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A review by m00dreads
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Juniper & Thorn is a chillingly visceral portrait of the underpinnings and repercussions of abuse, painted over a haunting imagining of Slavic lore. Reid’s evocative writing heightens the morbid effect of her main weapon of delivery – body horror. Her words are darkly atmospheric; they snake around you with all the slithering seduction of vines and drag you headfirst into her gritty and sepulchral world.
For those who like their fantasies heaped with indulgent servings of sordid, this is the perfect October read (if you’re planning on picking this up, I cannot implore you enough to look up the CWs and heed them). However, if you’re looking for an action-filled and plot-driven tale, it’s best to turn elsewhere. I love myself a depraved, no-holds-barred fantasy, but I still require orientation. I need the story to be grounded with a sense of direction regardless of how sinuous the trail may be. And yet, the cohesion between the underlying themes and the plot is weak. The grittiness began to feel like over-liberal seasoning compensating for an undercooked center. There was an effort to incorporate explorations on xenophobia and industrialization to the overarching storyline, but they proved to be as purposeless an element as the city map plastered on one page.
The romance? Also very off-putting. The love interest had the potential to be an intriguing character in his own right, but it was like Reid had dunked both him and the MC in a tub of trauma, and upon their resurfacing, poked them with a stick to get them going at it. Zero chemistry, and a farce of a build-up (if having them meet each other a grand total of four times even constitutes one lol). Of course the cloistered and traumatized MC was going to fall in love with the first person who drops her a crumb of sincere kindness 🙄. There were better devices for character progression that could have been used.
In retrospect, my expectations for this were ramped up high — Novik and Valente’s Eastern European lore-inspired books are some of my most beloved, and my standards were through the roof. Still, I commend Reid for her raw portrayal of womanhood, toxic relationships, and the hope that cycles of abuse can be broken. Marlinchen earned my sympathy and tested my patience; and it is the poignance of her journey that allowed me to overlook most of my gripes.
For those who like their fantasies heaped with indulgent servings of sordid, this is the perfect October read (if you’re planning on picking this up, I cannot implore you enough to look up the CWs and heed them). However, if you’re looking for an action-filled and plot-driven tale, it’s best to turn elsewhere. I love myself a depraved, no-holds-barred fantasy, but I still require orientation. I need the story to be grounded with a sense of direction regardless of how sinuous the trail may be. And yet, the cohesion between the underlying themes and the plot is weak. The grittiness began to feel like over-liberal seasoning compensating for an undercooked center. There was an effort to incorporate explorations on xenophobia and industrialization to the overarching storyline, but they proved to be as purposeless an element as the city map plastered on one page.
The romance? Also very off-putting. The love interest had the potential to be an intriguing character in his own right, but it was like Reid had dunked both him and the MC in a tub of trauma, and upon their resurfacing, poked them with a stick to get them going at it. Zero chemistry, and a farce of a build-up (if having them meet each other a grand total of four times even constitutes one lol). Of course the cloistered and traumatized MC was going to fall in love with the first person who drops her a crumb of sincere kindness 🙄. There were better devices for character progression that could have been used.
In retrospect, my expectations for this were ramped up high — Novik and Valente’s Eastern European lore-inspired books are some of my most beloved, and my standards were through the roof. Still, I commend Reid for her raw portrayal of womanhood, toxic relationships, and the hope that cycles of abuse can be broken. Marlinchen earned my sympathy and tested my patience; and it is the poignance of her journey that allowed me to overlook most of my gripes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Pedophilia, Self harm, Body horror, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Violence, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Antisemitism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content