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A review by abookandchai
Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen
2.0
Pitched as "darkly enchanting" and "I can fix her meets I can make him worse" and so I was really looking forward to this. Gina's tweets about fairytales and Asian anti-heroines only made more eager to read this. So I'm definitely sad about how it turned out to be.
Of course, I liked Violet. She doesn't try to be nice at any time, driven by the need to keep her position in the world. Even if it meant being manipulative. She's clever and centered to herself and I liked reading through her POV. The writing is captivating too, honestly the reason why I read this book so quickly. And if I have to name another positive, the beginning is quite hooking, the set up for the prophecy and Violet & Cyrus's hate to love arc had me sold.
What fails in most of recent YA fantasy books is the lack of focus on worldbuilding and plot and instead badly selling the romance to me. (that is not saying I don't like YA at all, I've enjoyed Dauntless, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea to name a few) I'm sorry but if you want me to like Violet and Cyrus's relationship, you have to give me the emotional impact. We're told they have a history of being friends and then growing apart, but don't tell me about it, show it to me through their actions! The transition from their mutual dislike for each other to suddenly desiring each other isn't smooth. If there's no tension, then I'm not invested. Besides, there's this great concept of Seers speaking prophecies, beasts that threaten the land and something about fairies and witches, which I wanted more of. We're only introduced to these things through Violet's Sight and in the rushed ending. I expected more depth to the world and the relations between the kingdoms involved.
Another thing this book promised me is "cutthroat court politics." If you know me, you will know I'm a sucker for some good court politics (eg: The Lady or the Lion, A Song Of Wraiths and Ruin or The Red Palace) but there's nothing of the sort here, apart from influencing the people about the prophecies according to the circumstance.
While I don't have much good things to say about this book as I personally like fleshed out characters *and* worldbuilding, I do think it has great potential (especially for the sequel) and YA fantasy fans might definitely like this better than me!
thank you netgalley and delacorte press for the ARC!
Of course, I liked Violet. She doesn't try to be nice at any time, driven by the need to keep her position in the world. Even if it meant being manipulative. She's clever and centered to herself and I liked reading through her POV. The writing is captivating too, honestly the reason why I read this book so quickly. And if I have to name another positive, the beginning is quite hooking, the set up for the prophecy and Violet & Cyrus's hate to love arc had me sold.
What fails in most of recent YA fantasy books is the lack of focus on worldbuilding and plot and instead badly selling the romance to me. (that is not saying I don't like YA at all, I've enjoyed Dauntless, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea to name a few) I'm sorry but if you want me to like Violet and Cyrus's relationship, you have to give me the emotional impact. We're told they have a history of being friends and then growing apart, but don't tell me about it, show it to me through their actions! The transition from their mutual dislike for each other to suddenly desiring each other isn't smooth. If there's no tension, then I'm not invested. Besides, there's this great concept of Seers speaking prophecies, beasts that threaten the land and something about fairies and witches, which I wanted more of. We're only introduced to these things through Violet's Sight and in the rushed ending. I expected more depth to the world and the relations between the kingdoms involved.
Another thing this book promised me is "cutthroat court politics." If you know me, you will know I'm a sucker for some good court politics (eg: The Lady or the Lion, A Song Of Wraiths and Ruin or The Red Palace) but there's nothing of the sort here, apart from influencing the people about the prophecies according to the circumstance.
While I don't have much good things to say about this book as I personally like fleshed out characters *and* worldbuilding, I do think it has great potential (especially for the sequel) and YA fantasy fans might definitely like this better than me!
thank you netgalley and delacorte press for the ARC!