A review by marie_thereadingotter
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
This book is, gross. Overly gruesome to be more precise. There's already a lot of body horror, and the level of emotional and physical abuse being thrown around honestly makes me nervous for how I know things will progress.
I understand that the main character is deeply sheltered, and literally jumps on the first man to show her attention and kindness. But it feels excessive. She's also extremely selfish and dumb. 
I loved The Witch and The Woodsman, but there's something that feels hollow about this story. Something that makes all the gruesome and dark things feel more like they were written for shock value than to add to what it going on. I'm not familiar with the story this is a retelling of (The Juniper Tree), but I feel like the point is being overshadowed by the darkness of events in this book. 

I plan to read more books by Reid, I only hope that her other books aren't filled with shock-value gore and horror.