Very engaging and compelling read - really pulls the reader through. I didn't want to put it down. Loved the setting, the Roamers, the queer unsettling atmosphere, the curious talents of the witches and Plain Kate Carver. Loved Taggle the cat most especially. Definitely for older readers though - the violent moments are poetically presented but still horrifying.

I thought it was more of a YA book because it was quite dark. But I loved it especially the talking cat, Taggle. I cried at the end... Loved the whole world she created. I couldn't put it down. it's the best book I've read lately.

A very odd and interesting story. Not your typical teen book; it reads like a fairy tale and never goes the way you expect it to. I would recommend it to older teens or teens that read a lot. There are a couple sad moments… it made me cry but it was still a good read.

This is my favourite book. Ever.

The book takes a while to get into but like a ball rolling downhill, the action grows. Some of the magic is a bit hard to follow. The cat, Taggle, is a standout character.

This book must be read by more and will be loved by those readers. Such a touching story and heart worming. You will love it! MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD

The details and descriptions make you wanna fall asleep. The plot was ok😔. Unfortunately it's not a good book

I'm still sniffing as I write this. :') Erin Bow has created a medieval land that is full of luck and superstition, magic and curses, but no less human for it. The lives of the Roamers (think of them like Gypsies) add an extra layer of depth to the world. From the first chapter, Bow's eloquent writing enthralls. Plain Kate finds her way into the reader's confidence just as the prose brings the reader to their knees by the second page. Her grittiness and down-to-earth perspective makes her someone who we're sure will persevere. Especially with Taggle, the cat who talks, by her side. Oh, Taggle. I solemnly swear upon the tears he brought that he will steal your heart and break it. Into a bazillion pieces. <3 Even Linay, crazed person extraordinaire, will get you on his side. The sorrow and grief he transofrms into revenge and madness can be solidified in his "heartbroken, startled laugh she'd tricked from him once or twice before" (p. 285), and: "On the paper, in a hand so fierce it threatened to topple and break like a wave, Linay had written: Kate. I hope you live." (p. 310) *sniffs* This is ultimately a tale of death and living and sorrow set in a storyworld that somehow ends up meaning so much more than any contemporary novel set around grief that I've read.

A good read, but takes a little while to get rolling. In the end, the story is told well with good amounts of hope and reality.

A fabulous book but a real tear-jerker towards the end.