A review by bardo
Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston

4.0

Cerys will never be the hero or the princess that gets rescued. She's the daughter of the royal gardener and her place is in the background. When the royal succession did not play out successfully, Cerys is forced to take the lead and save the kingdom. Among the Beast & Briars is a lush dark fantasy fairytale that will have readers hanging on every page. Poston is a masterful storyteller and captures the essence of fairytales in her story. The swap of narratives between Cers and Fox, give the plot a well rounded and solid depth to what is occurring. The relationship between the two and what they have to face individually play well against each other. Allowing for the chemistry and secrets to be discovered organically. While the story mainly focuses on Cerys and Fox, the supporting characters add another layer of dimension and understanding. There are iconic staples with a darker twist that gives Among the Beast & Briars an adult look at how fairytales can be written and formed for young adult readers. The only short coming is the final climactic scene. It felt rushed and not quite fleshed out. The scene suddenly stops abruptly and causes the story to halt, which was a little jarring.