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A review by fromjuliereads
Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
**Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
I really enjoyed the book! It was fairly light for a fantasy, and was not that complicated which was nice! Would definitely recommend for anyone who doesn't normally read fantasy but wants to try something lighter.
I liked the characters for the most part, and that they were flawed. The middle to ending of the book was far better in plot development than the beginning in my opinion.
I'm not sure if this is a standalone, but it could be!! The story stands on it's own for sure.
Slight spoilers below...
I did struggle with a few things:
1. This book was VERY predictable. I basically saw everything coming. Everything. There was I think only ONE thing that surprised me. And it was honestly so small plotwise... I don't mind some things being predictable, but the majority just bugs me...
2. I was so frustrated with Cerys in the beginning. And to an extent, Fox as well. They constantly go on and on about how useless they are. How they are "just a fox" or "just a gardener's daughter." WE GET IT. It was frustrating to have it reiterated so many times when in the end they did everything anyways. It's different when a character doesn't feel confident or courageous and does something versus constantly belittling themselves even while they are wanting to do something or doing it. It was a little annoying...
3. Repetition. I swear. The same thing was explained over and over at the beginning. That might be why everything felt predictable? There were certain pieces of backstory that were repeated numerous times by Cerys within one chapter. I don't mind if it is repeated once as a reminder, but this was excessive.
4. Okay, this one might be petty. It doesn't normally bother me? But there were direct quotes and scenes taken from other things which just felt a bit cringe to me. Cerys quotes verbatim a line from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The dancing scene from Tangled? Yeah it happens exactly. And don't even get me started on the one parallel to HP that I caught. It was not subtle. I don't mind if there are parallels to other works, but these ones just rubbed me the wrong way...
I really enjoyed the book! It was fairly light for a fantasy, and was not that complicated which was nice! Would definitely recommend for anyone who doesn't normally read fantasy but wants to try something lighter.
I liked the characters for the most part, and that they were flawed. The middle to ending of the book was far better in plot development than the beginning in my opinion.
I'm not sure if this is a standalone, but it could be!! The story stands on it's own for sure.
Slight spoilers below...
I did struggle with a few things:
1. This book was VERY predictable. I basically saw everything coming. Everything. There was I think only ONE thing that surprised me. And it was honestly so small plotwise... I don't mind some things being predictable, but the majority just bugs me...
2. I was so frustrated with Cerys in the beginning. And to an extent, Fox as well. They constantly go on and on about how useless they are. How they are "just a fox" or "just a gardener's daughter." WE GET IT. It was frustrating to have it reiterated so many times when in the end they did everything anyways. It's different when a character doesn't feel confident or courageous and does something versus constantly belittling themselves even while they are wanting to do something or doing it. It was a little annoying...
3. Repetition. I swear. The same thing was explained over and over at the beginning. That might be why everything felt predictable? There were certain pieces of backstory that were repeated numerous times by Cerys within one chapter. I don't mind if it is repeated once as a reminder, but this was excessive.
4. Okay, this one might be petty. It doesn't normally bother me? But there were direct quotes and scenes taken from other things which just felt a bit cringe to me. Cerys quotes verbatim a line from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The dancing scene from Tangled? Yeah it happens exactly. And don't even get me started on the one parallel to HP that I caught. It was not subtle. I don't mind if there are parallels to other works, but these ones just rubbed me the wrong way...
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty