Girl Serpent Thorn is a story based around the idea of fairy tales and myths and legends . It is about a princess who is kept hidden away by her family because her touch is poisonous and will kill. Sounds amazing? unfortunately the premise sounds great but the execution is poor. Apart from being very slow paced, it is also extremely predictable. I guess literally everything that would happen! The story is also very convenient. Cant find a key for a door in a locked tunnel that you have explored a million times??? There it is behind a big brick in the wal a few feet away with an actual 'x' on it!

and no I am not joking.

Maybe I am not the right audience for this book. Other reviews have been very positive but it definitely wasn't for me

I really liked the story the book told, there were a lot of twist and turns and there is an interesting plotline however the focus of the story is on the main character’s own inner battle. The story is a ‘fairy tale’ so it is quite predictable regarding some of the twists and plot points that happen and ends with a happy ending which I personally did not like. One thing I was quite disappointed with is the fact, I thought the main character would be more of a villain or be in the balance between good and bad, but I never felt like she ever was. Her actions did have bad consequences but the moral side of it, I never thought she was ever ‘bad’.

I liked how the three main characters of the book were connected through their actions and liked how the romance/relationship between them developed. I would have liked to see more of the other characters especially the mum character because she was important and there is not enough of her in the book for me to have an opinion on her.

I enjoyed the setting and the stories within the book, but I did find the world building lacked, it was wordy at the start and quite confusing which did not help during the second half of the book. I also felt like because the story is predictable in a way, I did get bored towards the end of the book mainly because I felt like the main character was always explaining/justifying her actions. However, I liked the writing style regarding the portrayal of the main character and her conflicting feelings at the start of the book.

3/5

I absolutely adored this book! I was hooked from the very beginning and was drawn in so quickly I didn't want to put it down but I also didn't want it to end.

You fully understand the reason for every character's actions which I thought made them more realistic to read. I constantly never knew what was going to happen next. The relationships discovered within this book were also brilliantly well done. From first reading about Soraya's family and how she had to live since she was a child all the way up until where she meets the people she finally thinks she can trust and confide in.

The plot was driven and the pacing was quick making it easy to read and enjoy but I also think such quick pacing did lead to some downfall in the book especially in terms of Soraya and Azad. Their supposed 'love' was confusing as if it was instant yet there seemed to be no actual emotional connection to which when everything is revealed the tension isn't as strong as it could have been.

I loved Soraya and Parvaneh's relationship and I wish there was more of it. Parvaneh was a very interesting character that like Soraya has made mistakes and is determined to make it right again. I wish we got to learn more about her and her sisters.

All in all, I was extremely excited to read this book and I was not disappointed by its outcome! It was thrilling to read and I'm very grateful I had the chance to read the arc.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn failed to make a long lasting impression. It has been a week since I finished reading, and I am still struggling to find anything to say about this book.


Don't get me wrong, this wasn't an awful novel by any means, but I am not swinging from the chandeliers yelling about it, or thinking over the novels events and telling myself it is a book I will re-read asap and buy pretty hardcover and paperback versions of.

The novel has an interesting concept, based on Persian Folklore, and I enjoyed the aspects that entwined the myth and legends of the Shahnameh. It is not a myth I am familiar with, so I really liked learning more about the types of demons and other mythical figures and seeing how Bashardoust incorporated them into her own fiction.

Sadly, while I did find it interesting, I often found it lacking in terms of descriptions and depth. I feel that while Bashardoust brushed on descriptions of appearance, and the politics of the different types of demons, it was just that - brief. She gave the reader enough to get by, which yeah, great, that's suitable, but it lacked any sort of depth or nuance.

I enjoyed the plot, however I often found it to feel rushed, like we were going through 3 novels worth of content stuffed in one. This had the consequence of relationships feeling rushed, like Soraya and Azad. I was like?? What is this almost insta-love?? Then obvs more of the plot revealed itself, and I'm not heartless so I felt for Soraya, but I felt it missed the true emotional impact that it could have had & that carried on throughout the rest of the novel. Again, I felt that the nuance was missing.

I wish we got to see Soraya interact with her family more. I felt her relationship with her mother was executed the best, but I'm sad to see we did not have more moments between her and her twin - when his absence from her life is something that greatly impacted her.

I really liked the relationship between Soraya and Parvaneh. Parvaneh was a good character, with an interesting, complicated and dark background which I wish was explored further, not just a recap of 'oh yes I did this thing' and 'oh it hurts me that you did that thing, but yes, it is now 5 minutes later and I will forgive you'. I really liked her & the other Divs.

