In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.
Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?
When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.
HOT
DAMN.
Oof y’all this book was AMAZING. It’s DARK as heck, and messes with your mind like crazy but DANG! It’s gorgeously written. Im honestly speechless?? A little bit scared?? But also it was just so good.
Basically this book is a super dark retelling of the twelve dancing princesses set in a fantasy country steeped in mythology about twelve sisters who are dying one at a time.
LIKE WOW OKAY HOW DOES THAT NOT SOUND LIKE A GREAT CONCEPT??
I honestly can’t even word things right now? Like I can’t even figure out words to describe how gosh dang GOOD this book is.
Okay we’re going to break this down so I can describe how great things were. Get ready for me to probably switch between the same 5 words to describe everything and also a fair amount of flailing.
this book is written like a mystery, ghost story, fantasy, horror, murdery all in one. It’s thrilling to read, and builds so well into a crescendo that is so twisty you don’t even know what to think. There are some seriously trippy parts and it’s amazing. My head kind of hurts and it was confusing at parts but like that’s part of the charm. I’m still not sure exactly what happened haha. (jk. maybe,) it’s just SO GOOD y’all. Like a Quality™️ book. Oof.
this also has a romance which is just really great. I didn’t like Cassius at first because he sort of felt like every other YA boy love interest but he really grew into something more than just a YA boy I’d read a million times before. I adored the relationship and cried a little bit too, not gonna lie.
I adored the family aspects of this. The relationships between the sisters, the grief poured out on the pages, and the connection they all shared. Each sister felt different, not like copies of each other. They really lit up the story, rather than just being the same girl 8 times like some stories with lots of sisters can be.
I can’t really describe how great this is. It gets real dark at times, fair warning, and you probably shouldn’t read it if you’re not in a great head space because it kind of messes with your mind. But I think it wraps up really well. Without the ending it has I think it would just be a “what the frick” kind of book. It adds the resolution that is so desperately needed. So. To sum up: this book is great. Also kind of terrifying. But there’s a cute boy and not everyone dies. I really liked it.
Have you read this book??? If not, what’s the darkest, twistiest book you’ve read recently??
that Book Gal 