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This is the only time I’ve finished a book and then turned around and started re-reading it the same day. But it was worth it—and, in some ways it’s even better the second time through. I carried with me a knowledge of this expansive world and the people in it, so I could get lost in exploring without needing to find my bearings. I wrote paragraphs and paragraphs of analyzation over in my fan group, and I reveled in all the things said, the things implied, and the things unexplained but intriguing. I savored the occasional poetic turns of phrase and watched Quincy be Quincy with more understanding than before. She’s such a challenging character that it took me a long time to “convert� to her side on the first read, but the second was a much more on-board experience.
I took nearly two months to enjoy this slow re-read, and I look forward to doing it again in the future. And also EVENTUALLY getting my hands on the short story as well as the Crow-centered novel the author has promised us. 🥰

P.S. As soon as I finished this read, the song started playing in my head� it really is the perfect after-credits type of vibe. It came from the author’s own playlist for the book, and I could not love it more.

Original review follows:

Finished this very late at night, with a face unaccountably wet from tears at various points in the reading. Whew.
Yesterday I was lamenting to the friend with whom I'm buddy-reading this that the further into it I get, the less coherently I can express how I feel about it. Which is unfortunate, because, lordy, if ever a book deserves a review full of words that will make you run to read it, this is that book.

So I'll give it a shot.

I sort of read the synopsis for this one on the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ page, but it doesn't give very much away - and it turns out, that's a good thing. Because this book is a journey for the characters and the reader. If you invest in it - get introduced to the very challenging Miss Quincy St. Claire - wrestle with what you think of her and what you imagine about her - ponder and question the probabilities of what might happen - and then have moments sprung on you with sometimes startling emotional consequences -- well, if you get the privilege of doing all that without knowing for sure where you're being taken, then the payoff will be tremendous.

Still feeling a bit on the fence without a synopsis? Here's what little I will establish for you: The book is set in a fictional country off the coast of England and France in the late 1800's. If you like British historical fiction, you'll be quite at home. There's a little Dickensian flair to some of the setting and back-stories (although, if you, like me, aren't the hugest fan of Charles Dickens, don't be put off; this book is very much its own thing). Miss Quincy St. Claire is... I think I could call her a savant? Anyway, she's a mastermind in her field -- but she has miles yet to traverse as a human.

I read The Q after devouring the Emma M. Lion books, also by Beth Brower. How do they compare? The Emma M. Lion books have more overt humor and an easy-to-relate-to heroine, whereas The Q is a slow build and a slow burn with rather more challenge and gravitas. It's long, but it's immersive. And it will stay with you after the last page. Much as I long for more volumes of Emma, at the moment I'm overtaken with yearning for just a little more story for Quincy St. Claire and Someone Else, because it's incredibly hard to leave them.