dandelionsteph's review
I was so annoyed that Cerys and Fox got into a romantic relationship with each other when nothing about the book's blurb suggested it at all. I was annoyed that, if she was going to get in a romantic relationship with Fox, that it had to unambiguously set in so late in the book, when I had gotten invested in the plot. I don't like profanity, no matter how it's used, but I was particularly annoyed with how long it took for any profanity to show up. It didn't feel justified, given the overall tone of the book: it felt extraneous, like the book was trying to hard to market itself as a "grown-up book" rather than a middle grade book. (As if there's anything wrong with middle-grade.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
tania_mybookishsecret's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Animal death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Grief
geilie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
mandathebiblio's review
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, Self harm, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death
ellajappinen's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Blood and Gore
studiomikarts's review
I just can't continue reading. The book is in desperate need of a good copy editor and a decent developmental editor. The silly typos and repetitive wording are amateurish (most recent example, on page 78, a knot forms in the protagonist's throat and a couple lines later, she feels anxiety "like a knot in my throat" as if the first knot didn't exist? or it disappeared immediately? or there's a double knot?) and the protagonist's unbelievable obliviousness is unendearing (). I'm going to move on; life is too short to read bad books.
Spoiler
in a world where magic is the norm, and in a forest where supposedly no human lives, she doesn't put two and two together when her fox suddenly disappears and a naked man stands before her with the same colored eyes and hair as that fox?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
iamkallia's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
brookey8888's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this. I didn’t guess a plot twist in the first like three pages of the book but that didn’t bother me. I just really liked our characters. I thought they were funny and I really like the chemistry I’m a fucker for romance. I felt the story was interesting and kept me engaged. It kind of reminded me of the bone houses but better. I also love the diversity for sexuality’s in this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death
rain_baby's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Blood
Minor: Death of parent and Animal cruelty
greeneggsandsam's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
"But I wasn't made for this quest- I was a gardener's daughter. I did not thrive where my roots did not grow."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Among the Beasts and Briars is a young adult fantasy following the daughter of the royal gardener, Cerys, who belongs to the kingdom of Aloriya. The people of this kingdom have always thought that they are kept safe from the nightmares in the surrounded woods thanks to an agreement made with the "Lady of the Wilds" and the first king. So when the things in the woods attack the village, Cerys is left to find the lady with only a fox's company.
These beautiful covers continue to fool me y'all, because this book was so much darker than I expected going in. And I loved every minute of it. I flew through this book because I could not put it down. I loved the plot line, the descriptions, the twists, and how dark and creepy it got. I don't know why this isn't classed as fantasy horror, but as someone who's learning they love YA horror, I would've picked this up sooner if it had been labeled horror.
It's a pretty fast-passed story, and I can't remember a moment when I wasn't enthralled with what was going on or wondering how everything was going to be turned upside down. I love how everything wrapped up in the end, nicely but not too perfectly- not ignoring all the difficult things that the characters went through. This is an author I'm definitely going to want to pick up more books from!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Among the Beasts and Briars is a young adult fantasy following the daughter of the royal gardener, Cerys, who belongs to the kingdom of Aloriya. The people of this kingdom have always thought that they are kept safe from the nightmares in the surrounded woods thanks to an agreement made with the "Lady of the Wilds" and the first king. So when the things in the woods attack the village, Cerys is left to find the lady with only a fox's company.
These beautiful covers continue to fool me y'all, because this book was so much darker than I expected going in. And I loved every minute of it. I flew through this book because I could not put it down. I loved the plot line, the descriptions, the twists, and how dark and creepy it got. I don't know why this isn't classed as fantasy horror, but as someone who's learning they love YA horror, I would've picked this up sooner if it had been labeled horror.
It's a pretty fast-passed story, and I can't remember a moment when I wasn't enthralled with what was going on or wondering how everything was going to be turned upside down. I love how everything wrapped up in the end, nicely but not too perfectly- not ignoring all the difficult things that the characters went through. This is an author I'm definitely going to want to pick up more books from!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence