This had the perfect kind of spice I needed in Fantasy. Despite the numerous flaws in the plot, I saw myself enjoying the story. I see many other stories pieced together in this tale, but I still liked it. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the free digital ARC of the book!

I really wanted to love this book.

Unfortunately it just fell a bit flat for me. It didn’t draw me in or grab my attention - I was in no rush to get through the story. The pacing was a bit all over the place. That being said, the second half of the book was definitely better than the first half.

I liked it enough to finish it, but not enough to reread it or buy a physical copy

Violet Made of Thorns is a stunning debut that made me regret the amount of time it standed unread in my shelf, but also be grateful that I could savor it. It has an incredible fairytale atmosphere as it follows a cunning girl gifted with Sight and armed with lies. In fact, she's the main reason why I adored this story; the fact that she was willing to do everything to get what she deserves. Along with a complivated romance, political intrigue, and beautiful writing, Violet Made of Thorns deserves all the love.

incredible concept with a great promise and potential, but unfortunately missed the mark. violet was supposed to be brash, cynical and smart antiheroine mc that we couldn’t help but love, yet her portrayal came off as hollow, the characterization just fell flat. i did not find cyrus charming either. literally have nothing to say about him probably because he didn’t stand out. just another princeling YA love interest. i tried to love this book, i really am. because this book was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases. had the connection between violet & cyrus been developed more i might have loved them both individually and/or as a pair. there was no actual emotional connection between violet and cyrus. the relationship between them which serves as the book's emotional focus, was heavily influenced by their shared history, but these years are only briefly mentioned before the story jumps right into the present. as a result, there is no emotion in the relationship between the characters despite their extensive prior acquaintance. everything felt rushed e.g. how their hatred evolved into lust/love without a proper build up.

i will (nevertheless) read the following book because violet made of thorns is (subjectively) a lot of pleasure to read. some of the dialogue feels fresh and comedy-worthy. despite how her character was developed, i enjoy when violet is simply not giving a shit to anyone. plus even if you don’t like the mc or the love interest, the side characters are there! i say i dislike how the relationship between violet & cyrus was built but do give this book a fair shot because i’m not going to lie some of their scenes did made me screeching and swinging my legs. hope there’ll be an improvement in the sequel.

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

Seers who look out for themselves, enemies to lovers, magic and prophecies, sign me up!

When Violet, a seer at the royal court, is asked by the King to falsely predict Prince Cyrus's love story for an upcoming ball, she divines a terrible curse instead, the fate of the kingdom depending on whom Cyrus chooses as his bride. As Violet attempts to save herself and the kingdom, she's forced to contend with the transformation of her dynamic with Cyrus, which quickly becomes a thing of attraction.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm also excited by the possibility of a sequel, because the worldbuilding was so enchanting that I want to see more of Violet and this universe. Basically, if you love fairytales, you'll love this rendition of one. Violet was a great protagonist, selfish and cunning and out to save her own skin – we don't see much of these characteristics in YA protagonists, which is why I really enjoyed Violet, because I loved her messiness. The chemistry between her and Cyrus was off the charts, and you could really feel the tension in their relationship coming off the charts – the only reason I might have scored this four stars instead of five was because I didn't believe the relationship was developed enough to believe how that transformed by that end BUT I think that also shows the skill of the author. Coming to the skill of the author, I loved her capacity for prose and crafting sentences that just seemed so beautiful in the context of the story. It all felt so lyrical and beautiful and vicious that I couldn't help but enjoy myself. I'd definitely recommend checking it out!

This is going to be a smash with my students - just reading the blurb made me realise how much this is up their street! A new epic fantasy adventure with a touch of magic

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me an eARC to review!

The blurb made this book seem really exciting, and the cover is absolutely gorgeous, but sadly it did not live up to expectations. I think 'morally grey', 'antiheroine' and 'enemies-to-lovers' are being thrown around a lot in YA of late (I mean they sell copies) but rarely do the books really deliver on these concepts.

This reminded me a lot of The Shadows Between Us where the 'morally grey-ness' of the protagonist was wrapped up in a 'I'm supposed to kill him' plot but the most they ever really do towards this goal is get a weapon and think about it a bit but never really seriously act on it. Like Shadows Between Us, I also felt like Violet's 'antiheroine' nature was really just her being 'not like other girls' - immune to the prince's charms, crass and confrontational. It felt like there was also a lot of girl hate here as Violet constantly belittles the other girls going after the prince (who are either vapid or cunning but even this is depicted as ridiculous) which I didn't appreciate. I think it's fine for a book to have an unlikeable main character who is generally apathetic to everyone - which I think Violet was - but this isn't the same as an antiheroine.

I found the world-building lacking too - it really felt like Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella smushed together in a vaguely fairy-tale world but I wanted more from Violet's prophecies, the magical Fairywood and the court intrigue. I was hoping Violet's twisting of her visions would be interesting with her carefully choosing words to use to express her real visions, and while this was mentioned at the beginning, it felt like it very quickly turned into her just hiding her visions from people or lying which I didn't find as cunning. I understand that Violet acts a lot of the time out of self-interest rather than the general good, but I feel this kind of translated to me not caring about the world because she didn't, but then I also couldn't make up for this by caring about her.

I thought the characterisation was weak as well, and Cyrus the love interest felt particularly one-dimensional to me. The enemies-to-lovers romance moved very quickly, and I think it was trying to do the Cruel Prince thing of 'I love you and that repulses me' but it didn't quite land. It just felt like they were getting into arguments so they could make out and the conflict felt a bit forced as a result. I think it also got a little raunchy for a YA title but that's a separate discussion. As Cruel Prince and Serpent and Dove were both comp titles, I do see how the vibe of this book could be compared to these, but Violet wasn't Jude and the plot didn't hit the same. I do think it leans more Serpent and Dove (which I also disliked), but I think this book sits in a kind of strange place between regular YA fantasy and fantasy romance, and with the romance and the plot not really doing it for me, I'm unsure where exactly the appeal would lie.

