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hildea's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-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
4.0
rhidee's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the world and people
I loved both the new universe created in this book and the people who populate it. Needless to say I will be continuing on through the series.
I loved both the new universe created in this book and the people who populate it. Needless to say I will be continuing on through the series.
theduchess93's review against another edition
5.0
I was recommended this book as "Tamora Pierce but queer" and was NOT disappointed. I haven't been this captivated by a story in a long, long time. I immediately bought the second book, which I'm halfway through. If you like high-seas hijinks, queer relationships (romantic, platonic, and otherwise), magic, and well-meaning but corrupt female antagonists, this is the book for you.
craftygiant's review against another edition
4.0
A really interesting and enjoyable book. It's so good to read a story not only about female characters but with interesting, complicated, flawed, and likeable female protagonists. I enjoy Ev for the same kinds of reasons I love Wydrin or Vintage in Jen Williams' books; they are rounded, capable characters rather than just Strong Female Characters.
It's especially enjoyable to read this book as someone with chronic health issues both physical and mental because of Alizhan. Even though the nature of the barriers Alizhan faces are not explicitly any real ailment or neurotype on this world there are a lot of parallels and I felt seen.
Potential spoilers;
Alizhan makes other people uncomfortable because she is subtly different. She doesn't fully understand facial expressions or tone, she has difficulty knowing what to say, she doesn't understand why some things upset other characters. Her mind works differently than a lot of other peoples and for a lot of the book this hurts her. Some things hurt her that other people don't even consider. Later on she starts to get help actually dealing with this and learning how to live with it, learning coping mechanisms and ways to lessen the hurt. In many ways this felt like my experience of autism. I appreciate the author not explicitly calling it that but it made this one person very happy.
It's especially enjoyable to read this book as someone with chronic health issues both physical and mental because of Alizhan. Even though the nature of the barriers Alizhan faces are not explicitly any real ailment or neurotype on this world there are a lot of parallels and I felt seen.
Potential spoilers;
Alizhan makes other people uncomfortable because she is subtly different. She doesn't fully understand facial expressions or tone, she has difficulty knowing what to say, she doesn't understand why some things upset other characters. Her mind works differently than a lot of other peoples and for a lot of the book this hurts her. Some things hurt her that other people don't even consider. Later on she starts to get help actually dealing with this and learning how to live with it, learning coping mechanisms and ways to lessen the hurt. In many ways this felt like my experience of autism. I appreciate the author not explicitly calling it that but it made this one person very happy.
rtbrck's review against another edition
4.5
Time to search out the next ones hoo boy. Very intriguing.
sandreline's review against another edition
4.0
The exposition and proper noun-ing at the beginning almost caused me to put this one down. But by the end I enjoyed it so much that I immediately started the next in the series.
This is not a Romance, it is a Fantasy with a romantic sub-plot. I think the romance elements worked quite well, not overshadowing the larger plot but still giving some nice fuel for character development.
I enjoyed the fantasy elements. They were interesting and mostly unique (I'm getting a bit of "Golden Compass" vibe, but I certainly don't think that's a bad thing). They felt fairly well-integrated and easy to understand by the end.
The writing is unobtrusive in a way that I really appreciate in fantasy novels. It's the type of reading that's easy and realistic, to the point that you forget you're reading. Each character felt unique and interesting in their own way.
I'm excited for the next book, and I'm guessing I'll devour the whole series in no time.
This is not a Romance, it is a Fantasy with a romantic sub-plot. I think the romance elements worked quite well, not overshadowing the larger plot but still giving some nice fuel for character development.
I enjoyed the fantasy elements. They were interesting and mostly unique (I'm getting a bit of "Golden Compass" vibe, but I certainly don't think that's a bad thing). They felt fairly well-integrated and easy to understand by the end.
The writing is unobtrusive in a way that I really appreciate in fantasy novels. It's the type of reading that's easy and realistic, to the point that you forget you're reading. Each character felt unique and interesting in their own way.
I'm excited for the next book, and I'm guessing I'll devour the whole series in no time.
nelsonseye's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed Thornfruit. The world was interesting, though I would have loved a map, and I liked the main and secondary characters. I really liked Ev and Alizhan’s developing relationship, but I also liked Ev’s relationship with her parents, and Alizhan’s relationships with Mala and Djal and Kasrik. Even the villain’s perspective was interesting. The suspense was also well done and I really liked how the story unfolded.
siavahda's review
5.0
Sometimes there are books that are hyped for months, that you hear about the moment the publishing contract is signed and anticipate for years before they're finally in your hands. And more often than not, in my experience, those books tend to be a let-down. (In fairness, it's hard not to be. Nothing can live up to that much hype.)
And sometimes there are quiet books, that seem to enter the world without a ripple, that you stumble upon by complete accident, that open up into jewels as you turn the pages.
