danireneewood's review against another edition
3.0
"Stories always begin the same way: There was and there was not. There is possibility in those words, the chance for hope or despair."
When she was a newborn, Soraya was cursed to be poisonous to the touch, a curse that has kept her locked away and hidden for most of her life in order to prevent the royal family to which she belongs from drowning in their shame. After all, the royal family is prized and protected, at least according to lore, and a poisonous princess doesn't fit with the narrative.
The arrival to the palace of a handsome soldier who saves the life of her twin brother (the soon-to-be ruler) from the hands of a dangerous demon, brings Soraya out of the shadows - Azad notices her from afar, has dreamed about her his entire life, is not afraid of her, and understands her. The desire to be free of her curse grows stronger, and so with it comes events that will pull her out of the shadows and away from the truths she has believed to be true about herself.
This book handles a lot of themes that can only be described as humanistic, specifically questions of what a family does or does not do, the boundaries and expectations of trust, and the various forms love can take. It's a story that is engaging - it relies heavily on foreshadowing to the point where things don't feel as surprising as you wish they would be, but the fantasy elements of the story kept me from seeing this as too big of an issue.
What keeps this from being a 4 star (or even 5 star) read for me is that this book toed the line of the dark tale I desperately wanted it to be - Soraya is a character created to deeply battle a personal war between light and dark, and unfortunately I felt she never lived up to that potential. She always seemed to toe the "safe side" of discovering those points of personal conflict, and it felt too easy to pull her away from temptation.
Additionally, I wanted more from a few supporting characters, namely Parvaneh. Parvaneh plays a significant role in Soraya's character development, and while not every YA Fantasy needs a heavy dosing of romance, I felt exploring the nature of theirs would have benefited a deeper character exploration of them both. Parvaneh has the makings of a strong female character just as much as Soraya, and I found myself wanting more.
Wanting more out of a book isn't always a bad thing, as it can be what keeps us reading.
Overall, I loved this book because it felt just as messy as life can feel, and it was a wonderfully quick and escapist read in a time where I'm in desperate need of just that.
"She had read enough stories to know that the princess and the monster were never the same. She had been alone long enough to know which one she was."
When she was a newborn, Soraya was cursed to be poisonous to the touch, a curse that has kept her locked away and hidden for most of her life in order to prevent the royal family to which she belongs from drowning in their shame. After all, the royal family is prized and protected, at least according to lore, and a poisonous princess doesn't fit with the narrative.
The arrival to the palace of a handsome soldier who saves the life of her twin brother (the soon-to-be ruler) from the hands of a dangerous demon, brings Soraya out of the shadows - Azad notices her from afar, has dreamed about her his entire life, is not afraid of her, and understands her. The desire to be free of her curse grows stronger, and so with it comes events that will pull her out of the shadows and away from the truths she has believed to be true about herself.
This book handles a lot of themes that can only be described as humanistic, specifically questions of what a family does or does not do, the boundaries and expectations of trust, and the various forms love can take. It's a story that is engaging - it relies heavily on foreshadowing to the point where things don't feel as surprising as you wish they would be, but the fantasy elements of the story kept me from seeing this as too big of an issue.
What keeps this from being a 4 star (or even 5 star) read for me is that this book toed the line of the dark tale I desperately wanted it to be - Soraya is a character created to deeply battle a personal war between light and dark, and unfortunately I felt she never lived up to that potential. She always seemed to toe the "safe side" of discovering those points of personal conflict, and it felt too easy to pull her away from temptation.
Additionally, I wanted more from a few supporting characters, namely Parvaneh. Parvaneh plays a significant role in Soraya's character development, and while not every YA Fantasy needs a heavy dosing of romance, I felt exploring the nature of theirs would have benefited a deeper character exploration of them both. Parvaneh has the makings of a strong female character just as much as Soraya, and I found myself wanting more.
Wanting more out of a book isn't always a bad thing, as it can be what keeps us reading.
