Once again, an incredible read. To anyone looking at this series:
"Ladies: meet the Housekeeper card
Now, she can be your downfall
Or she can be your start
And she only wants the best for you"
This book WILL be your emotional downfall. So many twists and turns of the heart. But it will also be a start. A start in a love for Wicca maybe, a start in a new understanding of grooming and cult behavior, a start in an understanding of yourself! Now it's not a self-help book of course, but there are so many relatable characters and experiences that finding yourself in this story will be easy!
SPOILERS BELOW
The redemption of Aaron was handled so beautifully. I'm usually someone who is repulsed by love triangles. The dynamic between Maeve, Roe, and Aaron was such a relief and change of pace. We can be intrinsically connected to someone in a way that is not romantic but may not match the familial/platonic connection. Maeve and Aaron share a bond of kindred spirits and it was great seeing that played out.
The dedication to "all the unlikeable main characters" was a cute nod, but the one thing I'll have to disagree with. Maeve is so very likeable. There are many unlikeable characters in books (I'm looking at you, Holden Caufield), but Maeve isn't one of them. Her flaws, her bitchiness, her internal dialogue and fear of her own cruelty is not only relatable, but intrinsic in being a teenage girl. What makes her truly likeable and lovable is her constant desire to act AGAINST those thoughts. Her immediate regrets of speaking without thinking, and her standing her ground when she knows she's right. Being an outspoken girl is not a sentence to being unlikeable and Maeve feels like a love letter to all girls who are demonized for not being "perfect". I support women's rights....AND women's wrongs!!
The easy diversity of this book and incorporation of the cruelty, bigotry, self-idolatry, corruption, and manipulation that has run rampant in the past and is running rampant in the present is just a breath of fresh air. A consistent theme through this series is past, present, future. The core four sharing the "curse" or more accurately, accepting the responsibility that comes with their gifts at the end to protect the vulnerable. Them all sacrificing their own individual future in some way. They share a past, choose to share their present, and sacrifice their future together, simply to ensure a better future for everyone was beautiful.
A beautiful end to a beautiful, well-written story. My only complaint is that I can no longer have more!