Reviews with content warning for Murder - Violet, vervloekt & verwoest

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Violet, vervloekt & verwoest by Gina Chen

35 reviews

camiclarkbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I received a digital ARC Of "Violet Made of Thorns" by Gina Chen through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

“Violet Made of Thorns” was a fun high fantasy story that took classic fairytale elements and turned them into something fresh. Gina Chen’s debut novel was well written and the plot was interesting. The characters were a little flat, but interesting enough to keep a reader’s attention. Since it appears that there will be at least one sequel, I think we’ll get more character development in a following book.

The best part of “Violet Made of Thorns” is unquestionably the titular character herself. Violet Lune was unapologetically prickly and self-serving. Although she was not outwardly malicious toward anyone but her nemesis, Prince Cyrus, she never hesitated from telling lies and spinning the truth to her best advantage. Often times, heroines are described as being snarky and narrators assure readers that the heroine only looks out for number one but that is often not the case. Those heroines are usually all bark and no bite and are usually much kinder than they or the narrator say. That’s not the case with Violet though—both her thoughts and words reveal just how unapologetically thorny her personality is and how she schemes to maintain her precarious position with the royal family in the court. I look forward to seeing Violet again in a sequel and hope she remains as prickly and self-serving as in “Violet Made of Thorns.”

If you’re in the mood for a book that’s like a more cynical “Among the Beasts and Briars” by Ashley Poston, give “Violet Made of Thorns” a try. It’s a new fairytale filled with court intrigue, curses, a refreshing main character and will leave you wanting more from Gina Chen.

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lewnie's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Violet is a witch who uses her powers of prophecy for her own gain. Once an orphan living on the street, Violet now lives on the palace grounds in the famed Seer’s Tower. A trusted confidant of the King, she often manipulates her prophecies for the good of the royal family. The only problem is Cyrus, the Crown Prince. He knows Violet too well and isn’t going to go along with her schemes willingly. When she falsifies a prophecy about Cyrus’ potential bride, she unknowingly sets into motion a deadly curse. As the volatile feelings between Violet and Cyrus begin to look less like hate and more like love, Violet must make a decision that will either save or curse the kingdom– and herself.

The good: While not a direct fairytale retelling, there are many aspects of well-known fairytales sprinkled throughout that readers will enjoy discovering.

I think the standout here is really Violet. She is everything that so many readers will enjoy in a protagonist. She is unapologetically out for herself and once you begin to learn more about her past, it makes sense. Violet has no desire to change, for anyone, and she is confident in herself and her decisions. Often, this kind of characterization of female characters comes off as overly abrasive or without reason. However Violet is easy to sympathize with and her strong will stands up to the vicious court politics that Chen has created.

The bad: I struggle with my feelings about Cyrus as a character. I think he is a good foil to Violet’s ruthlessness, however his fault is that he seems to believe this is an act for Violet. Chen has created a strong-willed character in Violet though, and she easily expresses that she is only ever acting like herself. The romance budding between them by the end of the book does make me a little uneasy as I don’t think that they seem like a good fit at this point. I do think that Cyrus has a ways to go in terms of character development though, and we could see this change later in the series.

I also wish the world-building was a little stronger. I am still not sure I understand the complicated politics between the different countries. I understand this is heavier on the romance and the personal relationships, so I think we lose a little of that overarching geographical exploration. I am hoping that this will be explored more in the following book. I also understand that this is a debut and for a first book, I am really enjoying the development of the world and characters as a whole.

Overall: This is a well-crafted fantasy with a fantastic, morally gray protagonist. The stakes are high and the mystery unfolding around Violet will keep readers entertained throughout. The romance between Violet and Cyrus is fiery, though perhaps a little more entertaining when they fully believe they hate each other. Overall, this is a great addition for anyone who enjoys high-stakes romantic fantasy.

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dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book.
The romance was surprisingly different, though it did take the “one has a knife to the throat while the other professes their love” trope a little too far. I loved their chemistry, and though I usually like slow-burns, it worked well for these characters to not have a long build up.
I was confused by the writing at times though, since it got a little repetitive and yet still left me with questions unanswered about the world of the book.
I did love Violet’s internal monologue and her commentary of the people around her was hilarious, but I also have never been as confused about a main character’s motives as I was about Violet’s. I like an unreliable narrator, but I felt like it didn’t make a ton of sense for her to be that unreliable.

Am I really confused by this story? Yes. Will I read the next book? Toady hell yes!

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Gina Chen for providing me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

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noellelovesbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

3.75

I received an ARC of this book, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings: Death, self-harm, blood, gore, murder, racism, child abuse, violence, and some sexual scenes.

After reading the summary of this book, on Netgalley, I knew I wanted to dive in. I’m a sucker for fantasy novels that follow someone who’s labeled morally gray.

We meet Violet, the Kingdom seer, who works closely with the King to ensure peace and prosperity for their land. Everyone trusts her divination except for the crown Prince who’s determined to prevent her from continuing as Seer once he’s crowned King.

Since Violet was brought to the castle, when they were children, Prince Cyrus and her have fought loudly, and openly, for all to witness. Both stubborn they refuse to see eye to eye or find common ground. So when the King instructs Violet to grow close to Cyrus to ensure he believes her divination of meeting his true love, Violet’s at a bit of a loss.

I was fully invested, from the very start, and ended up reading this book in one day, practically in one sitting. The beginning and middle were strong and had me invested in Violet, her powers, and her potential friendship with Cyrus. I did find myself struggling to stay immersed the closer we got to the end though. The development of a tentative trust between Violet and Cyrus was shown throughout the book but the ending had it feeling a bit rushed, like one minute there was trust then immediately none, and then back to trust. I wish a little more time would have been spent on the ending for the back and forth to make more sense to me. This could honestly just be a me issue but I just felt like it didn’t line up with what all we’d learned previously.

The way the story ended has me hopeful that there will be another book. If this is a standalone I’d be sad, as I felt it didn’t tie up everything it should have. On either Goodreads or Storygraph, I saw something saying it was book one in an untitled duology so I’m hopeful that we’ll get another book.

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sshelbyreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had all of my necessary ingredients: badass woman main character, angsty love story, magic! I loved it!

Queer normative
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