3.5 rating 
 On a snowy Christmas morning, Holly Judge awakens, the fragments of a nightmare-something she must write down-floating on the edge of her consciousness. 
 Something followed them from Russia. 
 On another Christmas morning thirteen years ago, she and her husband Eric were in Siberia to meet the sweet, dark-haired Rapunzel they desperately wanted. How they laughed at the nurses of Pokrovka Orphanage #2 with their garlic and their superstitions, and ignored their gentle warnings. After all, their fairy princess Tatiana-baby Tatty-was perfect. 
 As the snow falls, enveloping the world in its white silence, Holly senses that something is not right, has not been right in the years since they brought their daughter-now a dangerously beautiful, petulant, sometimes erratic teenager-home. There is something evil inside this house. Inside themselves. How else to explain the accidents, the seemingly random and banal misfortunes. Trixie, the cat. The growth on Eric's hand. Sally the hen, their favorite, how the other chickens turned on her. The housekeeper, that ice, a bad fall. The CDs scratched, every one. 
 But Holly must not think of these things. She and Tatiana are all alone. Eric is stuck on the roads and none of their guests will be able to make it through the snow. With each passing hour, the blizzard rages and Tatiana's mood darkens, her behavior becoming increasingly disturbing and frightening. Until, in every mother's worst nightmare, Holly finds she no longer recognizes her daughter. 
 For once, I'm sticking with the synopsis provided by the publisher. It's written very well and I don't want to butcher it. But more importantly, it provides a glimpse at the writing style within the novel. For me, this took some getting used to. There aren't chapters and the writing can seem all over the place. For the majority of the novel I felt that the author was rambling, though the writing was very poetic at the same time. The latter is what kept me engaged. There were some lovely passages. Although, there was some frustration while reading. I wasn't sure if this was a book I was going to finish. I'm glad to have made it to the end. 
 To be honest, this book stressed me out. The incoherent narrative really helped set the scene. The author really did a great job at developing the world that the characters were set it. I felt stretched thin and worn out while reading this, which is exactly what the characters were experiencing. I am personally glad that Christmas Day is months away so I don't have to worry about the possibility of dealing this kind of mental pressure. 
 This book takes places over the period of a day. But the author takes us through 'flashback' scenes to give the reader the background and insight to the characters. There were times when I felt that this might turn into a supernatural twist. (view spoiler)[I thought that the child might be a changeling. (hide spoiler)] However, I was very wrong. I didn't realize until I got to the last few pages that I was dealing with an unreliable narrator. Which was perfect, and really tied the book together for me. A surprising psychological thriller. And while this book was under 300 pages, I felt it ended on the right note. 
 *Won in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway