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A review by siavahda
Thornfruit by Felicia Davin
5.0
Sometimes there are books that are hyped for months, that you hear about the moment the publishing contract is signed and anticipate for years before they're finally in your hands. And more often than not, in my experience, those books tend to be a let-down. (In fairness, it's hard not to be. Nothing can live up to that much hype.)
And sometimes there are quiet books, that seem to enter the world without a ripple, that you stumble upon by complete accident, that open up into jewels as you turn the pages.
Thornfruit is one of these latter books: I didn't hear about it before it was published, I wasn't anxiously waiting for its release - I didn't even have it recommended to me by a friend or one of the few book blogs I actually trust. I just happened upon it, with its beautifully elegant cover and its attention-grabbing blurb - and it was queer, too? Clearly something I had to check out.
And I'm so glad I did, because it's wonderful.
I don't want to spoil too much, so I won't talk about the plot. But Davin creates amazing characters - with an authentically diverse cast, which I was so grateful for (facial blindness! Ace rep! Non-white characters! And Alizhan reads as someone with autism or Asperger's to me, you can't convince me she's not on the spectrum, nope) - complicated, realistic, strong, clever, driven by very different and very human motivations. There were awkward moments! Do you have any idea how rare it is to see an awkward moment in fiction? It's as though writers forget that real people say or do the wrong thing sometimes, that conversations don't always flow as if scripted - but Davin absolutely doesn't forget. Not that these characters are constantly mis-stepping or anything like that - but they feel real enough to walk off the page.
And the world-building! It's intricate and interesting and so cool, and Davin never needs to info-dump the reader, just weaving in details of geography and culture so deftly you hardly realise you're absorbing them, until suddenly it feels as though not only could Alizhan and Ev walk off the page, but that you could walk in, too, if you wanted.
Look, what can I tell you? This is an absolute gem of a book, a hidden treasure I'm so glad I found, and I'm writing this because DAMN IT MORE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS BOOK, but I'm in a rush because I have to go grab the rest of the trilogy RIGHT NOW. Davin works magic with words, and if you have any interest at all in fantastic world-building and morally grey characters and fascinating magic, if you want your girls fab and bold and brilliant, if you want a story with a queer romance that isn't about queerness but is instead about adventure, and truths, and doing the right thing no matter how much it hurts - then go buy this book already.
Seriously, what are you still doing here? Go!
And sometimes there are quiet books, that seem to enter the world without a ripple, that you stumble upon by complete accident, that open up into jewels as you turn the pages.
Thornfruit is one of these latter books: I didn't hear about it before it was published, I wasn't anxiously waiting for its release - I didn't even have it recommended to me by a friend or one of the few book blogs I actually trust. I just happened upon it, with its beautifully elegant cover and its attention-grabbing blurb - and it was queer, too? Clearly something I had to check out.
And I'm so glad I did, because it's wonderful.
I don't want to spoil too much, so I won't talk about the plot. But Davin creates amazing characters - with an authentically diverse cast, which I was so grateful for (facial blindness! Ace rep! Non-white characters! And Alizhan reads as someone with autism or Asperger's to me, you can't convince me she's not on the spectrum, nope) - complicated, realistic, strong, clever, driven by very different and very human motivations. There were awkward moments! Do you have any idea how rare it is to see an awkward moment in fiction? It's as though writers forget that real people say or do the wrong thing sometimes, that conversations don't always flow as if scripted - but Davin absolutely doesn't forget. Not that these characters are constantly mis-stepping or anything like that - but they feel real enough to walk off the page.
And the world-building! It's intricate and interesting and so cool, and Davin never needs to info-dump the reader, just weaving in details of geography and culture so deftly you hardly realise you're absorbing them, until suddenly it feels as though not only could Alizhan and Ev walk off the page, but that you could walk in, too, if you wanted.
Look, what can I tell you? This is an absolute gem of a book, a hidden treasure I'm so glad I found, and I'm writing this because DAMN IT MORE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS BOOK, but I'm in a rush because I have to go grab the rest of the trilogy RIGHT NOW. Davin works magic with words, and if you have any interest at all in fantastic world-building and morally grey characters and fascinating magic, if you want your girls fab and bold and brilliant, if you want a story with a queer romance that isn't about queerness but is instead about adventure, and truths, and doing the right thing no matter how much it hurts - then go buy this book already.
Seriously, what are you still doing here? Go!