This was one of those books I really wanted to love The premise is genuinely strong: a kitchen maid forced into impersonating a noble girl to save her cousin, a mysterious forest entity demanding sacrifices, and a manor full of secrets and quiet cruelty. On paper, it’s gothic, eerie and morally complex exactly my kind of thing In practice, though, the story never fully clicked for me… My biggest struggle was with the characters, especially Katrien. I understood her motivations (guilt, loyalty, and love for her cousin) but her choices often felt impulsive in a way that made it hard for me to emotionally connect with her. I wanted to feel her conflict more deeply, not just understand it logically Her relationship with Helsa is clearly meant to be the emotional core, but even there, I found myself a little distanced. I did enjoy Helsa’s interactions with Henrik, those moments felt softer and more grounded than a lot of the main narrative and I actually wished we’d spent more time in that space My favorite character by far was Lady Zaviera. She felt thoughtful, restrained and quietly interesting in a way that stood out from everyone else. I really missed having her POV, because I think the story could have been even richer if we’d been able to see the world through her eyes, especially her complicated relationship with her family and her role in the bargain itself The romance was another mixed point for me. I liked the early moments, the etiquette lessons, the shared glances, the small almost-secret interactions. But emotionally, it never quite landed. I kept wishing it would either deepen into something more impactful or step back and let the main plot breathe Pacing-wise, the book took a while to pull me in. Once it picked up, I was more invested, but the beginning felt slow in a way that made it hard to stay fully immersed That said, I can absolutely see the appeal. The atmosphere is beautiful: eerie forests, old manor politics and a villain that feels genuinely unsettling There’s a lot of promise here, especially for readers who enjoy morally gray choices, slow tension and gothic settings that focus more on mood than action This just wasn’t a perfect match for me personally, even though I really admired what it was trying to do Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review