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A review by sol_journal
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-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
4.0
Posted to: Goodreads and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 20 August 2023
4.4 (rounded down to 4) out of 5 stars.
Stories always begin the same way: There was and there was not.
Do you ever *finally* get around to that book that’s been on your TBR for a while and when you finish that last sentence, sit there and ask yourself “man, why did I wait so long to read this?”
‘Girl, Serpent, Thorn’ is that book for me.
Melissa Bashardoust weaves together a tale for those who feel all too ‘poisonous, monstrous, or bristling with thorns’ using a mix of different elements from different fairytales- and I hate how long it took for me to come around to reading this. I fell so in love with the story of the poisonous princess who was the monster in her own fairytale- and we all know that the monsters don’t get the happy endings.
Or do they?
Soraya is the cursed princess who hides herself away within the walls of her own castle while her family goes on existing beyond the cold walls of their home. All because the blood of a div runs in her veins, making her touch deadly, the princess tucks herself out of sight and becomes the ghost of the kingdom where only rumors circulate around her and why she hides away.
I really think the idea of this story was *so* interesting. There was so much promise to it and the writing was exceptionally beautiful. I mean, I absolutely loved the details and the way characters are written out. All too often, I found myself in the bristling thorns of Soraya and related a bit too much to the push and pull she felt while debating whether she wanted to be the Soraya her family knew, or wanted to lean into her own desires and finally be free.
Despite its beautiful language, the descriptions and the world-building, I do think that ‘Girl, Serpent, Thorn’ lacked a bit in the overall story itself. Many others have said that the overall idea fell short, and I can really see that too. Some parts of Soraya’s journey were mapped out well, and others were left kind of wanting (especially with Parvaneh I’d say). At the same time though, this personally didn’t take too much away from my own reading experience. I still fell wholeheartedly in love with the girl who saw herself a monstrous princess and learned that she could be both and find wholeness within that.
Posted on: 20 August 2023
4.4 (rounded down to 4) out of 5 stars.
Stories always begin the same way: There was and there was not.
Do you ever *finally* get around to that book that’s been on your TBR for a while and when you finish that last sentence, sit there and ask yourself “man, why did I wait so long to read this?”
‘Girl, Serpent, Thorn’ is that book for me.
Melissa Bashardoust weaves together a tale for those who feel all too ‘poisonous, monstrous, or bristling with thorns’ using a mix of different elements from different fairytales- and I hate how long it took for me to come around to reading this. I fell so in love with the story of the poisonous princess who was the monster in her own fairytale- and we all know that the monsters don’t get the happy endings.
Or do they?
Soraya is the cursed princess who hides herself away within the walls of her own castle while her family goes on existing beyond the cold walls of their home. All because the blood of a div runs in her veins, making her touch deadly, the princess tucks herself out of sight and becomes the ghost of the kingdom where only rumors circulate around her and why she hides away.
I really think the idea of this story was *so* interesting. There was so much promise to it and the writing was exceptionally beautiful. I mean, I absolutely loved the details and the way characters are written out. All too often, I found myself in the bristling thorns of Soraya and related a bit too much to the push and pull she felt while debating whether she wanted to be the Soraya her family knew, or wanted to lean into her own desires and finally be free.
Despite its beautiful language, the descriptions and the world-building, I do think that ‘Girl, Serpent, Thorn’ lacked a bit in the overall story itself. Many others have said that the overall idea fell short, and I can really see that too. Some parts of Soraya’s journey were mapped out well, and others were left kind of wanting (especially with Parvaneh I’d say). At the same time though, this personally didn’t take too much away from my own reading experience. I still fell wholeheartedly in love with the girl who saw herself a monstrous princess and learned that she could be both and find wholeness within that.