Review Detail

Sometimes you should watch what you wish for. 1885 Scottish Highlands. Seventeen-year-old Catriona Cameron longs to be educated like her brother Hamish, but instead, her father has other plans for her. When a wish brings her biggest desire, little does she know that there is a dark side. A scholarship to a boys' only school is a dream until it's not. After a brutal attack in the Scottish woods, Catriona finds herself a baobhan sith, a creature that attacks boys/men who brutalize women. Catriona fears she will lose her humanity as her new hunger for vengeance grows.

What worked: Haunting horror set in the Scottish highlands and the cruel reality of careless wishes. The fae in this story are not only mischievous but love to plan havoc on those foolish enough to wish out loud.

Catriona longs to be educated, but her father's plan to marry her off to the town butcher is a fate worse than death. A wish spoken out loud does, at first, grant her biggest desire, but in this world, things you long for have an ugly, dark side. Catriona finds she can't live in the school but rather in a dilapidated home. The boys also aren't too friendly and let her know she's not welcome there. Catriona does find some help with other girls who share her fate. These girls help her when it's almost impossible to stay.

The pacing is good, and readers see the horrors Catriona experiences when she changes into the monster. Her hunger for vengeance is overpowering, and she does fight against it at first. Later, she grows to almost like it.

There are some gruesome attacks throughout. Catriona develops a friendship with Dougal, one of the boys at the school. There's also hints of a romance with a fellow student, Ishbel, which at that time would have been forbidden. Ishbel looks out for Catriona and tries to help.

What was interesting was the world of Scottish fae and legends. How one monster's desire to seek vengeance for women survivors might be a monstrous act for others.

Captivating story on how wishes have a twisted other side.