Overall, I loved this book because it felt just as messy as life can feel, and it was a wonderfully quick and escapist read in a time where I'm in desperate need of just that.
"She had read enough stories to know that the princess and the monster were never the same. She had been alone long enough to know which one she was."
bookswraiths's review
4.0
I loved this Persian inspired take on a fairy tale, I found the writing to be beautiful and the pacing was great.
I liked Soraya as a main character and I found her growth as a character from the beginning to the end to be the backbone of the book. I was intrigued by both of the other main characters, the mother while not a character I liked still felt real, I did however find the brother character a bit weak because we barely get to know him. I also liked the sapphic love in this and how the developed in the story.
Overall, I think the book is great and I enjoyed reading it so much but for me it's not at the level of 5 stars.
I liked Soraya as a main character and I found her growth as a character from the beginning to the end to be the backbone of the book. I was intrigued by both of the other main characters, the mother while not a character I liked still felt real, I did however find the brother character a bit weak because we barely get to know him. I also liked the sapphic love in this and how the developed in the story.
Overall, I think the book is great and I enjoyed reading it so much but for me it's not at the level of 5 stars.
sabisays's review against another edition
4.0
I received Girl, Serpent, Thorn in a recent fairyloot box and immediately fell in love with the concept of this book. It is set in a Persian inspired fanatsy world, with a princess, who is poisonous to the touch and demons and magical creatures.
The book did definitely not disappoint. It was a fast paced YA fanatsy, with a rich world (would have appreciated a bit more world building though) and great characters.
I really enjoyed Soraya, our main character and also the other ones (which I'm not going to get into too much, because spoilers!)
I flew through this, read it more or less in two days and the aspect I loved most about it, was that it read like a fairytale, that was literally so cool!
As for suspense, it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and always made me want to go on reading! .
For me personally, the ending was a bit too happily ever after after the drama of the book, but that is just me looking for a devastating ending
The book did definitely not disappoint. It was a fast paced YA fanatsy, with a rich world (would have appreciated a bit more world building though) and great characters.
I really enjoyed Soraya, our main character and also the other ones (which I'm not going to get into too much, because spoilers!)
I flew through this, read it more or less in two days and the aspect I loved most about it, was that it read like a fairytale, that was literally so cool!
As for suspense, it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and always made me want to go on reading! .
For me personally, the ending was a bit too happily ever after after the drama of the book, but that is just me looking for a devastating ending
speckofdust's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I definitely enjoyed reading this book, it is very well written with lovely world building, however the plot was predictable and not as engaging.
Mild Spoilers
The romance didn’t feel fluid, and I was left a bit confused as to how they moved from friends/ally’s to lovers.
I also found myself routing for the villain. So often I wanted Soraya to give in, and become a monster.
The ending was somewhat satisfying, by that point though I just wanted to finish the book and be done with it.
Mild Spoilers
The romance didn’t feel fluid, and I was left a bit confused as to how they moved from friends/ally’s to lovers.
I also found myself routing for the villain. So often I wanted Soraya to give in, and become a monster.
The ending was somewhat satisfying, by that point though I just wanted to finish the book and be done with it.
somenerd354's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-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
3.5
charlottee96's review against another edition
4.0
Written like a beautiful fairytale with girls falling in love with girls.
novelheartbeat's review against another edition
4.0
She had read enough stories to know that the princess and the monster were never the same.
I absolutely adored the Persian culture and lore!! It was such a rich and beautiful world that I wanted to crawl into the pages and live there. I loved reading about the div (demons) too!
I am super pleased with the twist the romance took! It's hard to talk about anything without spoiling it - I didn't know much going in and was pleasantly surprised, so I'll put the rest in spoiler tags!
Spoiler
In the first 80 pages when Soraya met Azad, I was not thrilled. The romance was moving WAY too fast!! I kept hoping that he was secretly the villain, and I about whooped out loud when it was revealed that HE was the Shahmar! That was a nice little twist that I thoroughly enjoyed. The romance reminded me a bit of Girls of Paper and Fire, too. Definitely one of my fave F/F romances!I love that Soraya fought with her own morality, too. I adore morally gray characters that toe the line so much that they could easily tip over into villain territory. But even though she saw herself as a monster most of the time, she had a good heart. And it was easy to feel for her because she'd been shunned by everyone and lacked love and touch in her life.
