Reviews with content warning for Murder - Girl, Serpent, Thorn

I thought this was interesting, and I really liked the love triangle. I can't believe I spent my young adult years reading about stupid boys when I could have read about awesome women. More women with powers pleaseeee.

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reign_kaur's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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taroroot's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

this was a perfectly average YA fantasy. i enjoyed it but wouldn't consider it to be particularly special. i liked the Persian mythology elements. i think certain aspects of Soraya & Parvaneh's relationship were rushed which made it feel sort of inauthentic to me.

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ell_porritt's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

it took me longer then usual to read this book but that’s due to exam season (ew) but yesterday i had a break from revision and i just couldn’t put this book down. i read most of it then and oh my god. it was amazing. the constant plot twists, characters introduced, the settings and places you get to explore is just amazing. yet another reason why fantasy books are my fav! <3

Spoiler

i loved azad and then when he just changed into her literal like worst nightmare since childhood… bro omg it was crazy! and when her mum told her the reason why she was cursed in the first place?! we also can’t forget the fact she basically ends up with parvaneh!! so many plot twists i loved it

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gaymushrooms's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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deerlybeloved's review

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dark inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a beautiful take on finding oneself and embracing what hurts us as much as it makes us who we are. It takes a girl with a horrid curse, and shows us what happens when you dissect that curse and how one can claim their own tragedies and make them into what they want; something miraculous.

Sapphic, chilling, and wonderful, I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a beautiful cast of Persian-inspired mythos, and feel a tension and edge-of-your-seat suspense that is rarely found.

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elwirax's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

2.5

"Stories always begin the same way: There was and there was not. There is possibility in those words, the chance for hope or despair."

"Very well, then. Be angry. Be violent. But not for his sake. Not to do as he commands. Be angry for yourself. Use that rage to fight him."

Well...this was a huge letdown.

The pacing was too fast for such a short book which made it seem like I was jumping from scene to scene without much transition or time to process. Due to its short nature it was too convenient and predictable for me to really feel invested. Although, I appreciated Soraya's struggles with ostracization, isolation and her somewhat growth, I didn't feel connected to her in any way and she often came off as naive and self pitying. In fact, I didn't like most of the characters except Parvaneh (who barely got any attention), their dialogues and actions seemed catoonish to me. Another thing was the minimal worldbuilding. Maybe it was due to how short the book was or how much focus was given to inner monologue that really blurred out anything beyond it, but ultimately it was unfulfilling. There was a general idea of power structures, conflicts and lore but nothing too substantial. Parvaneh and Soraya's romance could've been great but it just didn't develop in a believable manner (although, their tender moments were undeniably sweet).

One thing I did love about the book was its influences from Persian mythology/ lore with the author's note on how certain elements inspired the novel. I also loved the queer Rappaccini's daughter vibes. Unfortunately, that was about it.

Overall, a fantastic concept with an execution that deserved better. All I got from this book was resurfaced ACOTAR trauma (very similar concepts in both ). It's definitely not the worst thing I've ever read, just not my cup of tea.

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