Overall, this was an enjoyable story, which attempts to explore morally complex characters and themes. Ultimately, I feel like it often missed the mark by rushing through events and not developing the characters fully, but it was still an entertaining and interesting read even if it did not fulfil its potential.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, and it went above and beyond my hopes for it! This book is a mixture of Zoroastrian and Persian mythology, which is woven together into a lush tapestry of imagery and worldbuilding to create something spectacular. It’s something so completely unique, and left me longing for more of the world, the story and the mythology!

Soraya as a main character is one of my new favourite female characters. She’s morally grey, and spends a lot of the book having conflicted feelings about her life and her actions. She has spent her whole life locked away and starved of touch, human connection and her family. She watches them from the shadows, never getting to be a part of the world she has been denied but it bound to. Obviously this leads to her feelings about herself, her life and her family being extremely complicated. She loves her family, but years of being ignored and apart from them is obviously going to build up a lot of hurt and resentment. There is also a lot of mistrust and suspicion, and it felt realistic because family can be such a complicated thing. I love that this was explored and not overlooked, as it was such an important part of Soraya’s character and journey! I really enjoyed seeing Soraya’s growth and progression as a character. She starts so timid, and really grows into herself, and realises who she is and who she is meant to be. Soraya is bisexual/pansexual (I’m not sure which), and so that makes the theme of self discovery even more important. It’s powerful and beautiful and I loved being inside her head.

Sorays’s relationships with other characters felt nuanced and were also complicated in other ways. There was a contrast between her family and the new influences in her life – Azad, a guard who notices her, and Parvaneh, the Div (demon) captive who seems to know so much about her. Soraya has been starved of love, touch and attention for her whole life, and because of this, the romance seemed really natural to me. It’s not ‘instalove’ (which I am never a fan of!) it’s a desire to be seen, to be touched, and to have someone care about her despite her curse. It was really well written, and didn’t feel forced. Everything in this book felt like it was there for a reason. There were callbacks to earlier moments, twists and turns, foreshadowing and important information. It all felt very deliberate, and the writing style was gripping and gorgeous. It captivated me from the moment I started it, and I couldn’t stop reading it.

The setting was beautiful. Though we don’t see much of the world, as Soraya is hidden away, everything we do see is full of rich detail. Of course the Persian inspired setting comes through and Bashardoust weaves together unfamiliar terms and phrases (for those of us new to Persian/Zoroastrian culture and mythology) into the text in a way that flows perfectly and never feels clunky. It made me want to read up more on the things mentioned, despite being given a basic enough understanding for the text which led to a whole evening reading up on dakhmeh, and another on divs and language. There’s even a section o0f influences and further reading at the back of the book which I can’t wait to start on!

Overall, I absolutely adored this book. It was beautiful, magical and everything I was hoping for and more. It’s definitely one of my favourite books so far this year, and Soraya is such an incredible character. The world is complex and rich, the romance is perfect and it has excellent bisexual rep! I can’t recommend it enough!

Before I get into the actual review I just wanted to express my undying love to the main character, Soraya. She is an absolute gem. I love everything about her from the way that she was written to everything that she goes through; simply put I would die for her.

Now that that is established, the actual book was a treat!
I loved the Persian inspired fantasy, the world created is absolutely lush and just the world-building is so great and exciting. I believe that anyone who is a fan of high fantasy or Asian inspired worlds (or non-Western Fantasy in general) would find this novel to be great.
The characters themselves were amazing, I loved how flawed they were and how complex their relationships were. and I just found myself connecting instantly to Soraya and everything that she has to face and just found her anti-heroine stance to be quite refreshing.

On to the plot, I would describe that as medium-paced. There were bits where it felt like the book was moving too fast and others that felt like they were kind of slow but overall I believe that the author did a perfectly wonderful job of pacing the story and putting everything together to keep it both interesting and exciting. The plot-twist was kind of foreseeable but I personally believe that that is just a sign that the author had done a great job at building up the plot and leading to it so I simply did not object to anything!

Perhaps the one thing that I found myself uninterested in was the romance? it is f/f (which i'm all in for!) but I am usually not the biggest fan of romance in fantasy books and this simply was just another case of me not caring much for the romantic aspect as much as the actual fantasy; however, the pairing itself was great for those who do enjoy romance!

