In total, his children numbered twenty-three, now twenty-four, each one plucked from rain-swept doorways or fished out of old sacks or lifted from cold and careless houses. The forgotten, the unwanted, the unloved.

Aeris is a creature of the Wild that takes abused and abandoned children to raise them as his own, providing them with unwavering love. These human children grow fey-like features after a while of being in the Woods, turning them into the most mismatched and adorable group of siblings I’ve encountered.

William, the human who finds Aeris’s home, carries an aura of serenity and patience, but he’s quick to show his fierce side when his loved ones are threatened. Suffice to say that the characters are lovely.

I’m a sucker for parental relationships; Aeris’s and William’s interactions with the children are the most wholesome, and so are the ones between them. I couldn’t help but utter how beautiful this book was every few pages.

Aeris’s refuge is an analogy for the family some queer folks find after being rejected by their biological parents. A community they build with those who have felt unwanted, and learn they’re deserving of love even when others have shunned them. Did I mention there’s ace and trans rep?

The prose was superb. It’s atmospheric with a dark-fey theme and stayed cozy while navigating dark themes. It was a niche novella of everything I love and easily became one of my favourites.