A review by bridget1499
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

If you're a fan of other books with Eastern European/Russian folklore themes, particularly The Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden, or Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, this will be a disappointing read. The prose doesn't have the same timeless storytelling tone as those books, and the setting isn't as richly developed. The characters in this book are okay, but I would have liked to see more perspective/character development for Rose and Undine. The plot was interesting, but it was pretty confusing to follow at times, and I felt the romance between Sevas and Marlinchen happened really fast. If you don't like the "love at first sight" trope, you'll probably be annoyed by it too. It's also important to note that this book definitely contains triggers for SA and CSA which I didn't expect from reading blurbs, but it was very prominent in the storyline. The ending was pretty good, but I just don't know if I'd ever read this again, or if I'd really recommend it to anyone else.