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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Colonisation, War, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Sexual content
mareshempire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Sexual content, and Cursing
Minor: Colonisation, War, and Xenophobia
annasneddon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Murder, and Xenophobia
emilysreadingbooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, War, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, and Racism
Minor: Confinement, Genocide, and Fire/Fire injury
aquillesaurus's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Classism, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Cursing, Sexual content, and Gore
Minor: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Medical content
tak_everlasting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Self harm, Sexual content, and Gore
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, War, Colonisation, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Violence, Drug use, and Addiction
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Colonisation, War, Chronic illness, Blood, Self harm, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Infidelity, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Confinement
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
With elements of a classic fairytale, Violet Made of Thorns is a love-hate romance that can get pretty toxic yet remains an addictive read. The story unfolds through the eyes of Violet, the seer working for the royal family who had once, defied fate and saved Prince Cyrus who immediately lifted her from poverty upon her request as thanks. Unfortunately, the Prince is also cursed and his choice of a bride will either save or damn the kingdom While this may sound like the perfect setup for a sweet fairytale, the actual story is far from that.
Both Violet and Cyrus are liars in their own ways. For Violet, lying is a means to live. She lies to keep herself alive and safe, to make herself as useful as she can be so she doesn’t have to return to being alienated as an Outsider street urchin, and so she can live her life on her own terms. Cyrus, on the other hand, lies to hide his true feelings. He isn’t the Prince Charming you’d expect and is, instead, quite selfish and manipulative (though, he’s sometimes unaware of it as he believes he’s doing something good).
They’re also both incredibly flawed characters that often make wrong decisions yet aren’t afraid to defend those wrong decisions of theirs. This can make them more unrelatable and dislikeable to some readers, but for me? I really enjoyed this aspect because it’s refreshing to read from the perspective of someone who struggles with things that come easily to a ‘good’ hero(ine).
Moreover, I really liked the way the plot unfolded and the writing. The twists and turns, plus Violet’s sardonic tone kept me hooked from start to end. It was easy to see how Violet fell in lust with Cyrus (I wouldn’t say love at this point because she is very much still afraid of trusting parts of herself with others), and how Cyrus loved her yet hated the person she became. Though, ngl, I did get a little annoyed when Violet went to visit Cyrus while dressed up just for him but then again, people can’t be without weaknesses…
All in all, Violet Made of Thorns is perfect for those looking for unconventional characters and an unconventional romance within a story with fairytale elements. This book here is mainly about the lies, the liars and their precarious, treacherous (toxic) love, but when you look away from the spotlight, you’ll be able to see how it’s also about seizing and making your own fate, colonialism, human greed and more.
PS: If your reading preferences is similar to mine, you’d fall in love with the side cast of intriguing, diverse characters as well (Camilla, the sapphic, chaotic twin sister of Cyrus has completely stolen my heart)!
Thank you so much Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Gaslighting, and Racism