounds okay... but experiencing this book just PULLED me in and I am obsessed with every single detail. Even after 640 pages, I felt devastated that this story wasn't going to keep on going forever (I honestly think it COULD have been longer, like 300 more pages of filming Flo and Clara and spooky-between-production-adventures longer), and when I saw another reviewer predict that it might set itself up for a sequel, my hopes soared through the roof. I don't even know what to do with myself now (now being almost 3 am), I wish I could erase this book from my mind and read it all over again IMMEDIATELY.

Every character was so wonderfully flawed and sympathetic and real and interesting in their own way. The romance storylines weren't overdone while still being very indulgent and fun and meaningful. The horror was subtle but extremely effective, and it managed to be comedic without taking away from how unnerving it was. I will never be over how visceral the descriptions of the yellow jackets are

Spoiler

like jesus fucking christ I felt like I had bits of yellow jacket stuck between my teeth TOO. The (not?)-psychedelic trip had me practically trembling. I did want a bit more clarity on what were fake spooks and real curse happenings but it was also fun to think about what realistically fit with the curse or couldn't be faked.

The plot is also just super engaging and the way it comes together is maybe a bit confusing but it still feels filled out. I felt spoiled to get to indulge in almost exclusively the stories of so many amazing and proud queer women.

I will say that I much preferred the modern storyline to the 1900's one and often felt impatient to get back to it, but nonetheless, when I'd start getting into the 1900's storyline I'd forget all about that impatience and just be so immersed. Still, most of my obsession lies with Harper, Audrey, and Merrit

Spoiler

and god do I want a sequel diving more into how deep they had gotten into their characters and the general story and the curse that now follows them. I want to see them return to Brookhants alone and unbothered by fans and to experience weird phenomena between the touching moments of their indescribable connection. AND I WANT TO SEE THEM BEING POLY AND IN LOVE OKAY EMILY M DANFORD IS INSTANTLY ONE OF MY FAVOURITE AUTHORS OF ALL TIME FOR TURNING THE LOVE TRIANGLE INTO THE BEAUTIFUL SAPPHIC THROUPLE OF MY DREAMS.

I must also admit that I thought that Mary Maclane and her book were fictional the entire time that I read this. I had gotten it in my head that all of the excerpts and footnotes and facts and "as you know..." kind of comments were one big joke because we Readers obviously couldn't know, and it wasn't until the acknowledgments that I questioned whether it might be real... so lol