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A review by extinctpanda
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
The writing itself is pretty good but imo the plot of this was a mess.
It was very uncomfortable to read, which is fine! A lot of it is about trauma. But it all fell flat in the end. I thought there were a few things that weren’t full explored or just left hanging. The pacing of the murder mystery aspect was very poor. The twist was pretty obvious but the implications of it aren’t really given enough weight.
There were also just quite a few dumb plot conveniences that just didn’t make sense that really annoyed me.
I DNFed the authors other book fairly quickly as I didn’t love the characters so I suspect her work is not for me which is a shame because I love Eastern European folklore.
It was very uncomfortable to read, which is fine! A lot of it is about trauma. But it all fell flat in the end. I thought there were a few things that weren’t full explored or just left hanging. The pacing of the murder mystery aspect was very poor. The twist was pretty obvious but the implications of it aren’t really given enough weight.
There were also just quite a few dumb plot conveniences that just didn’t make sense that really annoyed me.
I DNFed the authors other book fairly quickly as I didn’t love the characters so I suspect her work is not for me which is a shame because I love Eastern European folklore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism