3.5 stars, maybe even 4?

There are so many things I really enjoyed about this book: it is truly, deliciously creepy. The main character is a strong, interesting woman. The story provides insightful commentary on colonialism and patriarchy; horror is extremely effective for this (and body horror, especially, wrt feminism and patriarchy). Language is highly stylized and it really works with this story. The cover, wow, those rich and saturated colors!

The twist was dumb. It didn't work for me and destroyed all the creepy tension the book had successfully built up over the first 2/3. I continued to enjoy the rest of the book, but it felt extremely different with the tension deflated.

Still, I'm looking forward to reading more of this author's books.