Publisher: Berkley
Pub Date: October 5 2021
Genre: Horror
Format: Library – physical copy
Note: This book has been out for a few years now so please read with caution as my review may contain spoilers
I love Rachel Harrison. I had been meaning to read this one for a while but finally was able to sit down with it and I am so glad that I did.
Annie Crane has been dumped by her boyfriend Sam, the man she thought that she was going to marry and have a happily ever after with. In the wake of her heartbreak she ends up in a small town taking a teaching job she’s not really excited about in a high school the next town over. Her apartment is adorable, but seems to contain more spiders than the average home in America. Annie meets Sophie who seems to have a supernatural beauty to her and the entire town almost fears … maybe for good reason.
I loved that on the surface this book is about witchy vibes, but underneath that is a novel about women stepping into their own power, and it made me wonder about is the power of women dampened and crushed down by mediocre men? Aren’t all of us truly magical when we decide to stand on our own and feed ourselves?
“This bird fed me. I should cherish it’s bones. I fed me. I should cherish myself” – page 210
“It’s a nice thing, to cook for yourself. To be good to yourself. To commit to and feed your own happiness” – Page 212
How many women wither and allow their dreams to die while they are busy supporting their husbands who cant even acknowledge the work they put into daily life?
This book hit me really hard. When Annie realises the effort she put into making cookies, the time, the ingredients, the skill, and Sam doesn’t even thank her. I FELT SO SEEN. He just accepts that he is deserving of her time and talents.
I love that Sophie is such an old should but falls in love with Netflix and Britney Spears.
I wish more details were given about the town and how all of that works – Sophie owning the land and how she is instrumental in the success of the town as a whole. The rage that Oskar feels towards Sophie didn’t really go anywhere other than to cause Annie to question her relationship with Sophie and debate if she was really a safe person to be around.
Anything that Rachel Harrison writes, I am going to pick up and read because each and every book of hers I have experienced is an amazing time.
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