Side note: I love how the title is worked into the story!
While this was a lush and beautiful Persian fantasy (there aren't enough of those!) and I enjoyed the lore, romance, and the villain, it was missing that extra something for me to give it a full five stars. I can't quite put my finger on it. I don't think I connected to the story quite as much as I'd hoped to, and I had forgotten key elements to the story fairly quickly (I had to go look back through the book to remember enough to write this review). So it didn't stick with me, but I thoroughly enjoyed while I was reading and it was a fast paced and beautifully written story! I definitely recommend!
This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.
the_immortal_library's review against another edition
4.0
Title: Girl, Serpent, Thorn
Author: Melissa Bashardoust
Narrator: Nikki Massoud
Rating: 3.75
Soraya has loved hidden all her life because of a powerful secret. Soraya has poison in her veins and can kill any living thing with her touch. As her twin brothers wedding approaches, she meets a man who has her wanting to come out of the shadows. She sacrifices her safety and the trust of others to become a normal human again. But as she does this demons terrorize her coty and imprison her loved ones. Can she defeat this evil or will she give into its demands?
I received this audiobook via NetGalley. The narrator had a nice voice but I don’t think it’s suited Soraya the main character. This audiobook is only done by the narrator and there are no other narrators for other characters so you only get to hear her voice. The story flows really well. The amount of secrecy and betrayal in the story gave me anxiety. I really enjoyed how Soraya came into herself. She started to see the world in a different light from what she originally did. And she started to realize that the power she had was more of a blessing than a curse, as she had originally thought and I thought that was very well written.
The love story took me by surprise. But it was in chanting. I love the essence of magic in a way that I hadn’t seen before this isn’t fae and spells. There is a deeper cultural magic that the author explains about at the end of the book with an authors note.
if you like books about heroines, love , magic, forgiveness, and trust and the power that those elements provide this is definitely the book for you.
I received this audiobook from Macmillan Audio (@macmillan.audio ) in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley (@netgalley ).
#audiobookreview #netgalleyaudiobooks #netgalley #netgalleyreview #girlserpentthorn #soraya #ya #yafantasy #fantasy #romance #action #audiobook
Author: Melissa Bashardoust
Narrator: Nikki Massoud
Rating: 3.75
Soraya has loved hidden all her life because of a powerful secret. Soraya has poison in her veins and can kill any living thing with her touch. As her twin brothers wedding approaches, she meets a man who has her wanting to come out of the shadows. She sacrifices her safety and the trust of others to become a normal human again. But as she does this demons terrorize her coty and imprison her loved ones. Can she defeat this evil or will she give into its demands?
I received this audiobook via NetGalley. The narrator had a nice voice but I don’t think it’s suited Soraya the main character. This audiobook is only done by the narrator and there are no other narrators for other characters so you only get to hear her voice. The story flows really well. The amount of secrecy and betrayal in the story gave me anxiety. I really enjoyed how Soraya came into herself. She started to see the world in a different light from what she originally did. And she started to realize that the power she had was more of a blessing than a curse, as she had originally thought and I thought that was very well written.
The love story took me by surprise. But it was in chanting. I love the essence of magic in a way that I hadn’t seen before this isn’t fae and spells. There is a deeper cultural magic that the author explains about at the end of the book with an authors note.
if you like books about heroines, love , magic, forgiveness, and trust and the power that those elements provide this is definitely the book for you.
I received this audiobook from Macmillan Audio (@macmillan.audio ) in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley (@netgalley ).
#audiobookreview #netgalleyaudiobooks #netgalley #netgalleyreview #girlserpentthorn #soraya #ya #yafantasy #fantasy #romance #action #audiobook