A dark fairy tale that follows Asher Todd as she becomes the new governess at Morwood Grange. While the beginning is slow paced, the magic, secrets, twists and turns in this story keep the reader engaged. Fantasy is not my typical preferred genre, regardless I enjoyed this book.

I'd like to preface this review with saying that this was a wild ride from start to finish. The book starts off with a slow beginning, but quickly picks up into a mad whirlwind of unexpected twists and turns around the 33% mark that'll give you whiplash to keep up.

Asher Todd comes to the remote countryside to serve as governess for the Morwoods family, helmed by womanizing man-child and family disappointment Luther Morwood, and his frail, weak but rich wife Jessamine. Luther's mother Leonora is at first infirm, but with help from Asher begins to recover and take back control over the family and the future of the Morwood children, Albertine, Cornell and Sarai. They're accompanied by a rich cast of supporting characters including the butler, Burdon, the morganatic-seeking maid, Luned, the housekeeper, Mrs. Charlton, and a tenant-contractor, Eli, who may or may not have a furry little problem. Asher herself has her own ulterior motivations for coming here, and no one is who they seem to be.

I did connect Leonora to the stubborn old woman trope, in the likes of Mrs. Havisham or Aunt March, but what a surprise it was when her true character was revealed. I love how most of the characters didn't really fall into archetypes but rather had their own motivations and character weaknesses (although I do think the priest's characterization fell a little flat). Asher is a strong main character that's not infallible and persists despite her flaws. She makes many mistakes throughout the novel and lives to regret them, but life goes on. Slatter doesn't shy away from the gritty details in this dark, gothic tale, and there's certainly a lot of skeletons in the closet (literally) that lie inside this unassuming mansion... and not just in Luther's abandoned laboratory.

What I loved most were the themes of generational trauma that arose towards the end. We are given about thirty chapters to acquaint ourselves with these characters and their lives before we see just how ruined they are from the trauma of their inheritance and expectations. This is a problem that affects everybody, even those outside of the Morwood family. And these traumas too originate partly from deeper-rooted problems in society, including the outright sexism that most of the characters face and attempt to struggle against. I loved how Asher freed herself and subverted what everyone expected her to do. In the end, when she is finally free and no longer tied to anything, her leaving by herself and not with the person I expected to go with her is absolutely fitting.

The Path of Thorns and the gothic, witchy world of Sourdough is a great way to scratch an itch for dark fantasy or dark fairy tales. It's a medium-length, enjoyable read, and IMO the perfect length for consuming in one sitting. I'm a little sad it's going to be published in June, because I'm of the mind it's best enjoyed sitting by a windowsill on a cold rainy night.

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

Full review on my blog from June 6th 2022.

THE PATH OF THORNS had a bit of a slow start, and it’s possible that, if it had been my first book from A.G. Slatter, I might have DNF’d it. It took me several days to read the first 30% of the book, then I read the last 70% in one day – once it picked up, it really picked up. As a dark, witchy fairytale this was a fun read, full of atmospheric and gothic horror tropes reused in interesting ways. I liked how casually magical the book was, especially in the earlier pages as little hints are dropped about Asher’s hidden secrets. About a third of the way in, we discover what the synopsis means by ‘Asher is not as much a stranger as it might first appear’ and from then it’s both intense and increasingly magical in fascinating ways. I can’t talk too much about the magic without spoilers, but the witchcraft was fascinating to me, with each spell and potion feeling very authentic for the time period – you could convince me every single spell was a real spell, with an extra spark of magic.

As things got from bad to worse, I found myself racing through the book to find out what was happening, praying for a safe and happy ending for Asher and the children – the only characters that are easily loveable. I enjoyed the fairytales that were threaded into the book, through Asher’s readings we got to see more of the world and to see her understanding of the magic system in this universe. I felt like this book left me understanding more of the world than I did after reading ALL THE MURMURING BONES but neither felt bogged down with world building.

