This book took me on an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, it was brilliant! One minute I would be smiling and gushing about the cuteness of a scene, the next I was immersed in a very dark and emotionally wrenching event, (I'm pretty sure I cried at least three times throughout) and I couldn't put it down! The history and the setting of the tale was very well researched and beautiful, I loved seeing how the bigger events of the day such as war intertwined and affected the 'little' people as such. I also appreciated the stories of the Brothers Grimm that were throughout the book and seeing how they may have evolved, but they didn't overtake the storyline in anyway whatsoever. Such a great read, I can't wait to get my hands on some of her other works!