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rebeccajost's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Murder, Vomit, Animal death, Body shaming, Drug use, and Gore
katherinenzr's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The short blurb is: With Juniper & Thorn Ava Reid has cut out the raw heart of a fairytale and served it up to her reader on a platter. And what a meal it is. We’ve returned again to the world of Wolf and the Woodsman, which is so heavily steeped in folklore it practically drips with it. Marlinchen is the youngest of three sisters, a witch, and the daughter of a wizard with terrible curses, so she has always been tangled in fairytales. With her first taste of freedom all that begins to unravel, and leaves us with a story you won’t be able to put down.
The long blurb is: Ava Reid is able to capture childhood trauma and the effects that has on adults in ways that I have never seen another author do. I've read a lot of the negative reviews for this book, and everything people are complaining about is stuff that is done deliberately and with care in order to accurately depict what adults who experienced CSA and childhood abuse are often like. That being said, this is also a story about healing and survival, and it hits so incredibly hard. As someone who grew up in an abusive household, this book made me feel incredibly seen. That being said, it is also a horror book (which is what it's classified and marketed as!) It is not supposed to be a romance, it just happens to have a love interest. The story itself is not about that, and if you go in expecting it you will be disappointed! There are content warnings on this book for a reason! If you go in looking for a beautiful and honest depiction of trauma and survivorship, beautiful worldbuilding, and a character that's incredibly real and deeply human you are going to be blown away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, Death, Gore, and Sexual assault
All of the things I tagged as content warnings are deliberately and compassionately done in the story, not an accident of the authors writing. This is a horror book. It's supposed to be horrifying.
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