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em_of_swags's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
really liked the last third, but the beginning felt a bit too much like acotar to me, or like a bit too cliche? idk, but I liked that the author included a note on Persian mythology in the end, that was pretty interesting
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Blood, Violence, and Death
Minor: Animal death, Torture, and Kidnapping
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Beautiful fantasy world based on ancient Persia. Story feels like a classic fairytale in the format of a novel, almost Romantic in style. Good character development from the main character, satisfying ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Bullying, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Body horror, War, Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide, Stalking, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood
evelyne_cormier's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
emilyhkx's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
thank god that’s over.
on the whole, it wasn’t entirely awful and towards the end, the plot made more sense. but it was an absolute slog to get through and i will never pick up this book again, i’m so sorry.
soraya, the protagonist annoyed me to no end. i’m all for a good bad decision, but she just consistently made several bad decisions even when it would mean the potential death of her own family / potential friends (which she consciously considered and STILL made the decisions). her character arc is, i suppose, a little well fleshed out, but for a good 80% of this, she was absolutely insufferable to me.
not sure how i feel about the fact that soraya was implied to once be in love with her brother’s wife but the last line to her is “i’m so glad we’re sisters.”
forbidden touch trope, i have previously adored. in this? no. for one reason - she falls for someone the moment they touch her (after she’s no longer poisonous) and the weird love triangle between her, parvaneh and azad? no. azad was so clearly AWFUL, i don’t know why she entertained him at all (other than the threats on her family, because that just about deterred her)
also, the “plot twists”? barely any were executed properly. i think maybe two took me by surprise? everything was so predictable and underwhelming.
parvaneh, however, is responsible for a boost in star rating, my girl is an icon. glad she ended up with soraya but girl, you could do better.
what, genuinely, was the point of having soraya have thorns in her skin at the end? i do not understand. cool, whatever, but why?
(admittedly makes for a circular character arc but i just do not get it.)
and there’s certain parts of her skin that don’t have thorns on (e.g. neck and part of her hands) so she can be touched? hmm, real convenient that.
last chapter was cute, i’ll admit but other than that, i am so happy this book is over.
on the whole, it wasn’t entirely awful and towards the end, the plot made more sense. but it was an absolute slog to get through and i will never pick up this book again, i’m so sorry.
soraya, the protagonist annoyed me to no end. i’m all for a good bad decision, but she just consistently made several bad decisions even when it would mean the potential death of her own family / potential friends (which she consciously considered and STILL made the decisions). her character arc is, i suppose, a little well fleshed out, but for a good 80% of this, she was absolutely insufferable to me.
not sure how i feel about the fact that soraya was implied to once be in love with her brother’s wife but the last line to her is “i’m so glad we’re sisters.”
forbidden touch trope, i have previously adored. in this? no. for one reason - she falls for someone the moment they touch her (after she’s no longer poisonous) and the weird love triangle between her, parvaneh and azad? no. azad was so clearly AWFUL, i don’t know why she entertained him at all (other than the threats on her family, because that just about deterred her)
also, the “plot twists”? barely any were executed properly. i think maybe two took me by surprise? everything was so predictable and underwhelming.
parvaneh, however, is responsible for a boost in star rating, my girl is an icon. glad she ended up with soraya but girl, you could do better.
what, genuinely, was the point of having soraya have thorns in her skin at the end? i do not understand. cool, whatever, but why?
(admittedly makes for a circular character arc but i just do not get it.)
and there’s certain parts of her skin that don’t have thorns on (e.g. neck and part of her hands) so she can be touched? hmm, real convenient that.
last chapter was cute, i’ll admit but other than that, i am so happy this book is over.
Content Warnings
Minor: Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Torture, Animal death, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, War, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
infjkiki's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, War, Violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship
bzliz's review
adventurous
dark
medium-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
4.5
This was a new type of demonology for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Influenced by the Middle East- both ancient and modern- we follow the cursed princess Soraya who is doomed to kill anyone she touches as she discovers not everyone and everything is how it seems.
Some of the twists are easily predicted but I didn’t feel cheated in figuring them out. In fact, I felt they were justified because Melissa Bashardoust did an exceptional job of capturing our heroine’s choices throughout her evolution.
Some of the twists are easily predicted but I didn’t feel cheated in figuring them out. In fact, I felt they were justified because Melissa Bashardoust did an exceptional job of capturing our heroine’s choices throughout her evolution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Kidnapping
taroroot's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.0
this was a perfectly average YA fantasy. i enjoyed it but wouldn't consider it to be particularly special. i liked the Persian mythology elements. i think certain aspects of Soraya & Parvaneh's relationship were rushed which made it feel sort of inauthentic to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Violence, and Blood
veerau's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
A very interesting read! It was surprising to see a book focused on persian mythology, unexpected but absolutely loved!
The setting was beautiful, and after reading the extra info at the end of the book the characters become even more interesting...
One thing I was so glad about was the ending, so very glad that Soraya found how to coexist with her unusual powers instead of blindly getting rid of them, perhaps becoming what she feared? But in a good way
Oh and the cover is beautiful, one of the prettiest books on my shelf now hehe (that wasn't a chore to read as well!)
The setting was beautiful, and after reading the extra info at the end of the book the characters become even more interesting...
Oh and the cover is beautiful, one of the prettiest books on my shelf now hehe (that wasn't a chore to read as well!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
lvjysunday's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved pretty much everything about this book. It was a fast, easy read and yet managed to provide a fun and complex story that portrayed the main character's conflicts well. In this book, the main character (Soraya) is challenged by the temptation to find a way to lift the curse she posesses, and find out who she really is. But her actions lead to consequences and challenge her to figure out a way to save those dear to her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship