Of course, is this only my personal opinion on the book and just because I give this rating to the book doesn’t mean, that everyone will have that opinion. I received this ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own!

This book immediately gave me Cardan and Jude in Wicked King Vibes and I am here for it! But please don’t mistake this comparison for lack of originality. This story is still fantastic on its own.
The writing style is comfortable and easy to read. I would say that you can also read this book if English is not your native language and you want to dip your foot into reading English fantasy. I really enjoyed my reading time.
I had some problems with the world-building at the beginning. The world is not overly complex like a high fantasy book, but I like to know where I am while reading, so: Thanks for the map!
The plot was really good and fast-paced and if I didn’t need sleep that night, I would have devoured it in one sitting.
I like the characters a lot, especially Violet, because she is a strong female protagonist, who isn’t a mindless mess in terms of men.
Yes, there is some spice in this book but nothing overly erotic so I think it still fits into the YA Genre.
I am excited for the next book in this duology and also to see what other book ideas Gina Chen will come up with.

Conclusion
Perfect for Fans of Cruel Prince in need of a nice Enemies to Something Fantasy Story.

If you want to read more of my reviews check out my blog ( https://paulajosina.wordpress.com/ ) or my Instagram ( @bloggerinthejogger)

Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen is the start of a new ya fantasy duology.

Violet is a prophet and seer in this world. This gives her a special position that provides her a good life. But she is kind of an anti-heroine who doesn’t always tell the truth. This was so unique and seeing Violet‘s flaws from the beginning made her so much more relatable.

She works for the kingdom and the king really likes her. But the prince is the exact opposite and can’t stand her and Prince Cyrus would rather get rid of her immediately. Cyrus was also such a fascinating character and I loved him as well.

Violet and Cyrus just know how to push each other’s buttons, but at the same time there are sparks between them. However, that is the last thing they need as the land is under a curse and no one can mess with fate. I just loved every page of this book and I already can’t wait to buy a physical copy and reread it while waiting for the next installment. Also one of my favorite stories is the folk of the air series and this book kind of gave me the same vibes and I was all for that.

Overall, Violet Made of Thorns not only has amazing characters, but also an enemies-to-lovers and dark fairytale vibe and that made it my new favorite. 5 stars.

(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

This was an okay read. The writing felt bland and a little inconsistent at the times. I really liked the pitch for the romance but it ended up falling flat for me. The characters were a little annoying and bland except for Violet. I really liked her character as an antiheroine and was a fresh change from the usual young adult heroines. The world building was interesting but also confusing and needed a bit more work. I think the idea for this book was great and had potential but ultimately the execution wasn't too great.

"To be remembered as someone good, you have to do good.
To be remembered as someone great, you have to get elbow-deep in bullshit and come out looking spotless".

"Violet made of thorns" was a very enjoyable read. The characters felt real and envoked vivid emotions from compassion to irritation to heartfelt sympathy again.
The plot took lots of unexpected turns – and inspiration taken from famous fairytales (Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast and definitely some others!) didn't make the story predictable at all! Up to the last page I wasn't sure how the book was going to end.

The main heroine is truly a person with gray morals, which she proves every step of the way. I disagreed with her a lot but it was as if I disagreed with a real person, and it was such an invigorating feeling to get from a book character.
The prince is obviously appealing, and it isn't a bad thing. I felt like the main two make a good couple, and they could form a nice team once they get used to working together more. Especially Violet.
Thus far, as it was wisely noted in the book, "more sparks fly from friction, not cooperation".
I'll be glad to know what the autor has in store for them in the sequel.
Side-characters, Dante and Camille, felt thought-through and stood out with their curious opinions and tastes. I wonder how their destinies unravel in the second installment.

You'll love this book if you enjoyed "The Cruel Prince" and the hate to love dynamics between Jude and Cardan.

Big thanks to Gina Chen, her publishers and NetGalley for letting me read this marvelous romantic fairytale! #VioletMadeOfThorns #NetGalley

Violet & cyrus are literally goals, I loved this books and can't wait to see where the next book takes us.
Thank you to both Hodder & Stoughton publishers and Netgalley for providing this ARC for review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of "Violet Made of Thorns" by Gina Chen

I loved this book! It felt very YA to me and the characters were fab. As the blurb says, it is perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince. However, I don't think it really needs a sequel, the book truly speaks for itself. I am excited to see what Chen does for the sequel and how this duology develops.

Wow!!

Violet & Cyrus are probably 2 of my fave characters to read about this year. The story is gripping and very easy to read, I cannot wait for the second one

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. BRILLIANT… If I could I would give it more than 5 stars. Excellent.