To wrap it up, I believe this is a perfect fantasy standalone and I'm glad I got to read it as I definitely believe we need more standalones in the fantasy genre!

From the author of Girls Made of Snow and Glass, comes an original fairytale steeped in Persian mythology. Bashardoust brings us to a gorgeous setting with some ambitious characters. And yet, I felt Girl, Serpent, Thorn was a little lacking in the story overall.


The Setting

Something that drew me to this book – apart from the obviously stunning cover – was the idea of a Persian-style fairytale. And this was something that did not disappoint.

The descriptions of the world, the palace, the clothing – all of it – is something that was gorgeously written. I quickly felt transported into a story that felt both new and shiny, yet timely and mythological.

The world-building meshed seamlessly with the story itself. A story of a girl – maybe monster – wanting to break her curse set on her mother’s firstborn daughter? It was meant to be told in a setting of culture and mythology.


The Characters

Don’t get me wrong – I liked the characters. But Soraya, our main character, was not the stand out for me. Perhaps it was because I feel like I have heard the story of a cursed girl before. Or perhaps it is partially just Bashardoust’s main characters.

Many of my feelings from Girls Made of Snow and Glass were repeated with the writing of this story. When it comes to the main character – the idea and the way the character is written and developed is something I enjoyed in a critical sense. But when I consider any emotion toward the character, she just feels a bit flat and underwhelming.

However, I did really enjoy the characters of Azad and Parvenah.

Azad is the citizen-turned-soldier who becomes Soraya’s companion on her journey to break her curse. While I wasn’t a fan of his portrayal at the beginning of the story, this is a character with fantastic development, both in plot and character.

Parvenah, a div (pronounced DEEV, a demon-type character) who offers Soraya a way to break her curse, was by far my favourite character. The character development within Parvenah was one of my favourite things in this story, something that I think truly outdid the main storyline.


The Plot

I want to preface by saying that I knew nothing of Persian mythology prior to this book. And thus, the way in which Girl, Serpent, Thorn acts as an inspiring story or retelling is not something that I can, or will, comment on.

I enjoyed the way this story played out, I truly did. But, similar to Girls Made of Snow and Glass, I think the pacing is the key thing that pulled away from the story for me.

In a general sense, I am not a reader who enjoys slower-paced books. This particularly applies to fantasy stories. And while there are exceptions to this rule, it tends to be because there is another component of the story that is just SO GREAT that makes the pacing bearable to me.

But in Girl, Serpent, Thorn so much of the story – the plot, the pacing, the characters – felt just okay. Even in the parts that I enjoyed, they were never enjoyed in an intense way that distracted me from how the story seemed to drag to me.


The Audio

I enjoyed the audio for Girl, Serpent, Thorn. But I really don’t have much else to say on that.

It was good but it didn’t blow me away. I think the audio made the pacing in this book a little better for me, but it also didn’t turn into a fast-paced, engaging read.

I think the narrator did what she could with this story and did a fine job.


Overall, I think Girl, Serpent, Thorn was a great book that told an interesting story with some gorgeous world-building. If you like slower-paced fantasy or stories steeped in mythological backdrops, this might be the book for you.

But personally, I think I have decided that Bashardoust’s writing just isn’t for me.

A poisonous girl threatens the people closest to her, if anyone were to touch her they will die. Soraya suffers from loneliness, is exiled from her family, her city, living in the shadows because poison flows through her veins and she can kill somebody anytime. But a mysterious boy gets intrigued by Soraya and he doesn’t seem scared of her.

Her family travels every summer and she is left behind, only able to watch them return each fall from her tower where she is hidden away. After their return one season she sees a new face, among her brothers guard and looks to the tower and sees her as well. His name is Azad and he is a commoner that has become a royal guard because he saved the Shah when a div attacked him. Div’s are from Mount Arzur.

Soraya learns that the div that attacked her brother was caught and now resides in the dungeon. She believes that the div might have the answer to reversing her curse. Soraya uses the tunnels in the castle to sneak down and speak to the div. she meets Azad who helps her and she finds information that may help her.

Inspired by Persian mythology, has a morally grey bi main character who is spending the book walking on the edge of being villainous , monster girlfriends, lyrical writing that drags you directly into the world and with so many many twists and turns it will keep you turning the pages.

