Reviews with content warning for Racism - Juniper & Thorn

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Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

40 reviews

gagereadsstuff's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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hannah_lynch24's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Warning for those who want to pick up this book cold turkey: READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!

Drinking game that could accompany this review: take a shot every time I say the word TRAUMA.

It’s taken a lot of self reflection for me to fully admit how much I loved this book to myself. On the surface, I didn’t want to love it. When my sister-in-law asked me about the story, how could I put all these horrific and off putting topics that make up the entire plot into words while also saying “it’s amazing” and NOT come across slightly sadistic? In the end though, it was all these contradicting things; gory and beautiful, distasteful and yet I craved more of the story, cringe-worthy and yet I willingly faced each new sentence headfirst without remorse.

Ava Reid has penned one of the most lyrically provocative stories I’ve ever read in my life. Marlinchen and her sisters embody some of the most relatable abuse victims I’ve ever read about. Starting with Marlinchen, it may come across to some like she is a weak character who is whiny, but I found her powerfully relatable in a demure sort of way. She made excuses for her abusers and trusted even when she had every reason to hate and blame everyone in her household. It takes a lot for her to realize how wrongly she’s been treated and it’s only after discovering what actual love feels like that she does so and her character evolves. Rose is sweet on the outside but calloused on the inside. She goes on to get along and plays her cards carefully in order to ensure she survives. She has an idea of what she wants, but nothing is worth risking her own safety, even the ones she loves. Undine is bitter and angry, and her hate stems from her own unjust treatment. She hates everyone and everything because in her warped view nothing good is going to last before it’s ruined. Each sister embodies a different reaction to their shared trauma, and I think that any reader who has been through a time where they weren’t treated appropriately will find a shared mindset with one of these women.

Trauma reactions aside, the trauma itself that manifests between these pages is absolutely gut wrenching. Sexual assault of children and adults, mutilations of people and creatures described in detail, eating disorders and the overall relationships with food some of these characters have will make you sick, such is the point of the book. The book is VERY sexually charged, and I’m not the type of reader who enjoys normal smut scenes, let alone some of these off putting couplings. However, that stated, the reason it works for me is because of the characters themselves and how real they felt. When I got to the end of the first chapter and Marlinchen started touching herself, I was genuinely unsure if this would be a book I could continue. However, as the story progressed and insight into the characters backgrounds emerged, it all made sense. This is a girl who has survived off her idolization of stories she has read growing up. Throw in a pinch of sexual assault (involving breasts) from a young age that was condoned and encouraged by her own father and a pint of emotional abuse from every person around her and you have a recipe that makes a women who has a very warped sense of love and arousal and how it all connects. This also affects both of her sisters and their own perceptions of how to act upon their impulses as evidenced when Undine is intimate with the half goat half man creature and the realization that Rose has been intimate with a large portion of her clients. The shift that Marlinchen takes from the need to act and then discovering what true love feels like through the form of sex versus what the other girls experience from pure frustration, rebellion and self discovery is what further separates the mindsets these young women have and the distinctions between their character traits stemming from their abuse. I wouldn’t describe the sex scenes between Sevas and Marlinchen as romantic or ideal in any way, sort or form, however it is a moment that these two characters have set aside from their own trauma bonding where they discover with each other what love could feel like when it’s freely given versus something that’s always just been taken.

Marlinchen has a fixation on nipples and breasts. Hers were cut into and abused as a child, so obviously this will be a hangup for her. Do I like it, no, it’s cringey to read about. Do I understand it and appreciate what it’s trying to convey, yes.

The ending isn’t entirely happy. The characters that have been shackled their whole lives are set free, and that’s about as happy as it gets. The characters still have their own mental hurdles to overcome and severe PTSD to work through the rest of their lives. However, again that’s a very realistic aspect of this book. No one coming from the horror filled world Ava Reid has created should be happy go lucky and live out “happily ever after” after everything they have endured. To do so would take away the mirror to our own world we live in and place an unreal expectation for the fantasy’s we ourselves might find ourselves creating and trying to romanticize that never could come to fruition.

