Holy crap I adored this book. It is a bright and swirly and beautifully told story about storytelling, a fairy tale that is a metaphor for a fairy tale, and a puzzle-story with several intertwined self-referential narratives. It is the first book I’ve read in a long time that makes me instantly want to go back to read it a second time so that I can understand how all the parts fit together. This is exactly the kind of book I am crazy for, and it hit every heart-shaped button I have in my soul.

I dithered between four and five stars because sadly I thought many of the characterizations were weak, and the emotional beats could feel unearned. I was genuinely surprised by the central romance, because I did not feel it had been signaled at all before it actually happened. But the book is strong enough in every other way that I could forgive that, so it gets five stars anyhow.