I enjoyed this one so much, it was utterly bingeable, unexpectedly funny, and I had plenty of fun discussions with my buddy read partner. Most importantly, I didn't ever have that (unfortunately increasingly common) feeling of slight disappointment that tends to accompany reading new releases these days. (The hype power of social media is a beast a half!)

My reading experience here definitely benefitted from having my expectations tempered. 'Violet Made of Thorns' was all over my social media before its release and sounded AMAZING, but a few lukewarm reviews made me go into this with less emotional pre-investment. As you can tell from the last paragraph, this resulted in a Great Time™.

'Violet Made of Thorns' is very atmospheric, heightened by some lovely prose (many a highlight!), and perfect to read in autumn/spooky season. With strange visions, unsettling prophecies and witchiness afoot, the nods to fairy tale elements only elevated the darkly magical and dangerously beautiful (or beautifully dangerous?) vibes. Atmosphere: check...however the setting could have been boosted by the map depicting Auveny' neighbouring countries, rather than just the capital city.

The titular Violet is very engaging (as a main character ought to be!), Cyrus was...fine (lol), and some of the side characters stood out as well. Dante (Cyrus and Violet's mutual friend) and Camilla (Cyrus' sister) were particularly striking - Camilla needs more development yet still won me over almost immediately. There is also another who would be a spoiler to name... (Annoyingly, at the time of writing this review, I've actually forgotten who this is, because past me apparently thought that the spoiler warning applied to me too and didn't bother writing down this mystery character's name in my notes...) I hope to see them in Book 2!!

We know right off the bat that this is going to have an enemies-to-lovers plotline, yet I was both surprised and not by the trajectory of the romance. I had a theory that I was really hoping for...but the series isn't over yet! (I am furious at my past self for not writing down this theory in my notes, because by now I've forgotten.) I will say that I did get confused by how Cyrus and another character seemed to be falling and then that thread was just suddenly dropped. (Teenage hormones?)

The plot was full of surprises and I loved that while my veteran YA Fantasy experience could predict general points, they didn't unfold the way I expected. I was also impressed with how seamlessly the messages about imperialism and propaganda (that are unfortunately still all too relevant today) were woven into this fantasy world. That said, the story did annoyingly leave some apparently key things unexplained, like the significance of fairies and fayflowers. There also seemed to be this throwaway but essential thing about fairies and hope? I'm hoping these get expanded on in Book 2.

My immediate thought after closing the book was that I NEED Book 2. NOW. What an absolute rollercoaster of a finale...so much was happening that I kept turning the page thinking, 'Surely now it'll be the end/epilogue?'. I loved the fairytale-esque closer - very in keeping with the 'spin' propaganda theme - and I'm really looking forward to the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley, who provided an arc of Violet Made of Thorns. I felt neutral towards this story, mainly because how I wanted to see the 2 main characters interact and wished they were actual enemies rather than 2 people who hate each other but are still on the same coin.

A love story, a wonderful wordlbuilding and amazing characters make this book so incredible to read!!!

I went into Violet Made of Thorns expecting a fun fantasy enemies-to-lovers romp with a snarky main character and some fairy tale magic twisted into exciting directions. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed!

Violet Made of Thorns felt largely unfocused and chaotic, it took me quite a while to get into it and then I felt like the book wasn’t really going where I expected! With the setup of various prophecies, a bride, dooming war and a dying magical forest, I was waiting for some kind of quest or travel element! Instead, all the action barely leaves the palace. The plot developments felt fairly passive for most of the book and then the last 10% just went wild but none of the developments felt particularly earned!

Overall, I felt like the world building was lacking depth and with all the fairy tale tropes and political workings, nothing was explored in depth in favour of packing in as many ideas as possible. In many ways, this felt like a prequel and I found the ending to be utterly unsatisfying. Most of the questions about different magics, political intrigues and the future of the kingdom remain just as nebulous as they did at the start of the book. As a reader, this makes me feel like I haven’t gained much from joining these characters on their adventure because few things feel like they have changed in meaningful ways, or at least we don’t get to stick around long enough to see those changes in action!

However, I do love Violet. She’s cold and snarky and I appreciate that she didn’t change much throughout the book! So often these kinds of “unlikeable” female main characters end up being “softened by love” or something of the sort and I love that Violet gets to be her delightfully insufferable self all the way through the end.