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legs_n_chins's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The funny thing is that, in my heart, this is a 5⭐️ book. Reading it was immersive and compelling and thoroughly enjoyable. The writing style flows easily but retains so much beauty and vividness. The story is complex and the characters interesting and the world very stable and grounded in its magic system. I want to come back to it again already. However, objectively, I also did find a few cracks that made me bump my rating down.

I felt that the two main storylines, that being the romance and the mystery, ended up taking away from each other. Each on their own was compelling and I wanted more of it, but there simply didn’t seem to be quite enough room for either. On one side, I felt like Marlinchen and Sevas could’ve been better developed and there were points where I wasn’t fully convinced of their love for each other, but I wanted to see them grow more into their relationship and make me feel how tangibly they cared about each other. On the other side, I lost the thread of the mystery plot somewhere in the middle and it felt a bit like it lost its teeth, but I really wanted to be able to sink further into that and feel the stakes of the looming threat more fully. Unfortunately, I think neither storyline was able to live up to its full potential, though they still did manage to keep me reading and pull me in.

I also wasn’t sure that the climax was satisfying. As I read it, I was going back and forth as to whether I liked it or not, whether it felt like a strong conclusion to me. It was thrilling and it gave the story closure in both the metaphorical line of the story of Ivan in the codex and the literal line of the narrative itself, tying up loose ends of the mystery and revealing the remaining answers. But at the same time, I was much more interested in the way each of Marlinchen’s relationships reached their individual climaxes, particularly with her sisters, so the monster fight just felt a little pale in comparison. Like I said, though, it made for a very solid conclusion and worked with the story, the world, and the magic system.

I had a few other personal gripes with one or two small things, but not enough to ruin my feelings about the book or my enjoyment when reading it. I felt the tone was very consistent, I loved the different creatures and magical elements woven in, and the imagery and motifs throughout really fit the magic system and the story. Overall, very well written, strong world building, heavy topics handled with care and respect, and a very compelling dark fantasy story.

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unintentionallyasymmetric's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I didn't love it. Juniper and Thorn is dark, gory, horny, and bloody. The real-time, stream-of-conscious narration of Marlinchen's unhappy thoughts at times can be exhausting and hard to read.

It is set in the same universe as The Wolf and the Woodsman, but the only things shared between the books that I noticed were the presence of the Yehuli and one mention of Patricians.

Marlinchen's talent for flesh divining felt like it got dropped completely after the early chapters. At the beginning, Marlinchen can barely stand to touch anyone because she immediately is thrust into visions of their life. Later in the book, this is dropped entirely.

There are some pretty backwards ideas of virginity, mostly as important plot points but they make for some truly rough, gross sentences (ex Marlinchen thinking about licking her own blood "to see what my broken maidenhead tasted like")

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hanna_hllqvist's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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zeeck07's review against another edition

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If you want to read a good Eastern-Europeanesque novel about fairy tales SKIP THIS! Not worth your time.

There was zero point to the book and I was 65% done. The main character is annoying and just stupid. The other characters are poorly developed. The over use of descriptive words became absurd. Finally DNFed after the main characters had sex after a crazy encounter where it was disclosed that one character (male) had been SAed by his handler since he was 12… Like WHAT?! Just a hard pass at trauma bonding and sex.

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maplewrites's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Look, like, I liked it. I do not think it is a good book though. Like the core themes of the book were good, but all the set dressing sort of fought against it? The discussions of monsters and morality and freedom, all of it good. But pretty much everything that wasn't inherent to telling the story that was trying to be told, it wasn't great. Like the sheer amount of sexism that this book repeats over and over and over again, is just not worth the way that it is passively resolved. Like it isn't a sexist book, it's just got sexism in it in such quantities that while it could theoretically have aided the narrative, it didn't really.
This is a very spewing from the mind sort of review.
The things that the synopsis promised were there, but they were so deeply hidden by the set dressing. The things that I liked about the book I felt like I had to push past curtain after curtain after curtain to get to.
I liked it in the end. I liked what it was at its core. I did not like the rest of it.

