thedarkfields 's review for:

Thorn by Intisar Khanani
4.0

A very pleasant and refreshing surprise after reading so many generic and fun-but-uninspired YA series recently. A standout.

The characters are great, the pacing is fairly good, and there were a lot of "twists"/developments I didn't expect but flowed extremely well (not forced in for drama). There were parts of the ending I wasn't crazy about, which is why not 5 stars, but that's more personal preference. I did appreciate the groundedness/reality of the entire book, even while dealing with magic and other fantasy elements.

..I also appreciated that the main characters didn't instantly love each other (not a fan of that trope at all).