If Kingifsher publishes a book, I read it. She’s probably my most read author because of this since she is quite prolific. Like I’ve said on other reviews, there are definitely some of her books that I like way more than others, but I don’t think I’ve truly ever hated any (just been bored and/or disappointed by a few). I so so appreciate that she writes across genre too, but I think where she excels and where I like her best is with fantasy, especially when inspired by fairytales. Like this book!

I just really enjoyed it. I think that, maybe, objectively, the pacing is a bit off, and the book is kinda slow with not much happening, but honestly I didn’t mind at all. I actually liked that slow build up, and I thoroughly enjoyed the characters. It’s a very loose adaptation of The Goose Girl and I always love finding out the elements she decides to keep or reference while totally making up a whole new story. As usual, the story is a nice blend of fun, snappy dialogue and horror/dark elements (honestly wish it had leaned into horror a bit more), as well as sensible female characters.

What I really love too, about this book and some of her other ones, is her ability of involving different characters into the main plot that you would not always see in other stories, giving them names, and important things to do. In this case people like Alice, the main, or Willard, the butler. Ever Imogene, Hester’s friend, has an important role to play when you often would see her relegated more to the side. Kingfisher has this ability of creating situations and denouements where all kinds of people get to shine, and sometimes the protagonists aren’t always the most vital players in any given situation. This happened here, and this is, truly, what keeps me coming back. (and also all the clever ideas).