The enemies-to-lovers romance was enjoyable and was the aspect of the book that felt the most earned and explored to me as a reader. Cyrus and Violet have a history, are at odds in their views on life and political goals and overall have very good reasons to not like each other...but just as many to be a terribly good match.
If you like enemies to lovers stories where they both hate that they don’t hate each other, this is the book for you.

loved the black cat dynamic in this story and how Violet put herself and her status above romance. so much more realistic than putting love above everything else and living for her girlboss era! and also the world building? *chef‘s kiss*

Great fairytale story. Good characters, fast paced and lots of twists and turns. Would definitely read book two.

It took me a while to read this, but not necessarily because it's not enjoyable! I loved the cunning characters, but I should have expected the fairytales that are woven into the storyline. I'm not a huge retelling fan, I honestly mostly stay away from fairytales, but this was okay.

The buildup was.. really slow, I do wish that would have sped up a bit faster, but I still really liked the story and the ending! I am quite excited to read the next book!

Oh my goodness, I am absolutely smitten with the premise of this story! It's like a breath of fresh air that has reminded me just how much I've been missing out on YA fantasy. The plot is an absolute blast, and I can't get enough of the main character, Violet. She's just so darn lovable! While the world building could have been a bit stronger, and there were a few plot holes that I couldn't help but notice, they weren't anything too serious that detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book. I will say, though, that this book could have easily been condensed into a standalone. But hey, that's just my two cents! All in all, the romance in this book is just too cute for words, and it was the perfect read to help me out of my reading slump.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this YA fantasy and eagerly await more in the series. While Violet Made of Thorns has a lot of popular motifs and themes, it managed to feel original and hold its own place in the genre.

This book was archived over a year ago so I do not believe my future review after I finish this book will be helpful. I am still looking forward to reading this novel and will support the author's future works.

This book was not what l expected it to be and I really enjoyed reading this story.

This was A really fun but most definitely a very cliche ya book and that is what it's meant to be. And it will definitely be suited for a more ya audience compared to where I am in my reading journey

Violet made of thorns is full of fairytale twists morally grey character and a fun comedic enemy to lovers trope. We follow violet and her life a as a seer Where her prophecy for the Prince has a lot of consequences and puts her whole kingdom at risk.

I am really looking forward to back two because while this book is not aimed at me I still love a romcom fantasy and I really want to know if our mc and Prince will continue to push the limits between being a hero or a villain

Violet Made of Thorns follows Violet, an orphaned girl who was taken in by the palace as a Seer for the King and his obnoxious son, who is determined to take away the position as soon as he is crowned. As the land descends into chaos, Violet is suddenly struck with frequent visions of a curse that puts both Violet and the prince in grave danger and, the more time Violet spends with the prince trying to unravel the curse, the harder it becomes to resist their growing attraction to one another.

This book is a really interesting take on a fairytale retelling, with elements of Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and probably others that I didn’t pick up on thrown in. Cyrus is a completely unique spin on Prince Charming for fans of The Cruel Prince and enemies-to-lovers romance, and Violet is anything but a damsel-in-distress, so this whole plot was a really fun take for fairytale lovers who are tired of the traditional tales.

I generally liked the cast of characters, although some of the dialogue between characters did feel a little inauthentic, and a few of the side characters felt a little too much like caricatures to be fully believable. That aside though, I thought Violet was a really entertaining protagonist whose dry wit felt very authentic, and whose rivalry with Cyrus completely drew me in.

It took me a long time to get into this book but, as soon as I did, I couldn’t put it down at all. It's a fun read for anyone who enjoys enemies-to-lovers fantasy and fairytale-retellings, and I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out.

A magical world, but unfortunately with a very fast moving storyline

"Violet Made of Thorns" is the first novel by Gina Chen and tells the story of Prince Cyrus and the seer Violet.

A kingdom under threat. A cursed forest. And only the marriage of Prince Cyrus with the right bride can still save the kingdom.

The seer Violet has been working in the royal palace since her childhood. This job was her reward for saving young Cyrus. Decades later, Violet is the court seer and the king's puppet. She is a cunning young woman who learned early in life how to survive. I like Violet a lot. She's not a pushover and she's pretty smart. But I like her best when she's with Cyrus.

