Reviews

Of Thorns and Beauty by Elle Madison, Robin D. Mahle

allivenger's review

1.0

I wanted to like this book based off of the reviews and I’ve heard good things about the authors as well. But I just couldn’t get into it. It’s not a dig at the authors, it’s just my own inability to get into the story itself.

The story starts with Zaina on the way to her wedding. I loved the different cultural aspects of this and how Zaina has to navigate a different language and culture. What I didn’t like was how angry she was with no backstory. Or if there was a backstory it wasn’t presented right away and I couldn’t bring myself to figure out what it was because she was so angry the whole time.

Einar too is enigmatic and cold with no explanation of why. You think it’s a language barrier maybe? No, well maybe it’s a cultural thing? Nope. It’s very reminiscent of beauty and the beast but I couldn’t bring myself to continue reading to figure out what was going on. I’m sure it’s a wonderful book based off of the reviews but it just wasn’t for me right now.

theonewheresamreads's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

aceofcups22's review

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

You pretty much have to go into this anticipating reading book 2 because there’s no resolution 

hebberelle's review against another edition

3.0

She's a total bitch from the moment she steps into the castle and then wonders why no one likes her? Then it's a book of secrets she's keeping and yet not one scrap of information on why she thinks she has to keep it all secret in order to save her sisters. If she's that smart, she wouldn't have alienated people who could help. Ends on a cliffhanger of more secrets.

heathermariee33's review

5.0

**E-BOOK & AUDIOBOOK**

I love fairytale retellings and this one was incredible! Great retelling of Beauty and The Beast with plenty of twists and turns. I love the writing style of this author, so beautiful and descriptive. The spice level was low so the emphasis was on the story - I loooooved it! Highly recommend. I can't wait to start book two!

shannonreadstheworld's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

cmitchell2781's review against another edition

5.0

Perfect retelling

Totally different than what I expected, and it made it a truly wonderful retelling. At first I was concerned because there seemed a lot to unpack in only 300 hundred pages, and then I realized it was a duology and I got super excited. Would totally recommend to fairytale lovers and retelling fans alike.

clockworkbook's review

5.0

4.5 - I absolutely loved this retelling. This would have been a 5 star read for me had it not ended with a cliffhanger.

nancyk's review

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

ccurtis's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75