This is my first book by A.G. Splatter and I was not disappointed. She brought a dark gothic atmosphere that gave me Grimm Fairytale vibes.

Witches, werewolves, ghosts and just all things that go bump in the night.

Asher Todd reports to Morwood estate to become the governess. She is very secretive and will have you asking all the questions. As the story unfolds you will find out everything you need to know.

I will say that the story was dark and my being out sadness and angry. Other than that it was an intriguing and compelling read that you will not soon forget.

Special thanks to Netgalley, A.G. Slatter and Titan Books for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is compared to Naomi Novik and Erin Morgenstern’s novels, but I don’t think this book resembles those authors whatsoever. It was more like Kingfisher or Alexis Henderson. That being said, I still enjoyed it

Well, A.G. Slatter has done it again! After enchanting me with the gorgeous All the Murmuring Bones, she kept me glued to the dark and twisty Path of Thorns. I was fairly sure I would enjoy this one, and I was right!

Asher Todd is a fantastic main character. She is smart, capable, full of secrets... and out for revenge. But she was also wonderfully complex and moving in the morally grey space that I find fits the gothic setting so perfectly. This book also had basically all the elements I love: there is witchcraft (dark one, too), there are ghosts and other creatures of lore, there are family secrets, and there is murder. Lots of murder, actually. I kept turning the pages waiting for all the secrets to come to light, and they were each more delicious than the one before.

The setting was beautifully atmospheric and perfectly gothic. There are some horror elements, but not too much, so I'd define this as creepy more than outright scary. It does get pretty dark though, so be mindful if that's a concern for you. There's also quite a lot of injustice and sexism going around, as well as some abuse and very, very complicated relationships, so again be mindful if that's triggering for you.

The only part I wasn't too sold on was the romance, but it took up such a small part of the story that it actually didn't bother me all that much in the end. The rest of the relationships between the various characters were really masterfully drawn up, as each displayed their complexity to the fullest, as well as the darkness that can hide within. Several themes were running underneath the main storyline and helped to make this so much more than just another gothic fairytale.

Overall, The Path of Thorns is a perfect spooky season read, with its eerie vibes and gothic setting, perfect for lovers of fantasy and dark fairytales.

'The Path of Thorns,' by A.G. Slatter is a gorgeous gothic mystery. With dark, fairy tale-esque prose, the novel sucks you in and hooks you through the end!

I really like what I've read by A.G. Slatter and this didn't disappoint. It was atmospheric, dark, and wasn't easy to guess what would come next. Definitely recommend to readers who like fantasy/fairy tales.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

On the surface, this is the story of Asher Todd taking a conveted position as governess for the Morwood family's three children. At first, there is just the slightest hint of threat, but as the story progresses and the true purpose for Asher taking the position is slowly revealed, the plot becomes more sinister. Add in the empty spots on the wall where portraits hung, names erased from the family bible, the creature stalking her through the woods, spectres walking through walls, not to mention all the revenge and murder. This Gothic fantasy kept me guessing at every turn and I loved it!

I loved this even more than The Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns is a fantastic gothic read, the horror, and mystery will keep you enthralled and needing to know what will happen next. I mean what more do you want our main character Asher is a governess to the Morwood family and is keeping a big secret hidden ! This is a thoroughly engaging and addictive read, kept me on the edge of my seat

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

A fantastic read full of folklore, magic and mystery. Loved what the author as done with this. Was not ready for this book to end.
(Rev already posted on goodreads)

*Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for granting me access to an advanced copy of this novel*
Why I Requested It: I may have mistakenly though this was a novella but upon learning this was the second full length novel of A.G. Slatter, I wanted to see how it compared to their first novel, All the Murmuring Bones.

What It's About: Asher Todd arrives at Morwood Grange seeking employment as her way of entry to both the manor and the family but the closer she gets to the family and her goal, the stronger her own demons become.

