A review by thattheatrekid
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I was very surprised by this gem of a book! I kept the pages turning all day and was fully invested in the story. Toward the beginning I had to get into it more to appreciate it, and many of the foreign words were not fully explained or visualized, but the story!! It was so good and almost felt like some twisted and dark version of Frozen. Some of the plot twists I saw coming, but others I didn’t and even when I did they were gripping. I loved the character development and that Soraya accepted who she was at the end; the way her curse went from a curse to a beautiful part of her was also moving and reflective. I feel like her family could be more fleshed out but I understand why they weren’t, given how little page time they had. Compared to many other novels, the characters and especially villain were very well developed and I loved the grey morals. 

Bonus points: it’s a standalone so I do t have to commit to yet another series or brace myself for a mediocre sequel!