A review by shannon_readsbooks
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

3.0

The first half of the book moved SO fast, I would honestly say too fast. It was like reading someone else's account of something that happened, like a third party recount. Almost as if they were summing up events in a cliffs notes fashion. I had a HARD time getting into it, and it started to feel like a chore at a couple points. But then halfway through something major happened I thought "okay that's the main arc of the book, what the hell is the other half going to be about???". But then it got good! I really enjoyed the second half of the book. It still moved quite quickly but I feel like there was more internal reflection in Soraya, more internal dialogue, etc. I adored the sapphic relationship and how it was built up, I am SO happy there was some notable affection/PDA in Girl Serpent Thorn, because I heard that Girls Made of Glass and Snow (Melissa Bashardoust debut novel) had some LG(B)TQ+ rep and was so excited for that representation, but was so let down to find it almost non-existent. I feared Girl Serpent Thorn would be the same, and while it wasn't a lot, it was some and it fit into the story well. Overall, the book was okay/good. I definitely wont be re-reading it, but enjoyed the last half and one of the twists really caught me off guard.