One of the big flaws was that the book was very oversexualized. Like, sure the main character is repressed bc of her horrible father, but... Just it's sooo much. The talk of being aroused and breasts and the obsession with virginity being linked to purity. Even though the whole virginity thing is like, dismantled by the end, it still sucked. Like the amount of talk of breasts and sex is really really annoying. It definitely gets in the way of the story too. It slows the book down an incredible amount.

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erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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

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slvt4b00ks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This story follows Marlinchen, one of three daughters of the greatest wizard in Obylan, as she forges her own path despite living under an abusive father and alongside wicked sisters. Marlinchen soon finds herself driven to disobey her fathers orders to not leave the house after one night at the ballet in Obylan where she meets the heartbreakingly beautiful and tortured Sevastyian. As Marlinchen is sneaking out and living her best life, there is a monster stalking the streets of Obylan stealing the hearts and livers of men.

This has been my all time favorite book I have read. Period. Reid is a master of weirdly beautiful and unique metaphors and other literary devices. I had no idea people could write and create such beautiful captivating atmospheres that are equally as horrifying and dark.

I couldn’t name all of the trigger warnings that this needs to be filed under. There were parts of this that were very difficult to read. Expect rape, abuse, alcoholism, cannibalism, self mutilation, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, so on and so forth.

That being said I think the author touched on every single one of those sensitive subjects with brutal honesty and also something like grace.

For a majority of the book I found the story very character driven. Toward the end it picked up but it was so worth it. Highly recommend!

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starrysteph's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Juniper & Thorn explores how trauma shapes us, how we desperately look for meaning & purpose in dark circumstances, and how you live with your past.

Specific content warnings at the end of this review: but this book is about trauma.

We follow Marlinchen, a fairytale-obsessed plain-faced third daughter. Her mother is gone and her wizard father is cursed to never feel satisfaction; he is controlling and cruel to his girls. Marlinchen and her sisters are witches; they treat clients with their various skills (though their father spends the rubles and is xenophobic - so VERY particular about the clientiele) and they are not permitted to leave their home.

One night, the three girls sneak out to see a ballet show: and Marlinchen falls head over heels for the lead dancer, Sevas. She now must balance her first secret with her deep desire and the trauma of her past. And to add to the stakes - there’s a monster on the loose, terrorizing the city.

There’s brilliance here - Reid skillfully integrates fairytale tropes with darkness and horror. There’s also deep vulnerability - Marlinchen is living with trauma and has shrunken into herself; there’s a major theme of dehumanization.

The pacing ebbed and flowed; there were moments I couldn’t put the book down but also scenes that were far too slow for my taste. I think a large issue here was some overdone repetition - like I get it, the rule of threes is important, the sisters are beautiful and Marlinchen is plain, Marlinchen is blushing 99% of the time. Some of it boiled down to intrusive thoughts and folkloric obsessiveness tied into Marlinchen’s trauma; that made sense to me. But others felt like Reid was shouting at the reader. Remember this?? Don’t forget this foreshadowing!! Let me hold your hand, reader!! It felt like an editing issue, alongside some slightly-cringey & overdone analogies.

I felt like we got to know Marlinchen quite well; the supporting characters were not always so fleshed out. Her sisters, for example, felt quite limited. And for a book that takes place largely in one location, the world-building was a bit vague & confusing. I’ve read The Wolf & the Woodsman and felt that gave me a significant leg-up in understanding some of the hierarchies.

Finally, I didn’t particularly enjoy the romance. For me, it felt very insta-lovey and lacked the depth and lyricality and complexity that Reid gave to the rest of the storyline. I wasn’t ever truly rooting for them as a pair.

I felt like Reid is continuing to strengthen their voice and explore the themes she most wants to write about. This writing feels vulnerable and powerful. There’s a lot I admired about this storytelling. I’m looking forward to reading whatever she puts out next.

CW: blood, body horror, death, murder, emotional abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse (child), cannibalism, antisemitism, xenophobia, gaslighting, racism, eating disorder, vomiting, self harm, suicidal thoughts, animal death, animal cruelty, incest, explicit sexual content

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