There’s a relationship between Asher and Eli that I liked, but I’d hesitate to call it a romance. It’s not a significant part of the plot, as Asher has far higher priorities, but I liked the way they came to lean on each other and how she turned to Eli for comfort. Ultimately, this story is about Asher and her ghosts – emotional and literal – and so she’s the focus. I also loved the complicated relationship between Asher and Luned. From hate to reluctant support, there was something deeper than friendship there and I really enjoyed seeing the female loyalty despite personal dislike. To me, the characters and their relationships were the highlight of this book, and it was my love for Asher that had me reading until past-midnight and fighting off sleep so I could find out what happened to her.

Asher’s motivations are tangled in familial trauma, promises and debts owed and a desperate need for approval. It made her feel real and complicated, and left me still loving Asher despite the moments where I hated the choices she was making. It’s this depth of character combined with the fairytale-prose and gothic horror that makes A.G. Slatter a guaranteed read for me, especially for books set in this Sourdough world. I know I’ll be reading any future releases I can get my hands on.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A twisted tale of revenge, redemption, and forbidden witchcraft.

“A woman’s life is the path of thorns”. Asher Todd is the new governess for the rich and powerful Morwood family, but Asher is not all she seems. The tale is set in the fictional world of Sourdough and has a gothic, Victorian feel, with werewolves, ghosts, and witches.
For me, this book mainly centre’s on family dynamics, and a woman’s place in society. Asher is plagued by her mother and her mother’s choices, in a place where she is told that women have none.
While this book was slow, I did find all the Characters rich and complex, and the Grimm-style fairy tales woven through the book added to the atmosphere. One of the things I missed in this book is a map of the world of Sourdough, with quite a lot of traveling involved in a book, I do like to have a visual of the area.

A Grimm fairy tale-type fantasy with werewolves, witchcraft, revenge, and dark family secrets, The Path of Thorns is dark and gory, but incredibly well written. The story follows Asher, a witch and complicated character who after the family's governess vanishes, takes on the role of the family's new governess to the twisted Morwood family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC. I will post my review to Goodreads, Amazon and Waterstones on the publishing date

This is an excellent story. Filled with illegal magics, mystery, and stories of twisted family dynamics, this tale kept me riveted from start to finish. In fact, I finished the title yesterday, but am starting over and rereading it today. I missed some of the foreshadowing during the first read through. It is very rare for me to reread a title from start to finish, let alone the day after I finished it the first time. This tale is so well written that I am enjoying the story as much today as when I first began reading. The advanced reader copy of The Path of Thorns was provided by Netgalley.com.

A gothic tale by A.G. Slatter set in the world of Sourdough…

Fear not if you haven’t read the author’s previous works as this book is a standalone. It was my first foray into the author’s works and I was quickly gripped by the strength of the story and its characters. While tropes abound, they work with the story.

Full of dark deeds, it is up to the reader to judge the character’s motivations and actions. Asher Todd walks a perilous path between promises made, the expectations and demands of those around her and lastly, the question of how far she is prepared to go in her quest for approval?

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Titanbooks for my ARC.

“Life. A woman’s life is the path of thorns,’ I say. ‘We walk through it, our feet will always hurt” (p. 270)
Revenge, witchcraft, and dark family secrets all come together in this lush dark fairytale. The story follows Asher Todd, a new governess to the mysterious Morwood family. She is to take the place of the previous governess who had mysteriously disappeared shortly after being hired. Asher has her own dark secrets though, secrets that brought her to this particular family to enact her deeds. The Morwood family is twisted, a cruel father who beats his wife and children and sleeps around, a delicate and docile wife, three children, and the matriarch who has gone blind.... and a banished sister who was kicked out of her family and is not spoken of in this home. Asher has come for revenge and to do so she will unearth all their dark secrets and unleash a ghost upon them. Asher is more than she looks, she can see ghost, and work with magic... but the more she knows this family the more she finds herself questioning just how far she will go and just how much she will destroy. Throw in a groundskeeper who is also a werewolf and a town with its own secrets and what you get is a beautiful story about how far one will go for the love of a parent, just what it means to finally cut off the toxic people in your life, and finding yourself amongst the way your family has created you. I genuinely liked Asher, she was complicated, and for all her bad she was understandable, being raised and treated the way she was you can understand how she got to be how she was. The ending of the book was beautiful because it was a bit more open ended for possibility and for growth just as Asher herself has finally opened up herself and freed herself to finally make her own choices and path in life. (Though I’ll be honest I would love an extra epilogue with Asher and her wolfy groundsman). I adored the author’s previous work and was so excited to be given the arc of her second book which I loved just as much! Seriously I can’t wait to see what dark fairytale she spins next! If you love gothic stories with a dash of morally grey characters, light romance, dark family secrets and a touch of magic, this is for you!

