What a story this is! Before reading this book I'd heard a lot about it, seen a lot of reviews, a lot of people saying some pretty incredible things. I'm always a bit cautious when things have been hyped up so much. I try not go into a book expecting amazing things, incase I'm disappointed, however I wasn't disappointed with this one at all. It's a wonderful, enchanting story about love, life, death and friendship. The attention to historical detail in this novel, from the description of Gawthorpe Hall, to what the characters wear, say and do, to the details of the Pendle witch trials, is simply brilliant. It's so well thought out, Stacey Halls has taken such care in her research that although her story is a work of fiction(her characters are based on real people) She's managed to write a piece of fiction as though it were actually a true story as though her novel was fact. You feel like you're reading a diary written by the real Fleetwood Shuttleworth! Stacey's story is completely believable and I found myself utterly lost within it. Fleetwood is a great main character, she's gutsy, sharp and witty. You feel her sadness and yet her will to survive and to save others is inspiring. She's curious about things and you find you want to be curious with her.