A review by unintentionallyasymmetric
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I didn't love it. Juniper and Thorn is dark, gory, horny, and bloody. The real-time, stream-of-conscious narration of Marlinchen's unhappy thoughts at times can be exhausting and hard to read. 

It is set in the same universe as The Wolf and the Woodsman, but the only things shared between the books that I noticed were the presence of the Yehuli and one mention of Patricians.

Marlinchen's talent for flesh divining felt like it got dropped completely after the early chapters. At the beginning, Marlinchen can barely stand to touch anyone because she immediately is thrust into visions of their life. Later in the book, this is dropped entirely.

There are some pretty backwards ideas of virginity, mostly as important plot points but they make for some truly rough, gross sentences (ex Marlinchen thinking about licking her own blood "to see what my broken maidenhead tasted like") 

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