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noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
3.75
I received an ARC of this book, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings: Death, self-harm, blood, gore, murder, racism, child abuse, violence, and some sexual scenes.
After reading the summary of this book, on Netgalley, I knew I wanted to dive in. I’m a sucker for fantasy novels that follow someone who’s labeled morally gray.
We meet Violet, the Kingdom seer, who works closely with the King to ensure peace and prosperity for their land. Everyone trusts her divination except for the crown Prince who’s determined to prevent her from continuing as Seer once he’s crowned King.
Since Violet was brought to the castle, when they were children, Prince Cyrus and her have fought loudly, and openly, for all to witness. Both stubborn they refuse to see eye to eye or find common ground. So when the King instructs Violet to grow close to Cyrus to ensure he believes her divination of meeting his true love, Violet’s at a bit of a loss.
I was fully invested, from the very start, and ended up reading this book in one day, practically in one sitting. The beginning and middle were strong and had me invested in Violet, her powers, and her potential friendship with Cyrus. I did find myself struggling to stay immersed the closer we got to the end though. The development of a tentative trust between Violet and Cyrus was shown throughout the book but the ending had it feeling a bit rushed, like one minute there was trust then immediately none, and then back to trust. I wish a little more time would have been spent on the ending for the back and forth to make more sense to me. This could honestly just be a me issue but I just felt like it didn’t line up with what all we’d learned previously.
The way the story ended has me hopeful that there will be another book. If this is a standalone I’d be sad, as I felt it didn’t tie up everything it should have. On either Goodreads or Storygraph, I saw something saying it was book one in an untitled duology so I’m hopeful that we’ll get another book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
sshelbyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book had all of my necessary ingredients: badass woman main character, angsty love story, magic! I loved it!
Queer normative
Diverse
Social commentary
Queer normative
Diverse
Social commentary
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
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: Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, and Alcohol
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