Jane is alone in the world. Her only relative, her beloved Aunt Magnolia, has just died. With nothing to tether her life to, Jane accepts an invitation from her friend Kiran to spend some time on her family's private island. Tu Reviens, Kiran's mansion home, is a hodge-podge of beauty and secrets and it isn't long before it's clear to Jane that there is a current of something...off. The house itself seems to breathe mysteries and the other guests at Tu Reviens aren't making things any clearer. And then, one seemingly innocuous choice will rip open any ideas Jane had about the world around her and suddenly it's as though anything is actually possible.
Woah.
I didn't even read a blurb about this book before I started reading it because I knew I'd already enjoyed everything I'd read by Cashore, so I was thrown for a loop! In a mostly good way! I like when books surprise me and this one definitely did, it just took a while for my brain to settle in to where the story was going. Once I was there, though, I was all in, it's been a while since I was gripped by a book and I walked around with my library copy for several days, reading whenever I could squeeze in a few minutes. It was fascinatingly trippy. But I like that I had to stretch and I liked the different threads - art and science and the criminal underworld - it's all over the place and I wondered how she would ever pull it together, but she did. Was it a 100% satisfying ending? Not for me. But satisfying enough.
note for sensitive readers: strong language and some discussion of sex
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