There were so many people I wanted Soraya to touch sometimes, I couldn’t imagine having that power in a split decision the worst out come is you kill someone and thats terrifying. I wish Soraya was little bit stronger of a character at time she was a little gullible and when paid attention she was easily distracted.

Overall I really enjoyed this read, a tale very well twisted and the writing was good, the world was well built and I would be interested in reading from this author again.

While the premise of Girl, Serpent Thorn is very unique and interesting and I was super excited to get to read this beautiful book, the execution couldn't completely convince me.

The characters in this story felt a little flat and I had problems connecting properly with anything. This is one of the few times I think a story should have been longer and fleshed out more. The romance plot was so underdeveloped, I think it should have been left out completely.

Still, this story isn't like any I read before and I would still recommend checking it out to anyone who's interested in it.

Ever since I saw the cover I wanted to read this book. The description peaked my interest even more. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me an e ARC in exchange of an honest review.
It was an engaging read. It's about a girl Soraya, who was cursed as a child to have a poisonous touch. She has been hidden by her family. The only person who sees her for who she is and wants to help her get rid of the curse is Azad. He encourages her to do so and is not afraid of her.
Soraya was accepting of herself and took what she wanted instead of being a damsel in distress and waiting to be saved.
Soraya grows as a person despite her flaws and I couldn't help liking her. A true feminist fairytale.

The plot was beautiful and was woven with Persian Mythology and folklore. I didn't expect the twists and turns. The writing was culturally lush, lyrical and engrossing.
The world building was good. I liked the different representation too like the morally grey characters, the Bi representation, Sorayas complicated family. The power of self acceptance, touch starvation (yes its real) the portrayal of loneliness..
It had many Persian words (the mythology part) but it was all touched upon in the end. The last few pages explained the lore. Very fairytale-esque.
Bad decisions, betrayals, twists and turns makes it a page turner. It was simply brilliant. I can't recommend it enough. Get your copy, you won't be disappointed.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was an amazing read. What stood out to me most was the setting and the characters. I loved the castle with its secret passageways and hidden stories to tell. I could not get enough of our main character and the Bi-sexual rep in this came as a total pleasant surprise. The plot was exciting and kept me hooked from the very beginning. I was worried that this may feel very similar to Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series as that also follows a main protagonist who can not touch any other living things but I was thrilled that this felt totally different and not like anything I had read before. I loved the complicated and complex relationships formed throughout this book and honestly just wish there was more from this world that I could jump right into. I would highly recommend this one.
4 out of 5 stars.

This book is one of my absolute favourite books that I have read for the longest time. There is so much depth to this YA fantasy novel. The plot is twisted between fantasy and fairytale. There are many different obstacles that are fought throughout this book, with much adventure. The plot details a girl who is poisonous to the touch, a concept I have personally not come across before! I would have loved to see more books in this world, but to my understanding this book is a standalone novel. There is aspects of powerful female roles in this book and I absolutely loved it, self rescue! That is something I haven;t read in a long time. The lead characters Soraya and her twin Sorush are fabulous, they cannot touch any other living creature without causing them to die. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hodderscape for this advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own.

The synopsis and cover made me want to read this book.

Let me tell you, the way the story started - like a fairy tale - was something I really liked and it got me curious to read more and find out more.

Soraya can't live with her family because of her curse. If she's touched or if she touches anything or anyone, she kills them. However, when she finds out a div - demon - has been captured and she might be able to find out how she could break the curse, she decides enough is enough and she'll do pretty much anything to get rid of it. She trusts easily - not that I blame her - what turns out to be the wrong person, but she also finds out she's been lied to, her entire life. So that, I believes, plays an important part in trusting that wrong person.

Now, because I don't want to spoil anything, I'll just say that I really liked the villain. The author managed to create and write him in such a way, that I was lured to him. I was rooting for him. Not that I had anything against Soraya, on the contrary. It's because I felt sorry for her and how she's lived and how she's been lied to that had me rooting for the bad guy. I don't know if that makes sense, but short of spoiling the book, I can't say it any other way and you'll just have to read it, to see what I mean.

I loved the lore, the Persian mythology - I'm a sucker for these things and themes.

So why this rating? I found it slow-paced, not the kind of book I missed and thought about when I wasn't reading it. I also ended up skipping and flip-reading it, when I reached 70%. So maybe the execution wasn't the best.

However, I do recommend this book because there were some feels. And a lovable monster. Don't judge, I love a good monster/villain/bad guy in BOOKS ONLY. Let me emphasize that.