Cons: First and foremost, I really disliked all of the major characters. Granted this felt deliberate but this makes for an hard reading experience when I have no characters I could latch onto. Even with characters that are more sympathetic because of they've been abused by those with power over them, like Asher and one of the servants, they are so unpleasant (being manipulative, weak willed, delusional, hostile towards others) that they almost cease to be sympathetic. I had a similar issue with All the Murmuring Bones but it wasn't quite as "in your face" as it was in here. The other reason it took me awhile to finish this book is because the book itself was very slow, I do think the book was a bit too long, with unnecessary plot points, namely the werewolf love story. I thought, based on the cover and the first chapter, that werewolves would be central to story, but mostly what I remember was Asher's tepid romance, which was very much a side plot, and the love interest being a paranormal creature added nothing to both the romance and the main storyline. In the grand scheme of things, this last complaint is minor, but Asher didn't strike me as a good governess because she was generally absent. I guess I just really wanted to see this nurturing relationship between Asher and her charges, a light in the storm, but nope lets focus on Asher's scheming and revenge quest instead.

Pros: While I mostly disliked the novel there were a couple of things I was glad was implemented but my enjoyment of them came with caveats. Unlike All the Murmuring Bones, which suffered in large part because of how disjointed the narrative was, The Path of Thorns does read as a single complete novel. So while that addressed a fault of the previous novel, the plot itself was neither enjoyable nor interesting. The only thing I can sort of commend is Asher finally realizing how abusive and manipulative her mother is and trying to break free of her, but by the time this happened it was too little, too late to make me feel satisfied.

Finishing Thoughts: Well this book managed to make me appreciate All the Murmuring Bones so much more, because there were aspects that I truly enjoyed and found fascinating in that book. In Path of Thorns, however, almost all of the criticisms I had about Slatter's first novel remained with none of the things I liked to balance things out. I'm fine with Gothic, suspenseful stories that center around morally ambiguous characters, I like Daphne du Maurier's novels, but Slatter fails to make that appealing at least in long form. I do not blame Slatter entirely for this because twice now her books have fallen prey to false marketing, but going forward I will not be reading any more novels from this author. Here's hoping I get on better with her novella and short story collection.

Recommendations: The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling and The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood, because they feature a gloomy late Victorian setting, some speculative fiction elements, and extremely frustrating and unlikeable protagonists.

Angela Slatter - as A.G. Slatter - delivers a gothic fairy-tale steeped in myth and legend in The Path of Thorns.
An enchanting tale of murder and mystery it's a novel that's strength lies in the beautiful, elegant prose and deepening moral ambiguity of Asher Todd and her decisions. The pacing can feel a little sluggish at times but it's an otherwise richly crafted world that's worth visiting.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Path of Thorns was a really fun gothic book to dive into. I honestly couldn't even tell you the last gothic-themed book I've read. This year that is. The horror, gore, and mystery kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire time.

Then there's Asher Todd, our main character, who was so freaking intriguing to me. Mostly because she's the new governess to the Morwood family. Oh, then there's the fact that she has a huge secret too. One filled with lots of yummy revenge that I couldn't wait to see.

Asher was such a good character. I mean totally morally grey and everything, but I still loved her. Her overall plans of revenge kept the pages flying. If I could change one thing, it would be the hints of romance. I just feel like it was filler and not needed. If this was just focused on the revenge and everything else, I would have given this a higher rating.

In the end, this was such a good book and I'm so happy that I got the chance to jump into this.

3.5 stars- This story was super interesting, if not a bit confusing at times towards the beginning. I liked that although the main character is a bit morally gray, you still root for her the entire time. This is the kind of story that would make a great movie or miniseries. There are a few interesting twists along the way that weren’t predictable. The one thing that confused me though was that the main character had the ghost of her mother following her, yet she had her mother’s soul in a jar. I would normally consider a ghost to be the soul of a person left after death, but that’s not possible in this case. If the mother soul/essence is kept in a jar, what is the ghost? That one thing didn’t really detract from the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

I requested this book thinking that it seemed like a perfect gothic read - and I was almost right. Very atmospheric, but the slow start threw me off a little too much to rate this one any higher.

DNF
This was my first book from Slatter, and unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. The blurb had me intrigued but that’s pretty much where my interest ended. I struggled with the stilted old English and the pacing was super slow.

