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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
When everyone says read the TW for this book, they ain’t fucking around. Honestly I’ve never read a book so fucked up and distressing yet it ended so beautifully…. It’s a lot to process and idc what anyone says about Marlinchen. If you don’t like her then you’re a FREAK
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cannibalism
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was a little worried at the beginning of this book because it seemed like it would go very slow, but honestly, every time that I was able to read more than a few paragraphs I was intrigued. I will say that my 4-star rating is for me and others who may like books of this type but is definitely not for everyone. The themes in this book were carried out very well, but the gore of some parts would deter some from this book. Overall, really liked this one, the raw parts hit at just the right times and the journey to the end was extreme but great.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a very surprising highly rated book for me. Horror especially body horror is not my first choice and PLEASE check the trigger warnings beforehand they are not messing around.
Juniper and Thorn is a dark gothic fantasy horror retelling of the Juniper Tree, a Grimms fairy tale. I don’t even know where to start with this book it should be studied in literature classes through the poetic prose and many motifs. This book is set in the same world at the wolf in the woodsman but has a much slower less adventurous path with suits the book well. It explores many themes of death and transformation, mirroring, xenophobia and food (and poison?). Marlichen and her sisters are trapped in an estate with their wizard father, who is the last wizard in their town. He has been cursed by a witch to never feel full after a meal and to never love his daughters fully. I love how marlichen is a morally grey female main character as she is trying to decide what the definition of a monster is and what that means to her. There were some extremely gruesome elements but the ending was so perfect and gentle.
There were so many motifs that I could not could up. Nipples for one was mentioned a lot and dust mites although if they have more of a meaning I am still trying to decipher it. The twist on who the monster in the city is was quite obvious to me since the beginning but I don’t think it was meant to be deeply hidden. I enjoyed being on marlichens journey as she unraveled the mystery while trying to get out of her suppression of abuse which clouded her.
One of Ava Reid’s best works. Well done.
Juniper and Thorn is a dark gothic fantasy horror retelling of the Juniper Tree, a Grimms fairy tale. I don’t even know where to start with this book it should be studied in literature classes through the poetic prose and many motifs. This book is set in the same world at the wolf in the woodsman but has a much slower less adventurous path with suits the book well. It explores many themes of death and transformation, mirroring, xenophobia and food (and poison?). Marlichen and her sisters are trapped in an estate with their wizard father, who is the last wizard in their town. He has been cursed by a witch to never feel full after a meal and to never love his daughters fully. I love how marlichen is a morally grey female main character as she is trying to decide what the definition of a monster is and what that means to her. There were some extremely gruesome elements but the ending was so perfect and gentle.
There were so many motifs that I could not could up. Nipples for one was mentioned a lot and dust mites although if they have more of a meaning I am still trying to decipher it. The twist on who the monster in the city is was quite obvious to me since the beginning but I don’t think it was meant to be deeply hidden. I enjoyed being on marlichens journey as she unraveled the mystery while trying to get out of her suppression of abuse which clouded her.
One of Ava Reid’s best works. Well done.
I saw this book being praised so often that I figured “wow it must be fantastic! I have to read it now” and I was wrong, I was misled, I feel betrayed
I don’t feel like writing a hefty review about this so I’ll say two points: not only did I feel myself nodding off multiple times while reading this, but the trigger warnings/content warnings include but are not limited to sexual assault, pedophilia, cannibalism, domestic abuse, and incest, among things like gore and blood (two things I can typically handle, as someone who reads fantasy often, but that became incredibly off-putting given the rest of the content). Aside from that, the romance/characters were so underdeveloped that it was painful to read at times (hence the nodding off, I just did not care). This felt like if Colleen Hoover tried to write a fantasy retelling and that is big time not a compliment
1.5/5 (the only reason why it is being rounded up instead of rounded down is because the writing style was pretty at times, the way the world was described was great) (also I basically never give books 1 star, I think my only 1 star review is Catcher in the Rye [deserved], like I didn’t even give The Love Hypothesis 1 star and if you know me you know I hate that book, but this came awfully close to joining the single star club)
I don’t feel like writing a hefty review about this so I’ll say two points: not only did I feel myself nodding off multiple times while reading this, but the trigger warnings/content warnings include but are not limited to sexual assault, pedophilia, cannibalism, domestic abuse, and incest, among things like gore and blood (two things I can typically handle, as someone who reads fantasy often, but that became incredibly off-putting given the rest of the content). Aside from that, the romance/characters were so underdeveloped that it was painful to read at times (hence the nodding off, I just did not care). This felt like if Colleen Hoover tried to write a fantasy retelling and that is big time not a compliment
1.5/5 (the only reason why it is being rounded up instead of rounded down is because the writing style was pretty at times, the way the world was described was great) (also I basically never give books 1 star, I think my only 1 star review is Catcher in the Rye [deserved], like I didn’t even give The Love Hypothesis 1 star and if you know me you know I hate that book, but this came awfully close to joining the single star club)