I'm always a little dubious when starting a darker story, but I have found what I need to enjoy grimmer tales is to have that promise of there being something better that is achievable. And it does have that. There is hope. Maybe not a big one, but there is that thread to hold onto. Little glimpses of what might yet be.

Style:

As much as I like this story, I do have to dock a little for the choice of matching this story with first-person PoV. While there aren't a lot of them, we don't just use the MC's PoV, and it makes more work to figure out who the new character is and adapt to their PoV. 1st person would otherwise be fine if it was told exclusively from one PoV.

Story:

It is an intriguing story where we are being fed little bits of the history behind what has made this word the way it is. There are secrets somewhere that have not yet been revealed, and I am very much looking forward to learning them.

Grammar:

The author's worst sin is being a little loose with present and past tense, though they are working on fixing and editing such mistakes. And overall it's not too bad, but it is there and noticeable. And we all make typos from time to time.

Characters:

Reasonably complex characters, some of whom are morally dubious, some wholesome, and some corrupt/cruel/evil. As much as the MC can flat-out be mean sometimes if that is what she needs to do to survive, you are given enough information and depth to be able to empathize with her approach, even if you don't agree with it.

Overall, I have enjoyed this story very much. 

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