Overall, this unfortunately wasn't a book for me, it was too slow for my liking but those who love their fantasy YA books will most likely love it. Every once in a while, you cross paths with a book that engraves itself in your heart and bones and has you convinced that it was somehow written for you. The build-up seemed a little bit slow, but then the main character joined the witch and I was ready for things to unfold.

I loved how vividly descriptive and rich in fairytale lore this was and with such a tender, sapphic romance at its heart, it wasn’t difficult for me to get completely lost within its pages. It has a very fairytale-like feel to the story and I couldn’t help devouring Bitterthorn in a single sitting. 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. The writing was lyrical and beautiful, the characters were flawed and captivating and the plot had me hooked from beginning to end.Sure, it has those fairy tale trappings there - it advertised as such, but it takes them and makes them its own. 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. And when Mina is given the chance, she jumps to join the Witch before she is pushed into an even lonelier life. She’s written about mental health for Mind and The Guardian, and worked as a translator for Japanese television. It has slow burn romance - hesitant enemies to reluctant friendship to tentative lovers to love and it was lovely to see this develop.

With achingly atmospheric prose, Dunn has crafted characters I would die for and a love story as powerful and enduring as a fairytale. Mina runs away again from the witch's castle and can't do anything but go back to her family, who rejects her again. Blumwald is a town overshadowed by an ancient curse: in a sinister castle in the depths of the wild wood lives a monstrous Witch. While the truths Mina discovers are terrifying, love, longing and the realisation that “other people can be salvation” leads her to take a courageous path.

Set in the imaginary German town of Blumwald and a mysterious castle hidden away in the depths of a mountainous forest, Bitterthorn was a truly mesmerizing and intimate story about love, companionship and how loneliness makes monsters out of all of us. I'm just not sure I loved the 'I can fix her vibes', which I would have been fine with if this was a story of dark obsession and toxicity, but I got the impression that this was meant to be a healthy relationship and idk about that. Mina is struggling to find a place she belongs and is determined to uncover the secrets in the castle.

At that point, her self-misery starts to match that of the witch (whose tragic fate we learn about)leading to a rather cheesy happy ending.The Witch is similarly interesting and I loved seeing the dynamics in their relationship change and adapt as the story progressed.

I suppose it has elements of Beauty and The Beast and Rumpelstiltskin but the love story here is uniquely different. I would recommend it though if you like overly dramatic yet slow gothic books, with a sapphic love story.It’s perfect for the Autumn season - a gothic witchy read with lots of descriptive scene building to really develop the atmosphere. Kat Dunn has written a deeply moving and bittersweet exploration of belonging and the importance of love, all wrapped up inside a deeply Gothic fairy tale.