This was amazing. Hands down a top read for 2022. This story is filled with witches, werewolves, ghosts, and, scariest of all, terrible parents. It asks an almighty question: what would you do for your mother's love? Asher learns the answer the hard way, finding unlikely allies and surprise new enemies along the way. I never knew where this story was going to go and I love every turn of it. If you are looking for escapism fantasy, this isn't it. But if you want a truly twisted, deep, imaginative take on the power of blood, The Path of Thorns is what you're looking for.

**Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the eARC**

A lovely twist on Grimm vibe fairy tales.

Like many reviewers, I agree this book had a very slow start and I was tempted to DNF. The author's purpose of keeping the reader in the dark for the story twist, while understandable, combined with the slowness might cause some readers to blow it off 1/4 the way in. Understandable but it does get good if you can hold out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 rounding up to 5 stars for GoodReads. The first 20% of this book, I was very close to DNFing. I wasn’t sure what was going on or what the point of the story was. But once you get over that initial hump of confusion, the story becomes clear and fascinating. I was so enraptured with Asher Todd and her story, especially how she was going to get out of the situation she was it. I’m not sure if the beginning would be less confusing to people who have read this author before (as the works are loosely related as far as I can tell) but this was my first novel by this author. I now want to read all of the other connected works in this universe. I think it is an interesting gothic world Slatter created and I don’t want to leave it. Definitely will be looking for more of this author’s works in the future.

Gripping and dark, a mesmerizing new fairy tale.

I know I called it a fairy tale, but just to be clear this is not a fairy tale re-telling. It is wholly original, but is very much in keeping with the vibe of a good gothic fairy tale. It is dark and dangerous. The main character Asher Todd is a conundrum. While the reader grows to like her a great deal, and even root for her, you also know that her motivations are … complicated to say the least. She is an untrustworthy narrator, and you get the feeling is not on the side of the angels. But then again, I don’t think anyone in this story is. Doesn’t matter. I like her.

The book is very atmospheric. The vibe feels akin to halfway through Jane Eyre’s nights wandering through the darkness of Thornfield Hall, when the reader didn’t know the whole story and the madwoman in the attic was still a thing of mystery and terror.

The author also sprinkles little tales throughout the book that give you a hint as to what is really going on in the plot and I found myself genuinely excited when I saw the font change and I knew a new side story was about to unfold.

In other words, this is a 5 star book for me and the creepy feel means I have already pinned it on my TBR for a re-read when fall comes and I need something a little spooky. Ms. Slatter has become an auto-buy for me.

PLOT: A mysterious woman named Asher Todd shows up at an estate for the Morwood family, claiming to be the new governess; however it is evident she has her own agenda— one that she is desperate to keep. As the story unfolds, we learn that Ms. Todd has no prior experience in being a governess, but she does have experience with botany/herbcraft, and perhaps something more sinister. Though her mission is revenge, and she’s determined to fulfill a promise she made to her mother, she finds herself with mixed emotions. Ms. Todd didn’t anticipate actually liking the children, nor did she foresee liking the people in the Tarn… or falling for a shapeshifter.

As the story progresses, we learn more about Asher Todd’s past, her less than optimal family dynamics, as well as how she acquired her talents. As Ms. Todd tries to follow through with her mission, dark secrets from the Morwood family begin to surface— complicating everything. Can Ms. Todd fulfill her promise without losing herself? Can Ms. Todd unravel all the lies and deception in time to save her own life?

REVIEW: The book started off a little slow, but does gain traction. Initially, the author purposely leaves you in the dark as to why Asher Todd shows up to the manor out of the blue to take on the role of the new governess, and she also hides the mission; this is quite strategic on the authors part, and I found it kept me interested and speculating about what happened in the past.

As the story unravels, the author reveals snippets of new information about Asher, the Morwoods, her mother, and the people of the Tarn. I found myself really empathizing with Asher, as she truly does mean well, and she does so much good for the people of the Tarn, and the Morwood family. I could also empathize because when I was a child, I also had a less than ideal relationship with my mother. In the end, I found myself wanting Asher to get HER happy ending, as she deserves nothing less.

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
(Review will be up on IG soon— @slowerlowerliving)