A review by arainai
Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First off, I'm very thankful I was able to receive an early copy from netgalley and the publisher. It took me a while to get into this story but, by the end I was enjoying my time. 

The plot is messy in a way, as it should be because the characters are all kind of messy too. By that I mean that they aren't good or bad but mostly out for themselves or their own goals. There's a decent amount of political intrigue and I really enjoyed reading about it all. 

The characters are interesting. I can't say I enjoyed everything about Violet,  but I don't think I'm supposed to, which made for some annoying parts but also more intrigue. The prince is very princley and idealistic, they make for an interesting pair. I enjoyed the side characters a lot and always looked forward to their page time. 

This was a lot of what I want in a story but I was craving more world building. We hear about other places but don't get too deep, I just wanted a little more. Like I said earlier, I also had a hard time getting into the story and, while I know Violet is meant to be this way, Violet (and other characters) annoyed me sometimes and made dumb decisions. Overall though, a good time. 👍