A review by purplesapphire
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

dark emotional sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.25

eeededeathxsexI enjoyed this one better than the wolf and the woodsman. She seems to be better at keeping to a more contained setting where it can become its own character, rather than trying to do a sprawling adventure epic. That seems to be a common consensus. Some common comments I see I do not agree with is the hate against the depictions of abuse and graphic content. Just say you don't understand and move on. Was it perfect? No. But that was a pretty good depiction of toxic relationships, emotional manipulation & abuse, physical/sexual abuse, etc. It shows the impact it can have on victims.

Also, yes it had near constant sexual undertones and some heavy handed depictions of positive and negative sexual interactions, but take away the magic aspect and this is just a story about overcoming abuse. I don't like all the slander against the way she depicted everything, because overall it was a good story and for all the horrible things that happen through it all the ending made up for it. 

The cannibalism was a little much for me but certainly fit into the narrative and the super dark tones that were rampant through the book. I liked the mystery and reveal about her father and herself being the monsters.
 
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