Bitterthorn: A sapphic Gothic romance inspired by classic fairytales

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The world feels so lush, the characters so real and the protagonist's internal life so palpable, that I found myself diving head first into the story with no desire to come out for air. With achingly atmospheric prose, Dunn has crafted characters I would die for and a love story as powerful and enduring as a fairytale.

Along with that, was incredibly moved by the relationship between Mina and the Witch and how its changed from being rooted in fear and uncertainty into trust, desire and collective grief and heartbreak. There is a almost poetic and immersive feel to the writing of the book, the descriptions that are provided and the amount of detail that some aspects of it.

A queer haunting of a story about loneliness, loss, and love that has lodged itself firmly in my head and my heart. She has a BA in Japanese from SOAS and an MA in English from Warwick, and has written about mental health for Mind and The Guardian, and worked as a translator for Japanese television. Bitterthorn is beautiful and haunting – the type of story that seeps into your bones and stays with you long after reading. I don't care about the characters, the plot is unclear, and some of the writing is a bit too over the top for my tastes.

Her mother died when she was twelve, her stepmother wishes she just weren't here and her dad doesn't have time for her.She is afraid because she hears wolfs howling around the wood, but then she scolds herself because it's much more probable that she'll freeze to death than that the wolves eat her. From the very first page, Kate Dunn captivated me with a brilliantly dark, gothic and fairytale-like atmosphere as well as prose, that made it impossible to put this novel down.