I’m so sad I didn’t enjoy this one!! I adore The Cruel Prince so I thought I would eat this book up! But sadly, it fell flat for me. The whole book felt a bit childish, and I didn’t really get a sense of the world, and when I did it felt very random and out of the blue. I couldn’t connect with Violet or care about Cyrus, and overall I didn’t really enjoy the characters. I do think that I somehow picked up this book at the wrong time because I kept feeling like I SHOULD enjoy it, I SHOULD love the story and the characters, but I just couldn’t. I do have to say though, that for a debut novel this was really well written. I might reread it later at another time, because I feel like I really missed out on something good.

Oh man I loved it!! You had me at enemies to lovers .I loved every single thing about this book. Not my usual style so when I come across a gem like this I appreciate it. Would definitely recommend and can't wait for the book 2.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

A dark whimsical fantasy with morally grey ambigious characters? Yes, please!
Once again I consumed Violet Made of Thorns in a day, I just could not put it down. I loved how deliciously cunning and selfish each character was, it really satisfied the part of me that had been craving a dark political fantasy filled with hatred and royalty.

Violet Made of Thorns has come up in a lot of much-anticipated 2022 lists thanks to this tantalising blurb: 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.
With a premise like that it went straight onto my wishlist so I was delighted when it turned up on Netgalley. But did it live up to expectations?
As promised Violet is a Seer living in an ambitous, fractious court with an ambitous king who plucked Violet from the streets after she saved his son's life and placed her in the Seer's tower. After twelve years in orphanages and on the streets, Violet will do anything to keep her life of luxury and so if the king wants her to lie at times, so be it. But one person she doesn't fool is the prince whose life she saved, the prince under a curse, the prince who she loathes but is also drawn to even though she knows he's fated to fall in love with another - and has to if he is to save the kingdom.
It's an intriguing mix of Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella with some clever world building and a heroine who takes her chosen one status and exploits it which is a nice change. However, the book is written in first person present which means the reader is never freed from Violet and, as in 99/100 cases, I think that's a mistake. I loathe 1st person present especially in YA (those 1/100 cases excepted) and the book would have been much better third past or even first past. The imagery was also overblown and I wish the endless rose scents, thorns and tastes of blood had been pruned by at least a third, the love hate felt cliched rather than genuine, and Violet herself less amoral and independent than promised. And less clever, as, knowing the present king had only a short time left before abdicating would she really so openly antogonise the prince?
A good idea with a lot of potential but one that for me, missed more than it hit.

If you love fantasy intrigue and cutthroat court politics, this one is for you. Excellent world building, fast paced plot and great characters. Really enjoyed this one.

Loved this! Amazingly written and kept me reading even when I had to stop I wanted to read more !! Can’t wait to read more from this author !!

The last Seer of Auveny spoke a curse on her deathbed, proclaiming Prince Cyrus’ future bride as the only one who can stop the curse. As the current Seer of Auveny, it is up to Violet to manipulate events to make sure the prince actually chooses a bride before the people grow too restless with their fear. It would be easier if he wasn’t so stubborn and if there wasn’t a mysterious voice whispering of damned futures in her dreams every night. Perhaps if they worked together they could save the kingdom between them, but a lifetime of distrust is difficult to overcome – especially when a pesky thing like lust keeps getting in the way.

I love the premise of this book; it turns the true loves saves the day trope completely on its head with a sarcastic and grittily realistic prophet who is so buried in lies that she treads a fine line between hero and villain. True love will not save the day, but if Violet can spin the tale just right it might avert complete disaster at least. And the rough edges of the truth are nothing that time, and lack of a better answer, can’t buff out.

The magic in Auveny has two sides: the fun and light and whimsical versus the dark and gritty. One moment Violet is telling a bubbly teenager that she Sees her talking with the prince at a ball and the next she is Seeing thorny roses erupting bloodily from a familiar body. Similarly glamours can be frivolous vanity or they can be used to hide untold dangers.

As a main character Violet is perfect. She is right in the middle of all of the action, yet at the same time she lingers on the side-lines. Both seen and unseen, both important and disposable, both manipulator and manipulated. Her character is strategically balanced on a tightrope between bliss and chaos and she walks this fine line from beginning to end. Not once does her character change to suit others or to adapt to the plot. Whenever chaos rears its head, Violet’s pragmatism quickly takes over. Even at the end she is still playing the game of a balancing act. There is no all-in-one solution and no happily-ever-after. This book is messy and it is real and it is brilliant.

"People exhaust me".

This line itself could single-handedly persuade me to rate this book with 5 stars. XD

On a serious note, I have a lot of thoughts so let's start from the beginning, if that makes sense. I dived into the book without reading the blurb and boy! did that work in my favor. I wasn't a fan of the language and the writing but gradually the icy cold tone of the narration started making sense because that's supposed to be a reflection of the female lead's character. Soon, we are introduced to the main love interest who manages to earn my ire quite early. None of the characters are too impressive or exactly heroic but they are all very interesting and convincing. I loved that the heroine is such a cynic and is insistent on only ever using her head, all the while ignoring her heart-- because that's such a breath of fresh air. Oh, by the way, she is a Seer.

