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A review by bookstarbri
Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
A lot of YA fantasy lately is being called "enemies-to-lovers" with "morally gray characters" and "high stakes" and a lot of the times, those are sort of accurate but not really true descriptors. Gina Chen gives us all three in their true, classic form. THANK GOODNESS.
Our MC is Violet and she is incredible. Anytime I see a book comped with The Cruel Prince, I get nervous because The Cruel Prince is one of my favorite books and has one of my favorite MCs. But I think that comp is perfect for this. The fairies in Violet Made of Thorns are a bit different and not center stage, but they do play a part in this story and I wouldn't be surprised if they had a larger role in the sequel(s). The plot of this story is very open-ended at the conclusion of this, so it leads a lot of guessing as to what will happen in book 2, but I was really happy with its ending!
The characters are great. Violet and Cyrus were really the most developed of all of them, but I was fine with that since I think they were the crux of this story and their dynamic was INCREDIBLE. Their song and dance and back and forth were just great. The sheer disgust they felt for even feeling anything positive towards each other was IMMACULATE. I love them hating each other and loving each other and the up and down of their relationship. It's spectacularly done and the third act of this story was insane with the two of them and SOOO GOOD. I also just love Cyrus on his own. I think he really cares about his kingdom and Violet. He reminds me of a certain fae prince in that he's totally dumb and stupidly in love with this girl who kinda sorta wants to kill him sometimes. SO PERFECT.
The other characters were fine, but it was clear they were meant to be true side characters. However, I do hope we get more Camila in book 2 as I really loved her! She added a lot of comedic relief in this book that I appreciated. Dante was another side character who I enjoyed, but for a much different reason. His character is partially why this book wasn't quite a 5-star read for me. He is a really interesting character to me and almost elusive for a good portion of the book, but when the 3rd act came around and the plot was reaching its climax and we got more revelations about Dante, I wanted those important revelations and moments drawn out more. Everything surrounding his character in the last few chapters were so rushed and I was left confused on exactly what his role was and how he fit with everything. I don't mind a little ambiguity for the sake of anticipation for book 2, but I was left wondering what all these revelations meant for him and how his actions played a part in the greater plot. This also applies to our villain character! I wanted to get a bit more of a seamless transition on their revelation as well.
Those were my only remaining question and I'm all for adjusting ratings for 1st books in a series as the series continues, so I'll see if I change my mind on the .5 when I read book 2. Overall though, this was such a cool book and I'm REALLY excited for it as I think it'll be a really great series. I already can't wait to dig in to the sequel! The story is incredible, the world building is seamless and interesting, and I am in agony until this sequel
Thanks SO MUCH to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Our MC is Violet and she is incredible. Anytime I see a book comped with The Cruel Prince, I get nervous because The Cruel Prince is one of my favorite books and has one of my favorite MCs. But I think that comp is perfect for this. The fairies in Violet Made of Thorns are a bit different and not center stage, but they do play a part in this story and I wouldn't be surprised if they had a larger role in the sequel(s). The plot of this story is very open-ended at the conclusion of this, so it leads a lot of guessing as to what will happen in book 2, but I was really happy with its ending!
The characters are great. Violet and Cyrus were really the most developed of all of them, but I was fine with that since I think they were the crux of this story and their dynamic was INCREDIBLE. Their song and dance and back and forth were just great. The sheer disgust they felt for even feeling anything positive towards each other was IMMACULATE. I love them hating each other and loving each other and the up and down of their relationship. It's spectacularly done and the third act of this story was insane with the two of them and SOOO GOOD. I also just love Cyrus on his own. I think he really cares about his kingdom and Violet. He reminds me of a certain fae prince in that he's totally dumb and stupidly in love with this girl who kinda sorta wants to kill him sometimes. SO PERFECT.
The other characters were fine, but it was clear they were meant to be true side characters. However, I do hope we get more Camila in book 2 as I really loved her! She added a lot of comedic relief in this book that I appreciated. Dante was another side character who I enjoyed, but for a much different reason. His character is partially why this book wasn't quite a 5-star read for me. He is a really interesting character to me and almost elusive for a good portion of the book, but when the 3rd act came around and the plot was reaching its climax and we got more revelations about Dante, I wanted those important revelations and moments drawn out more. Everything surrounding his character in the last few chapters were so rushed and I was left confused on exactly what his role was and how he fit with everything. I don't mind a little ambiguity for the sake of anticipation for book 2, but I was left wondering what all these revelations meant for him and how his actions played a part in the greater plot. This also applies to our villain character! I wanted to get a bit more of a seamless transition on their revelation as well.
Those were my only remaining question and I'm all for adjusting ratings for 1st books in a series as the series continues, so I'll see if I change my mind on the .5 when I read book 2. Overall though, this was such a cool book and I'm REALLY excited for it as I think it'll be a really great series. I already can't wait to dig in to the sequel! The story is incredible, the world building is seamless and interesting, and I am in agony until this sequel
Thanks SO MUCH to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Minor: Physical abuse, Self harm, and Emotional abuse