I had a good time with this book, though there were a lot of things going on in my personal life so I got through this book very slowly and I think it meant I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I could’ve. This is very much a me problem, and I think maybe if I were to ever reread this, it might get a higher rating.

I really enjoyed seeing the flow on effects of Ansel’s actions to the other women in his life, and how the story primarily centred around these women separated from him and his actions but still impacted by them in some way. In saying this, I did question throughout the book whether this would’ve been more impactful had we not had Ansel’s POV in the book at all, and I can already see this is debated in other reviews.

It was intriguing to me how you weren’t particularly made to feel one way or the other about Ansel. At times, I found him insufferable and horrid, but others I felt a little bit sorry for him, but then after reminding myself what he had done, I got over that pretty quickly. It was also interesting to see the contrast between Ansel and Saffy, having had similar childhood experiences but ending up in vastly different places, that also showed that his actions cannot be solely blamed on his upbringing.

Overall, this was a very interesting and thought-provoking read with layered characters that explores the wider impact of a man’s crime on the people and, more specifically, the women around him.