I voluntarily agreed to read an early copy via Netgalley and I want to thank the publisher for it. My rating is 3.5 stars.

I think this was a truly intricate and interesting fantasy novel. I liked a lot of the elements of the world and the story, my issues were deeply rooted in myself and my own issues with how I didn’t understand a lot of going on, I had trouble keeping focus and had to keep rereading parts of the story to keep up and it ended up taking me more time that it should have.

Again, I really liked the characters, I didn’t feel they felt particularly new to me or anything but they were solid and well thought out characters.

Overall, I’d recommend this book it just wasn’t exactly for me.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I don't usually read a lot of fantasy, but I saw everyone talking about this book, so I requested it and I'm glad I did!

Soraya is such a powerful character, I loved how she ended up embracing her true self instead of fighting it - it's really a lesson to all of us to stop fighting our flaws but start embracing them with kindness and compassion.

I ADORED the relationship between Soraya and Parvaneh: F/F enemies to friends to lovers?? Sign me up!!

I honestly didn't see the first plot twist coming and it completely threw me off on my expectations on how the story was supposed to go, so kudos to the author!!

The writing style was fluid and it kept me hooked, so I definitely recommend it to any fantasy lovers!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy!

This book was one of my most anticipated books of 2020, and it definitely did not disappoint. It was an original Persian fantasy, mythological and fairy tale retelling with a bisexual antiheroine.
The story was captivating, especially for such a short standalone fantasy book. The story was divided into two clear main parts, with a massive plot right in the middle, both equally interesting and exciting to read about. Also, that prologue was executed excellently drawing the reader in to a legend and a story formed from it.
At the beginning we meet Soraya, the sister of the Shah, who is poisonous to the touch trapped inside her own home, Golvahar, as a secret hidden from the kingdom. Due to her curse, she is hidden away since birth, with only her mother as her visitor, but only for a short period every year.
Her twin brother, the Shah, is about to get married, that leads Soraya down a more lonely, jealous and longing path. Then, she meets a charismatic new guard, called Azad, and Soraya starts to question her curse and her family’s involvement in it.
And the epic adventure only just begins. On the way we meet demons, divs both good and bad, fiery birds, sister-hood and Parvaneh, a div with many intentions and secrets of her own.
Azad hides secrets of his own too, and as he evolves to be the perfect villain, drawing out the antiheroine sides of Soraya, I could not help but love all the tangled relationships this book offered. Azad’s fascination of Soraya, however, I thought blinded him so much and allowed her to play him, even though it was very obvious that she tried to escape him. I thought, Azad was a perfect villain to Soraya’s antiheroine, drawing her potentials and their similarities out. I particularly enjoyed discovering his background, his ill-intended motivation and I could not help but enjoy his character, flaws and all.
Parvaneh, our secretive, perfect monster love interest was another fascinating character in this book, however, I wish I got to learn a bit more about her. I loved her character, her mysteriousness, her flaws and tenderness towards Soraya. Her sense of belonging and righting old mistakes definitely gave her a drive that could be felt throughout the whole story. Her relationship with Soraya grew slow and steady, mostly in the second half of the book, and I wish I got to know more about the development of her feelings towards Soraya.
There were so many amazing side characters as well, and they were not one dimensional, but everyone had a backstory and evolved in many ways throughout the story. Soraya’s mother was one character who really grew on me through her complexity and sacrifices.
The writing was lyrical, flowing and so detailed. It paced well, the reading seemed effortless, hence, I could just fly through the pages. For a standalone fantasy novel it was well developed, however, I wish I knew more about dark Soraya and how she redeems herself to be the heroine of the story. Maybe, a duology for this story might have allowed that darkness to be explored some more.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn was a near perfect fantasy standalone with Persian mythology and Sleeping Beauty fairy tale elements, beautiful world-building, well-developed characters, motivated and complex villains and f/f main character relationship. The message of being poisonous from the outside, but open for love, acceptance, sense of purpose and example to her kingdom. Learning to accept our flaws and love ourselves and our potentials.
I can only recommend it to all! I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy as soon as it is published, as I need to own this book with that gorgeous cover.

Enter a world of poison, lies and secrets, filled with morally grey characters who blur the lines between hero and villain. A fairytale where no one is what they seem, and victory might mean surrender.

This YA fantasy is phenomenal. It has a cinematic quality and would make a brilliant film.