Thornfruit is one of these latter books: I didn't hear about it before it was published, I wasn't anxiously waiting for its release - I didn't even have it recommended to me by a friend or one of the few book blogs I actually trust. I just happened upon it, with its beautifully elegant cover and its attention-grabbing blurb - and it was queer, too? Clearly something I had to check out.
And I'm so glad I did, because it's wonderful.
I don't want to spoil too much, so I won't talk about the plot. But Davin creates amazing characters - with an authentically diverse cast, which I was so grateful for (facial blindness! Ace rep! Non-white characters! And Alizhan reads as someone with autism or Asperger's to me, you can't convince me she's not on the spectrum, nope) - complicated, realistic, strong, clever, driven by very different and very human motivations. There were awkward moments! Do you have any idea how rare it is to see an awkward moment in fiction? It's as though writers forget that real people say or do the wrong thing sometimes, that conversations don't always flow as if scripted - but Davin absolutely doesn't forget. Not that these characters are constantly mis-stepping or anything like that - but they feel real enough to walk off the page.
And the world-building! It's intricate and interesting and so cool, and Davin never needs to info-dump the reader, just weaving in details of geography and culture so deftly you hardly realise you're absorbing them, until suddenly it feels as though not only could Alizhan and Ev walk off the page, but that you could walk in, too, if you wanted.
Look, what can I tell you? This is an absolute gem of a book, a hidden treasure I'm so glad I found, and I'm writing this because DAMN IT MORE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS BOOK, but I'm in a rush because I have to go grab the rest of the trilogy RIGHT NOW. Davin works magic with words, and if you have any interest at all in fantastic world-building and morally grey characters and fascinating magic, if you want your girls fab and bold and brilliant, if you want a story with a queer romance that isn't about queerness but is instead about adventure, and truths, and doing the right thing no matter how much it hurts - then go buy this book already.
Seriously, what are you still doing here? Go!
And sometimes there are quiet books, that seem to enter the world without a ripple, that you stumble upon by complete accident, that open up into jewels as you turn the pages.
Thornfruit is one of these latter books: I didn't hear about it before it was published, I wasn't anxiously waiting for its release - I didn't even have it recommended to me by a friend or one of the few book blogs I actually trust. I just happened upon it, with its beautifully elegant cover and its attention-grabbing blurb - and it was queer, too? Clearly something I had to check out.
And I'm so glad I did, because it's wonderful.
I don't want to spoil too much, so I won't talk about the plot. But Davin creates amazing characters - with an authentically diverse cast, which I was so grateful for (facial blindness! Ace rep! Non-white characters! And Alizhan reads as someone with autism or Asperger's to me, you can't convince me she's not on the spectrum, nope) - complicated, realistic, strong, clever, driven by very different and very human motivations. There were awkward moments! Do you have any idea how rare it is to see an awkward moment in fiction? It's as though writers forget that real people say or do the wrong thing sometimes, that conversations don't always flow as if scripted - but Davin absolutely doesn't forget. Not that these characters are constantly mis-stepping or anything like that - but they feel real enough to walk off the page.
And the world-building! It's intricate and interesting and so cool, and Davin never needs to info-dump the reader, just weaving in details of geography and culture so deftly you hardly realise you're absorbing them, until suddenly it feels as though not only could Alizhan and Ev walk off the page, but that you could walk in, too, if you wanted.
Look, what can I tell you? This is an absolute gem of a book, a hidden treasure I'm so glad I found, and I'm writing this because DAMN IT MORE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS BOOK, but I'm in a rush because I have to go grab the rest of the trilogy RIGHT NOW. Davin works magic with words, and if you have any interest at all in fantastic world-building and morally grey characters and fascinating magic, if you want your girls fab and bold and brilliant, if you want a story with a queer romance that isn't about queerness but is instead about adventure, and truths, and doing the right thing no matter how much it hurts - then go buy this book already.
Seriously, what are you still doing here? Go!
lautreamont's review against another edition
i think white Americans should be banned from writing anything set in an "exotic" place or inspired by a third world country I could almost taste the yellow filter reading this
ruth_miranda's review
5.0
How can I express how impressed I was with this book? Straight from the start I was lured into this story, this world, these characters. The author does one superb job where it comes to worldbuilding, the details are pristine, never jarring, it flows easily and organic, believable and relatable. The MCs are delightful, the civilisation, the cultures, the backstory, everything in this book entertwines as if a carefully put together tapestry of extreme beauty. The villain is so relatable, so mesmerising, so spellbinding they became my favourite character from the start. If you're into imaginative, out of the box, extraordinary fantasy, I urge you to read this book. So far, this has been my top read of 2020, and I serioulsy doubt it will be topped, such is the way this book touched me and made me dream. I seriously could not wait until I was back in that world, with those characters, following their story along. And now I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.
Well done, Miss Davin, this is one extraordinary work.
Well done, Miss Davin, this is one extraordinary work.