A review by cait_henry56
The Girl from Rawblood by Catriona Ward

3.0

I've been on a Catriona Ward kick, so it's been interesting to go back to her debut novel, which felt like exactly that. A little rough, certainly meandering, but the promise of future works shown through in what would eventually become, in my opinion, calling cards of Ward's work: expertise in nonlinear storytelling and truly surprising twists. As for Rawblood, I only recommend it if you are explicitly seeking out to read all of Ward's work. If not, when her second book Little Eve tightens her craft while providing the historic gothic meditations that are both centerpieces of her early work that l, frankly, I am glad Ward strayed from since as beautiful as the prose is, overall I believe it weakens the intrigue and slowly building terror that works so well (and now that I think of it, this historic yet muddling bent is also what I disliked most about Looking Glass Sound). From someone who has devoured all of Ward's books, my top recommendations are the Sundial and Last House on Needless Street, and Little Eve; Rawblood brings up the rear with Looking Glass Sound as meditations that meander for too long.