Going directly from Gideon to Harrow is a jarring shift in tone and narrative style. It took a while for me to get invested, and for much of the book not much really happens; it's only in the last “act“ that the action the book's been building towards kicks in. But somehow I still love it! I got into it by viewing it more as a puzzle than an emotional experience, but it still made me fall in love with Harrow and by the end I couldn't put it down.

I had a wonderful time with this book, and I find the games it plays with tone fascinating (especially now that I've read the sequels for contrast). Definitely a book where a lot doesn't make sense during the first read, but it still captured my interest long enough to break my heart with the ending. Gideon is an entertaining protagonist, and her banter with the other characters helped endear them to me as well.

This was my first introduction to Octavia Butler (ironic given it was her last novel) and it's very much my thing! The chemical symbiosis fascinates me, as do the questions about consent and coercion it brings up. I also found the vampire politics interesting, if a bit hard to follow at times, and I became attached to Shori as a character rather quickly.

(The image is of a startlingly large mistletoe. Thematically relevant, at least.)