The setting was stunning. I loved the secret passage ways, Soroya's garden and even the darker locations like the dakhmeh.

Soroya is a character who will stick with me. She teeters so close to darkness I was never sure whether this was going to be a villain narrative or a heroic one, which made Girl, Serpent, Thorn all the more exciting to read.

Over the course of the novel, Soroya becomes caught in a tangle of family secrets and regret, with hidden motivations and a plot fuelled by misunderstanding and manipulation. Tension runs high throughout and it is very hard to put this novel down!

At its heart, however, this novel also contains a beautiful, LGBTQ romance which will leave readers swooning. It also explores the dangers of toxic relationships and manipulation.

This is also a story about learning to accept yourself, to reach your full potential, and not being afraid to embrace your true character. It is about isolation and feeling as though you don't fit in, but also finding your place in your family, even if it's not the one you expect.

In short, this is a beautiful, thrilling fantasy I will be recommending to everyone!

I loved this book! I rarely like standalone fantasy due to the fact I always find that there is something crucial missing that always impacts on my enjoyment. This is not the case for Girl Serpent Thorn. I feel like it was perfect as a standalone and love that the author recognised this and did not drag it out unnecessarily.

Despite the fact there was not a lot of world building I found that I somehow already knew the world and the logistics behind it. It was like reading an old fairytale with a twist, a fairytale that I was already familiar with so really there did not seem to be a need for any extra world building.

I absolutely love the characters in this book! I loved watching Soraya's development throughout the book, so much uncertainty to begin with, but the change and the development that she has been through during the course of this book is fantastic and so wonderful to see. What I particularly enjoyed about her is the pull between being a dark and light character, I loved watching that happen and seeing her overcome it to the best of her ability. I loved the romance aspect to this. I really liked the exploration of Soraya's sexuality and the openness she has for it.

I loved getting to know the evil in this world. The Divs were so interesting, as well as the overall villain. I don't want to give more detail because of spoilers. But I did love this dynamic and I loved getting to know it in all of the depths that we are given by the author.

Overall I loved this book and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

"Sometimes the princess is the monster".

Princess Soraya is born cursed, any living being who touches her will die. She has grown up listening to a story told by her mother where a girl is cursed by a 'div' (demon) as she had stolen something of him. The curse made the girl's 1st born daughter poisonous. Soraya has always wondered why the 1st born 'daughter', why not just 1st born child? Why not Sorush?

Sorush is her elder brother, the Shah(king) of Atashar. While he lives in the light, Soraya has always lived in the darkness of the palace tower, for protection. No one had ever seen her until now. As the Shah's royal procession approaches the palace, a soldier spots her and she is thrilled by the idea of someone seeing her for the 1st time. She gets the news that Shah is to marry Laleh, her childhood friend soon. Laleh comes to her and tells her about a div being captured with the help of Azad, the soldier who had spotted her. Soraya suddenly has a chance to know the cure for her curse, all she needs to do ask the div. But of course, it's not as simple as that, it never is.

We follow Soraya in her dangerous and thrilling journey to find the cure and we see the consequences of her actions. There is love, betrayal, magic, demons, and lots of secrets in this book. It is a refreshing fantasy story inspired by Persian fairytales which makes it unique. The themes of loneliness and estrangement are evident, also, the idea of good/bad and right/ wrong is explored in depth. Love is another important element and we get to see a queer couple.

While the story gets points for uniqueness, I don't think the magic system was good enough. Nor were the characters' motivation sufficient to take the actions they did. The love story was ok but Soraya appeared to be quite immature in her dealings with her potential lovers. That being said, I'll recommend you read it if you want something different.

Rating- ⭐⭐⭐.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an e-ARC of the book.

This is a fantasy standalone which is one of the aspects that definitely intrigued me when I first stumbled upon this novel. I was curious to see how such a complex story could be wrapped up in a single book. I must say the author did a pretty good job and I was mostly happy with the resolutions at the end of the novel.
I did think that some things were resolved way too quickly and also too easily. Let's just say that the thing that is supposed to be quite difficult to obtain, is actually not so hard to find.

Soraya is a very complex character, who makes some debatable choices throughout the story. Her power is quite unique and it was definitely interesting to read about.

In my opinion the story could have been fleshed out a little better, especially in some parts. Also, I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing, it didn't hold my attention and I didn't find it as gripping as the story would have demanded.

If you're looking for a fantasy story with a gray main character with unique abilities, you might want to check this out!