So at my mid-year check-in for reads this year, this book has just stuck with me. I can’t stop thinking about it and turning it over in my head.
The premise is pretty straightforward: a witch in the Middle Ages makes a deal with a demon and the two play out a toxic sapphic relationship through multiple lifetimes in multiple eras. Told in absolutely stunning prose, I couldn’t put it down.
All of the versions of the witch character–who share the surname Harding but different first names–have their own personalities but are distinguishable as versions of the original. The demonic character, Miriam, is deliciously inhuman and her obsession with Harding is utterly delicious.
If you’re looking for a sweet romance, this is not the book for you. It has teeth and doesn’t pull punches. Toxic barely describes it, but in the most perfect, messy way.
I find often that people will describe characters as morally-gray and then fail to deliver, but this book very much pulls it off. Both women have deep flaws and questionable morals, in all their versions. It makes their cat-and-mouse game deeply compelling.
If you enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue but wished it leaned into the ugly darkness and obsession of the Faustian relationship more, give this one a read. Definitely a five-star for me, and going on the rereads shelf.
Amy Avery / Avery Ames 