*Thanks Netgalley and Titan Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

7/10

The Path of Thorns is a fairy tale-like Gothic-style fantasy that will take you on a young woman's journey to fulfill her mysterious quest in the hopes of earning her mother's love. This is a story of revenge, redemption and exploration of what it means to be a woman in a man's world.

The story is narrated by the main character Asher Todd, a clever witch in a Victorian England inspired world full of forbidden magic and dark secrets. You follow Asher as she arrives at the Morwood manor to become the new governess, but she is no governess and the new position is just a means to fulfill the promises she cannot escape from.

This books has a very slow start and takes its sweet time to introduce all the characters and describe the setting. However, just as you're about to get bored, it picks up the pace and starts working its magic on you. Throughout the whole book, I kept being surprised by how the author keeps using the same device over and over again, lulling you into a sleep-like state, and just when you're about to get bored it hits you in the face with a new mystery and blood-chilling horror that makes you keep reading through another few chapters of throwbacks and inner dialogue. I think this book could be much shorter, but I wouldn't say the extra passages are annoying. There's a certain amount of repetition, but while it could be better, I've also seen much worse.
The main story is complemented by Grimm-like tales that are part of this world's lore. They are for the most part retellings and variations on traditional fairy tales with a darker twist and are really what makes the atmosphere of this book feel so real.

That said, even though there is more than enough magic in this story, witches and werewolves are not the point. This is a story of human character that explores abusive parent-child relationships. And when I say abusive, I mean there's SO MUCH mental and physical abuse in this book. It gets very dark and gory, so consider yourself warned.

Overall, I'd say it's an unintended (?) ode to abortion as you get to see what unwanted early pregnancy can result in for both mother and child. I got disappointed with how Slatter handled the ending as it felt anti-cathartic and against the point I though she was trying to make, but I guess she wanted to leave the door open for a sequel (?). If you love Gothic fantasy and dark secrets, you will definitely enjoy this book as long as you don't set your expectations too high.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @TitanBooks for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Path of Thorns really makes the most of its minimal speculative elements to produce a haunting and deeply meaningful work. Asher's story feels deeply real despite some of its outlandish elements, and I love the constantly complicating view on morality and how that intersects with women's place in society. This is a work about the constriction of family and duty and it hits hard. Coupled with a style that encapsulates Gothic rumination and a pace that is slow but tense, I thoroughly enjoyed the bold choices of this novel that often picked the subtler route on offer.

Review to be posted to GR closer to publication

The Path of Thorns
A.G Slatter
Sci-Fi, Fantasy
⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought this book was quite slow to start, with lots of details about Morewood and the furnishings, the family and the staff. There are also a few hints about magic early on that slowly lead on to more mysteries.

At about 22% ish the plot started to pick up and the pace changed. The atmosphere is like a gothic fairytale, full of manipulation, terrible acts, magic and ulterior motives with the possibilty of redemption.

As I read this book I didn't think I would like it but curiosity got the better of me and drove me on and I actually quite enjoyed it by the end.


*Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers @titanbooks for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

The Path of Thorns by A.G. Slatter is a fabulous well written, profuse fairy tale.
With some added witchcraft, catastrophic secrets and a vindictive revenge this book was way more than I was anticipating!

A well executed, atmospheric, and an unsparing tale, this one will have readers so mesmerized with it's beautiful writing and it's memorable characters!

I couldn't get enough of of the gothic feeling this story carried.
The dark magic that possessed me and had me flipping the screen on my Kindle till early morning!
Absolutely hardcore and I devoured every bit of it!
I was completely and utterly hooked!
One of the best ScFi|Fantasy novels I've read in some time.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Titan Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.