Gosh, this book is really DARK!!! A friend recommended it to me and so I picked it up. I am not impressed. It started off ok but got dark kinda fast. The dad abuses his two daughters, punishing them to the point where they bleed. He's cold and just terrible. Then the book talks about how he drowned a person... thats just sickening. The only reason I got so far is that I was holding hopes there would be some kind of redeeming aspect but it just got worse from there. Then there's Julian. He is a flirt with all the women and the book doesn't outright say it but indicates that he's basically a slut with all the women. Not great. Honestly wish I had dropped the book earlier. However, I will say this. The author is a good writer. She has talent that is undeniable. Her description of everything in some cases is beautiful and really adds to the image in the mind of the reader. But then you can also see the terrible things that happen in this tragic tale and it is just sickening.  I just am really disappointed. Would not recommend and will be avoiding this author in the future.