Okay, one of the most interesting things I noticed about this book is that it combines tropes from all of our favorite fairy tales, sometimes twisting them, sometimes subverting them and I have read a lot of retellings but never have I ever encountered such a clever combination of all the tropes into one smooth and delicious enemies-to-lovers romance. And when I say all I really mean all-- from girls trapped in towers, cursed-princes-turned-beasts to midnight balls and spiteful witches.

In the midst of all the revelry, there is also an undercurrent of commentary on colonialism, manipulation of public opinion and the nature versus culture debate. The only blatantly visible flaw in the book is the lack of world-building which leaves much to be speculated about the magic system and I had to fill in a lot of gaps by myself, almost in the manner of a willing suspension of disbelief.

All in all, a great leisure read and may be picked up by anyone looking for a quick and fun read.

P.S. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I mean... where do I even begin! I absolutely LOVED this book! I have been so obsessed with the enemies to lovers fantasy genre and haven't found a book that has given me this many goosebumps since The Cruel Prince. I am so happy I got to ARC this book because it has become one of my all time favourites. I can't wait for it to be released so I can add a hardcopy to my bookshelf.

The main protagonist was strong as nails and full of fire. I absolutely adored the way Violet managed to find strength even when she felt so lost in both her duties and her life. She stands by the decisions she makes and doesn't let anyone push her around, not even the spirits.

The enemies to lovers romance is everything I needed and more! Cyrus and Violet's bickering and their ability to get on each other's nerves to a point of desire gave me shivers every time they were together. They are both so equally stubborn it causes rifts between them in almost every meeting, but also drives their want for one another.

Overall I absolutely loved this book. The cover art, the plot, the romance, the EVERYTHING - It was perfect! It gave a great conclusion to the novel while still leaving room to explore more to the story and the romance. This tale is far from over, but I am so grateful the author gave us a proper ending to the book and not just a huge unfinished cliffhanger. Gina is definitely a new up and coming author to keep your eye on! Thank you Gina for the amazing read and I look forward to book 2!

Gina Chen has crafted the perfect twisted fairytale for those who love morally grey characters, romance and schemes.

Violet Made of Thorns is fast paced with a simplistic writing style that made it a quick and highly entertaining read. Whilst this book is described as a dark fantasy, I found that it was often light hearted, with humour scattered throughout.

Violet, our morally gray anti-heroine, was everything I expected her to be. She was selfish and cynical and I loved it! Prince Cyrus, her mortal enemy and love interest, was an amusing character and I enjoyed their enemies to lovers dynamic.

There were also some interesting side characters, specifically Dante and Camilla, who I am very excited to see more of in the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Interesting premise with a lot of promise however I found the plot- which was heavily influenced by a combination of fairy tales and tropes- predictable. I found it hard to emotionally invest with any particular character. Whilst there was enough draw to keep me reading I don't feel any particular desire to pick up the sequel.

"Violet Made of Thorns" is another dark fantasy inspired by fairytales, which seems to be a trend right now, which I approve of because I love dark fantasy inspired by fairytales. Add to that an Asian protagonist and the promise of an enemies-to-lovers kind of romance, and this quickly turned into one of my most anticipated ya reads of this year.

And it is a delightful one! I loved Violet, our morally grey and in many ways unusual protagonist who's been forced into the role of a court seer, which includes telling lies to her people whenever the king asks her to do so. She has the sight, can see the future and has prophetic dreams, though she's still very young and hasn't grown into her power just yet. And then there's also the prince who very much doesn't care for all the lying and scheming. Now, the romance is pretty central to the plot and it isn't actually enemies-to-lovers, because quite frankly, these two have always been in love. But there is a lot of tension, a lot of angst, and it's really quite delicious all around. I do have to say that at times I did wonder if they were actually in love, because Chen chose to focus very much on the sexual tension and aspects of their lust for each other, but in the end it all worked out well.
There are some other recurring characters, though admittedly neither of them is really that fleshed out. Maybe the sequel will focus on them more, because I'm not quite sure if I want the next book to be about Violet and Cyrus once again (as I quite liked where they ended up), so we'll see. The Big Bad of the story works well in this fairytale-esque setting, though they were nothing particularly new and I was hoping for a little more, to be honest.

The same can be said for the world-building. There isn't much to it, and I'll probably forget about the world pretty quickly, but what is there is well done and highly intriguing. Now give me some more actual political intrigue in the next book please please!
The plot is fast-paced, with eerie vibes all around and it's generell well-constructed and thought out.
In conclusion, this is another very imaginative, beautifully written dark fairytale-esque fantasy whose highlight, for me personally, is its protagonist. I'd give this a 3,5, but gladly round up to 4 stars because I had such fun reading it.