Friday, June 3, 2022

'Violet Made of Thorns' (Violet Made of Thorns #1)


5 stars!

Book Blurb:

“A darkly enchanting fantasy debut about a morally gray witch, a cursed prince, and a prophecy that ignites their fate-twisted destinies—perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and Serpent & Dove.

Violet is a prophet and a liar, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased—and not always true—divinations. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so-not charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to strip Violet of her official role once he’s crowned at the end of the summer—unless Violet does something about it.

But when the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus’s love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse, one that will end in either damnation or salvation for the kingdom—all depending on the prince’s choice of future bride. Violet faces her own choice: Seize an opportunity to gain control of her own destiny, no matter the cost, or give in to the ill-fated attraction that’s growing between her and Cyrus.

Violet’s wits may protect her in the cutthroat court, but they can’t change her fate. And as the boundary between hatred and love grows ever thinner with the prince, Violet must untangle a wicked web of deceit in order to save herself and the kingdom—or doom them all.”


Author’s Message:

“Violet Made of Thorns is my fairytale love story for cynics. It isn't very pretty sometimes, kind of messy all of the time, but hopeful despite it all—or at least, I think so.

I wrote Violet for those who feel they only relate to the "unrelatable" characters—the ones who are too cold, too proud, too much and not enough at the same time. Violet isn't your role model or your #girlboss (one of my peeves is ambition being uncritical shorthand for "strong" among heroines, when power is complicated and rarely scrupulous); she is her own contrary character: a prickly girl carving a place for herself in a world she doesn't believe in.

That aside—the story is fun! There's banter and dramatics and princely shirts torn asunder! It borrows elements from fairytales, nods to them, and gets kind of meta with them (but it's not a retelling). As for the romance, it's a bit of an...intense love/hate situation. Think childhood it's complicated-to-it's still complicated.

Well, you'll see.”


My Review:

Excellent fantasy read, highly recommended.

This beautiful YA fantasy tale incorporates elements of the fairy tales we know and love into a unique and original magical story where it’s the not-so-charming prince that needs saving.  ‘Violet’ kept me on my toes, with a snarky, relatable narration style and a few surprise twists.  I’m excited for the next book in this series, and am looking forward to seeing what author Gina Chen writes next.


#VioletMadeofThorns #NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. 

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