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Reviews tagging 'War'
Violet Made of Thorns - Dem Schicksal zu trotzen hat seinen Preis by Gina Chen
27 reviews
katvou'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death and War
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
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: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Confinement
introverted_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Blood and War
Moderate: Death, Self harm, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Murder
emilia_thereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Racism
Minor: War
lujisa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
lastblossom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
A dark fairy tale with a morally gray heroine and a compelling supporting cast for fans of sexy enemies-to-lovers type romances. Stubborn leads may be frustrating at times.
About
Violet is a seer to the royal court. But what she sees in her visions isn't necessarily what she prophesies to the people; after all, what's a little twist of the truth in service of the king? Prince Cyrus doesn't approve, but Violet doesn't care about his opinion. At least, she wishes she didn't. But with a curse hanging over his head, and the Fates whispering to Violet that only one of them will live, it might take more than a little twist of the truth to get out ahead.
Thoughts
Fairy tales in their rawest form are dark, violent, and often incredibly sexual. Violet Made of Thorns hits all those beats in a page-turning, morally gray tale about a seer, a prince, and a world full of conflicting desires. The book draws clear inspiration from several fairy tales (of note: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, The Goose Girl), but it's not a retelling of any specific one, and it stands as its own story.
Violet is a stunning MC: Quick, self-reliant, and often grumpy. The author's note likens Violet to "unrelatable" MCs, and I while I think some readers will have difficulty approving of her choices, most will understand exactly why she made them. Her sense of self-preservation is powerful, something heroines don't always have. Lack of communication is my least favorite drama spice, and there are a few moments where she refuses to divulge information that I found frustrating. But by the end, I followed the reasoning behind her decisions (even the terrible ones) with ease. Prince Cyrus doesn't get the same amount of care and attention in terms of character development, but anyone looking for a firey haters-to-lovers romance should be satisfied. Of all the characters, Prince Cyrus' sister Camilla is my runaway favorite. I love a character who's self-assured, smart, and loves themselves the way they are. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for dark sexy romance with fairy tale overtones.
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, and Classism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War
dianaschmidty'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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.
Moderate: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail