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lewnie's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Minor: Alcohol, Racism, and Misogyny
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Violence
poppywarphan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Well shit. Now I have to wait until 2023 for the sequel. This cover! 😌👌 Violet made of thorns is a great and very entertaining debut. As a major fan of morally grey characters, enemies to lovers and dark fantasy this book was perfect for me. People who hate and kiss each other? 😈 Yes please.
Cyrus, a cursed prince who's kingdom's fate relies on him choosing a bride, wants to marry for love. He has been stalling for too long so the king, with the help of his seer, sets him up with a noblewoman. But the seer–Violet– has dreams and visions. The prince's bride is not who she seems to be. Together they work to unravel the secrets to prevent something terrible from happening.
The burning question: Is Violet made of thorns similar to The cruel prince? Not really in my opinion, other than the enchantments and intense love/hate relationship between Cyrus and Violet. I'd say it's a bit more romance focused.
The story is inspired by multiple fairytales. I noticed subtle references to Cinderella, Beauty and the beast and Sleeping Beauty.
I loved Violet for being brutally honest and an unapologetic liar at the same time. Cyrus is a pretentious ass lol. He and Violent were always bickering at the beginning. Later they start to get along better. Sometimes. He wants to have her gone but Violent, well... She's determined to keep her position as the kingdom's seer. Then we have Dante, Cyrus' best friend and confidant,who was also a favorite. He's the neutral middle ground between them. And lastly Camilla, Cyrus' twin sister, a supportive sapphic queen. 😏
The pacing was moderate from the beginning the 2nd half however was packed with twists.
What I was missing were the ✨fantasy names✨ (at least for the main characters) . The names were flowery (and modern?) It felt weird. Then again roses, vines, thorns were significant to the story so maybe it was going for that kind of vibe?
Arc provided by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
From the author's website:
Content Warnings:
one instance of parent harming child physically, themes of emotional manipulation fantasy-typical levels of violence, including death and body horror
self-harm in a ritual/magical context
some instances of casual racism
Other Notes:
non-explicit sexual content, does not fade to black
Cyrus, a cursed prince who's kingdom's fate relies on him choosing a bride, wants to marry for love. He has been stalling for too long so the king, with the help of his seer, sets him up with a noblewoman. But the seer–Violet– has dreams and visions. The prince's bride is not who she seems to be. Together they work to unravel the secrets to prevent something terrible from happening.
The burning question: Is Violet made of thorns similar to The cruel prince? Not really in my opinion, other than the enchantments and intense love/hate relationship between Cyrus and Violet. I'd say it's a bit more romance focused.
The story is inspired by multiple fairytales. I noticed subtle references to Cinderella, Beauty and the beast and Sleeping Beauty.
I loved Violet for being brutally honest and an unapologetic liar at the same time. Cyrus is a pretentious ass lol. He and Violent were always bickering at the beginning. Later they start to get along better. Sometimes. He wants to have her gone but Violent, well... She's determined to keep her position as the kingdom's seer. Then we have Dante, Cyrus' best friend and confidant,who was also a favorite. He's the neutral middle ground between them. And lastly Camilla, Cyrus' twin sister, a supportive sapphic queen. 😏
The pacing was moderate from the beginning the 2nd half however was packed with twists.
What I was missing were the ✨fantasy names✨ (at least for the main characters) . The names were flowery (and modern?) It felt weird. Then again roses, vines, thorns were significant to the story so maybe it was going for that kind of vibe?
Arc provided by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
From the author's website:
Content Warnings:
one instance of parent harming child physically, themes of emotional manipulation fantasy-typical levels of violence, including death and body horror
self-harm in a ritual/magical context
some instances of casual racism
Other Notes:
non-explicit sexual content, does not fade to black
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Self harm, Child abuse, and Racism
notteson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
VIOLET MADE OF THORNS is the perfect tale if you're looking for a YA fantasy with a little bit of darkness and despair. Violet is the anti-heroine that, despite all her faults (of which there are many), you can't help like her and root for her. She and Prince Cyrus used to be close as children, but have grown distant and hostile as the years have passed. You could say they love to hate each other, and that hate turns into a twisted kind of love. While I'm always down for an enemy-to-lovers trope, this one fell just short of the mark for me. I felt like there was little lead-up (or teasing, if you will--I WANT TO BE TEASED) with regard to their feelings for each other.
In all, I really loved this book. The writing was beautiful and clear. The characters well-developed, flaws and all. The worldbuilding was fantastical, dark, and compelling. And if you're looking for an ending that isn't your typical "happily-ever-after", then this is the right book for you.
VIOLET MADE OF THORNS is the perfect tale if you're looking for a YA fantasy with a little bit of darkness and despair. Violet is the anti-heroine that, despite all her faults (of which there are many), you can't help like her and root for her. She and Prince Cyrus used to be close as children, but have grown distant and hostile as the years have passed. You could say they love to hate each other, and that hate turns into a twisted kind of love. While I'm always down for an enemy-to-lovers trope, this one fell just short of the mark for me. I felt like there was little lead-up (or teasing, if you will--I WANT TO BE TEASED) with regard to their feelings for each other.
In all, I really loved this book. The writing was beautiful and clear. The characters well-developed, flaws and all. The worldbuilding was fantastical, dark, and compelling. And if you're looking for an ending that isn't your typical "happily-ever-after", then this is the right book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, and Alcohol
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