Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Girl, Serpent, Thorn

For those who like twisted fairytales, this unique take of Persian myths follows a princess who is poisonous to the touch, a roguish guard who seems too good to be true, and a snarky moth demon.
Believe me, this YA morally grey, but actually done well.

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mrsjoellebell's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.0

I thought this was interesting, and I really liked the love triangle. I can't believe I spent my young adult years reading about stupid boys when I could have read about awesome women. More women with powers pleaseeee.

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geno's review

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adventurous 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

3.25

“Stories always begin the same way: There was and there was not.”

---
"Girl, Serpent, Thorn" se lee como un cuento de hadas con un giro.

Nos narra la historia de una princesa que, debido a una maldición, es venenosa, por lo que puede matar a alguien solo con tocarle.

La idea es buena, pero la ejecución es lenta. La primera mitad del libro se siente como exposición que podría haberse dado a medida que progresa el argumento.

En cuanto a los personajes, los principales funcionan bien y ayudan a mantener el interés. Disfruté que muchos secundarios sean moralmente grises, que aunque sea un cuento de hadas, no haya solo buenos y malos.

Sin embargo, me hubiera gustado que la revelación del villano tuviera más peso.

En general, es un buen libro, pero algunas cosas simplemente suceden para poder avanzar el argumento. La maldición, por ejemplo, que es un punto clave en la trama, se resuelve demasiado fácil para dar lugar al siguiente problema.

Creo que la autora tiene mucho potencial, especialmente porque armó un mundo de fantasía interesante en un solo libro.

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"Girl, Serpent, Thorn" reads as a fairytale with a twist.
It's the story of a princess that cannot touch anyone because they drop dead. It's an interesting concept with a lot of potential but the way it was executed was a little weird for me.

Let's start with the characters. The three MCs had a good balance between them, I felt that Soraya was the weaker one simply because sometimes her indecision dragged the pace.
Also, I wish the villain was less evident, I was expecting more from that reveal.

Regarding the plot, the idea it's great, but everything important happens in the second half, making the first part exposition only.

All in all, I think the author has a lot of potential. Especially since she was able to put together a fantasy world in one book, which is a rare thing.

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bzliz's review

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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.

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reign_kaur's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? No

4.0

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veerau's review against another edition

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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!)

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lvjysunday's review against another edition

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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.

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