Violet Made of Thorns follows Violet who is a seer. The story is told in first person from Violet's point of view. It is Gina Chen's debut novel and the first part of a duology. Violet is a seer so the court believes her prophecies but she has been manipulating the people by changing the wording of her divinations. There is a dreaded curse surrounding Cyrus which will make or break the kingdom. Tensions build between Cyrus and Violet. The kingdom needs to be saved amid the attraction between Cyrus and Violet. The writing is easy to read and enjoyable. I can easily see many people loving this young adult fantasy novel. The map is gorgeous too. However, I cannot give it more than three stars because it did feel a little flat to me and I suspect that is because I am not the audience for this novel.

Actual rating: ★★★★.75

Well shit. Now I have to wait until 2023 for the sequel. This cover! 😌👌 Violet made of thorns is a great and very entertaining debut. As a major fan of morally grey characters, enemies to lovers and dark fantasy this book was perfect for me. People who hate and kiss each other? 😈 Yes please.

Cyrus, a cursed prince who's kingdom's fate relies on him choosing a bride, wants to marry for love. He has been stalling for too long so the king, with the help of his seer, sets him up with a noblewoman. But the seer–Violet– has dreams and visions. The prince's bride is not who she seems to be. Together they work to unravel the secrets to prevent something terrible from happening.

The burning question: Is Violet made of thorns similar to The cruel prince? Not really in my opinion, other than the enchantments and intense love/hate relationship between Cyrus and Violet. I'd say it's a bit more romance focused.

The story is inspired by multiple fairytales. I noticed subtle references to Cinderella, Beauty and the beast and Sleeping Beauty.

I loved Violet for being brutally honest and an unapologetic liar at the same time. Cyrus is a pretentious ass lol. He and Violent were always bickering at the beginning. Later they start to get along better. Sometimes. He wants to have her gone but Violent, well... She's determined to keep her position as the kingdom's seer. Then we have Dante, Cyrus' best friend and confidant,who was also a favorite. He's the neutral middle ground between them. And lastly Camilla, Cyrus' twin sister, a supportive sapphic queen. 😏

The pacing was moderate from the beginning the 2nd half however was packed with twists.

What I was missing were the ✨fantasy names✨ (at least for the main characters) . The names were flowery (and modern?) It felt weird. Then again roses, vines, thorns were significant to the story so maybe it was going for that kind of vibe

Received this books as an ARC in exchange for an honest review so here we go 💕

Rating: 5/5⭐️

Violet sees the world to clearly - and that’s not only because she has some seer talents. She’s a prophet and a liar, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased divinations. She’s there to save herself and no one else. Cyrus is our oh-not-so Prince Charming who plans to strip Violet of her official role once he’s crowned king and holds a few secrets of his own - including his own heart. But when the king asks Violet to falsely prophesy Cyrus’s love story, Violet awakens a dreaded curse - one that will end in either damnation or salvation for the kingdom. After all, there’s always a price for defying destiny.

I absolutely devoured this really well and beautifully written book! It was so captivating and entertaining, that every single free moment I had were quickly devoted to continue reading. This is a great YA fantasy debut for Gina Chen! And I want to say that I love the book cover! It’s absolutely stunning!

Violet is not your typical heroine and Cyrus much less your typical Prince Charming but together they do form a good team - even if they don’t want to! Most of the time it’s full of mischief and lies and it would be very helping if for once they were just honest with each-other…! And of course with lot of forbidden romance in the mix!

What a delightful surprise! Beauty and the beast has always been my favourite fairytale and it was just beautiful the way this magical tale gets it’s own spin and twist in this amazing darkly enchanting story! All the little details between a beast mask with horns, rotten and poisoned thorns full of prophesies and curses, dark red roses that resemble blood and a war that seems inescapable!

I cannot wait to see the rest of Violet and Cyrus’s story unfolded! And the next book cannot come quick enough!

Keep an eye on my bookstagram (@maria_bookshelf) as I’ll be posting this review and a lovely photo to go along, in the middle of April!

This book title and cover drew me in i'm not going to lie. I love it all so much - its right up my street. I loved how witty and sassy the main character Violet was. She took no prisoners and instantly took over the story. I love protagnists who don't scare away/
I enjoyed the romance wholeheartedly. I loved the love to hate relationship and i cant wait to see what happens with them in book two. The plot was exciting and intriguing and i loved the worldbuilding. Id say this was a unique dark fantasy with a protaganist you'll either hate or love.