Early Review -Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Release Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1250196149
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars
“There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.
As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.
Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming…human or demon. Princess or monster.”
Series Info/Source: I got an eGalley of this book to review through NetGalley. This is a stand alone story.
Story (3/5): This was okay, I wanted to love it but just found it kind of boring. It took a long time for things to really start getting interesting and then once the story finally started to pick up pace, it still seemed just too predictable. I also read Bashardoust’s “Girls Made of Snow and Glass” and liked that more than this book.
I think part of the issue was everyone is constantly lying and betraying each other but somehow this is okay. It just got to the point where our main character would find out another person had betrayed her and I would roll my eyes thinking, “Of course, this person is a liar too because that is what this book is full of, lying and betraying.” However, it was okay because the characters HAD to lie and betray each other because of their circumstances…so they were constantly forgiving each other and it got repetitive and old. I just couldn’t get past this and kept thinking “Hey, why doesn’t everyone try telling each other the truth?”
Characters (3/5): I didn’t really like or engage with any of these characters, they were all deceitful and mean to each other throughout the whole story.
Setting (3/5): The world-building wasn’t the main driver of this book. The story takes place in a generic castle with mysterious dark woods outside of it. The whole story does have classic Arabian vibes to it.
Writing Style (4/5): The writing style was fine. It’s easy to read and descriptions are well done. I thought the pacing was very slow and just found the whole thing to be kind of “eh”.
My Summary (3/5): Overall the concept was decent but the execution here was lacking. I just never really engaged with the characters and found myself bored with it all. I enjoyed the afterward that goes through the origins of the fairy tales that this story is based on way more than the story itself. This was okay but definitely had some issues.