Cyrus is like a white knight who wants to save his kingdom from the great threat of monsters. However, he is not oblivious to the intrigues and manipulations at court. He is very good at hiding his abilities and thoughts from others, only Violet manages to push all the buttons with him.

I love the banter between the two and the air literally burns between them! Nevertheless, the love story between Cyrus and Violet could me unfortunately little convincing. It lacked a lot of depth, which is a shame, because it could have been a real enemies-to-lover story if the story had given them time to develop.

Violet Made of Thorns exudes absolute fairy tale vibes! I found the magical world very fascinating, you have to deal with all sorts of fantastical creatures.

I give Violet Made of Thorns 3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! The premise immediately hooked my interest and it was filled with twisty characters and such intense plot! And the cover is so beautiful.

Violet is a prophet and a liar, influencing the court as Seer with her cleverly phrased - and not always true - divinations. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so-not-charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to strip her of her title once he's crowned.

After the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus's love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse about the prince's future bride. Her wits may protect her in the cutthroat court, but they can't protect her against fate - nor the doomed attraction growing between her and the prince . . .

Such a good book, I am in love

This was an okay read for me, I liked the context in the early third but as it rolled out, I did lose some interest.

I liked:
-prophecy gift of the FMC
-her irreverant relationship with the prince
-the hate-love

I disliked:
-the hate-love (I know, I was conflicted)
-lack of loyalty from the FMC
-some of the banter switched me off.

I love when there is a strong female character in a book and Gina Chen delivered with Violet. The world building and the connection between the characters especially Violet and Cyrus. I loved that the plot kept the story going and there was no time to wonder what was going to happen next.

Definitely looking forward to the next book.

I’m honestly surprised how much I liked this book. There is a mixture of fairytales woven into this story and it honestly makes it that much more enjoyable.

You have a Prince and a Seer who are at odds. They are enemies who are at odds and it’s putting the country at risk.

We have a dark Witch who is wanting to make the prophecy about the prince come true and in doing so manipulates the rest of the characters.

Honestly this was such an enjoyable read. The main character Violet - you don’t know if she’s the villain or the hero and I would say she is deliciously morally grey. She wants to save her own skin, she’s selfish but you can see why she is. She’s at the mercy of the king due to being a seer - she has to see the future of others and in doing so she has to be polite - and let me tell you she does not like that. She ambitious and will do anything to stay on top.

There is a lot that goes on in this book but it’s so well written you didn’t feel lost in it. I love the added fairytale twist throughout which is a mixture I feel of Beauty and the Beast - there are beasts and roses play a big part and thorns and Maleficent - so sleeping beauty vibes with the thorns and the dark witch.

The secondary characters - Dante and Camilla and another level to the book. And I can see there characters coming more to the forefront in book two. This was quite dark at times and I’m here for it.

Im excited for book two as I’m intrigued to see what happens next!

I didn´t hate it but I didn't love it, it was a good beginning, promising even, but it came out a bit flat.

The main characters are a bit generic, trying to appease to different tastes and just end up being bland. The girl is not a morally gray personality, just a bit mean. The prince is supposed to be a womaniser but a good boy at the same time, which doesn't fit really well. It's supposed to be a friend to enemies to lovers, but we only see the enemies to lovers’ part, and the friends is only told, never demonstrated with previous scenes.

There’s no much worldbuilding, where does the magic come from, and sight for that matter? Why is the Feywood rotting, or even exists? The country politics and society also fall a bit short. But it is a short book, and I think that it is supposed to be a series so it might get developed latter on.

It wasn't a terrible book but it was forgettable, Violet was an entertaining character, but the rest of was just uninteresting. The story wasn't solid, it had plot holes and the plot-twists were unnatural, didn't fit with the plot.
About the romance, I always need some romance, but this one felt forgettable and I didn't feel the spark.

This is one of the books that made me admit that perhaps I am just a little too old to really click with YA anymore. As such, I'll try to keep this review focused on the objective side of things: this is a very fun and slick YA fantasy that takes some of the classic tropes (brooding prince, untouchable magical girl) and combines them into a story that is bound to thrill those who like their reading a little dark and edgy. It didn't touch on the court politics as much as I was hoping, but the enemies-to-lovers romance is simply more of the focus than the world-building or intrigue, and those who love that trope should be well-served. Four stars for quality, with the caveat that it wasn't for me personally.