cool everyone’s giving bad reviews but let me tell you this was EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED IN A BOOK AND MORE! beautifully executed and deliciously written!!!!! Plus, there are several chapters from the pov of Peasblossom the cat, which always makes a book better. I read this in like one day. I loved Xochi and her friendship with Pallas. I love the soapy, sexy queer drama throughout. Ruiz Keil doesn’t tiptoe around the edges of sex and drugs and trauma and abuse, which is part of what makes this book feel so real despite the fantastical elements. I love Ruiz Keil’s creativity and originality with her descriptive imagery. The side characters were good too: mushroom hag, the koi, and Anna were my favorites. The scene where the water babies kill Xochi’s abuser was so cathartic, and when Duncan or whatever his name was got his dick sliced by the shards of an exploded fish tank!! Fuck a redeeming character arc! Abusers don’t deserve redeeming character arcs! Protect Xochi forever. Thank you water babies. I am obsessed with this book.