Overall this book isn't egregiously bad or anything, but I think it's emblematic of broader issues in the genre - the over-marketing of buzz word tropes, the identity crisis and the sacrificing of solid world-building and plot in favour of a half-baked romance and some snappy one-liners. Fans of Shadows Between Us might enjoy this, but sadly was not for me. I don't expect to continue the series but would definitely try the author again in future though!

This book was a refreshing change from the usual fantasy books I read. It was just so different. I loved the main character so much. She had such a strong voice and she didn't care about being liked or what was right and good at all. It was just so cool to see a character that was unashamedly out for herself and herself alone.

I liked how much the prophecies were a part of everything, how every moment of the book seemed to hinge on how each character reacted to the prophecies, both real and fake. It was predictable in some respects, but in others it entirely wasn't, leaving me guessing as to what would actually come to pass by the end of the book.

I also loved the relationships between the characters. They all felt so natural and real, especially Violet's relationship with Cyrus, which is filled with what happened on the past, who they were as children especially, as well as their present personalities. It made it complex and interesting.

If you don't mind dislikeable characters and you're looking for something that's just a bit different to read, Violet Made of Thorns may be just up your street.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

We follow Violet who is a prophet and one day she is tasked to falsely prophesy she ends up awakening a dreadful curse.one that will either damn or save the kingdom all depending on the princes choice of a bride.
The thing about Violet is that you either will love her or hate her. She is witty and sassy and what we consider a badass character. I didnt really like her oops. I know that she is a morally gyre character and that she is supposed to be an antiheroine but something didnt do it for me i am sorry.
I was told this was a enemies to lovers romance. It was but it truly wasnt i was expecting. The banter and the enemies part was nice and fun but the romance part was the one that didnt work for me. Everything hapened to fast and didnt make sense.
Also it feel like a really youngish Ya while at the same time there was sexual tension and like more grown up- ishh situations?? Like the writing was made for younger audiences which really confused me.

I think the problem was that i was promised another Cruel Prince or Serpent and Dove and it didnt deliver it for me.
It was fun, yes. But it wasnt what i expected.

Violet Made of Thorns is about Violet, the Court Seer, an ambitious and determined young woman who has risen from the slums to become one of the most important people in the kingdom. To keep her place she does her best to fulfil the King's wishes - even if that means lying--and over the years Violet has become quite good at lying. Opposite to her is Cyrus, an upright Crown Prince who disapproves of Violet and plans to get rid of her as soon as he's crowned. But with a Curse, a deadly prophecy and a cutthroat Court, can they put aside their differences to save the Kingdom?

I honestly thought I would love this one a lot more than I did. It has all the trappings of a wonderful fairytale-esque YA fantasy, with throwbacks to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, among others. I did enjoy the world building, although I was confused about certain aspects of it. The fortune telling that Violet did was wonderfully done, the way she didn't have much control over it and had to 'bend the truth' in places or make things as vague as possible was fantastic, I actually loved that it wasn't easy for her.

It took me a while to warm up to Violet, she's one of those typical independent and 'sassy' main characters but I thought her bordering on rude at times and unnecessarily antagonistic in others. She's a very selfish character who has basically lied her way to the top and it was hard to really root for her at first. Once her background was explored and her relationship to the King was developed it was easier to see why she acted the way she did.

I did enjoy her relationship with Cyrus. They have a really good enemies-to-lovers vibe and there were some rather steamy moments later on.

As I said earlier this book is kind of an amalgamation of several different fairytales, and whilst I did enjoy it, I didn't feel like I was reading anything new and I got a bit bored towards the middle. The ending did pick up though, and there were some interesting twists I didn't see coming!

All in all I thought this was an okay YA fantasy that will appeal to fans of fantasy with a fairytale flavour to it, and especially to those who like a different kind of main character and the enemies-to-lovers trope.

Many thanks to Hodderscape and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After so many years of reading and after so many books I know quite well what books I like and what books I won't like. When I heard about this book it was love at first sight. I recognized all elements I love in a story. Of course, I also fell a little for the pretty cover (who doesn't?), but I mostly fell for the summary. I never thought I'd be granted an arc by the publisher via Netgalley, but I did get it and it couldn't make me happier.

Everything about this story works. Even though there is a fairytale vibe, the story is more than simply a fairytale. This book is an epic fantasy. This book is a romance. This book is not one thing. It's many things. I think that there is something in this book for almost every reader. (There are always exceptions, I'm very sorry if that happens to be you!) And once I started reading it was almost impossible to put the book down.

That's partly because it was quite fun to recognize all the nods towards famous fairytales. Since most of those nods are embedded in the tale so naturally I'm pretty sure I might have missed quite a few, but I at the very least recognized Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, the Goose Girl and Sleeping Beauty. Mostly this story simply borrowed an element or one iconic scene, but those elements and moments are that iconic that it still works.

I also really liked the characters in this story and mostly because they were so beautifully flawed. They made mistakes, they messed up, they lied, they betrayed, they hurt. They simply did what they had to do to survive in a world that was far more complex than I had expected. And in this story hate and love are two different sides of the same coin, but I bought it. I bought that those two people needed each other like they need air.

I hope there will be more! (There has to be more!)

Violet is a Seer. She works for the king and embellishes her visions when it suits him, making her a liar on top. It seems to be going well for her, until she bites off more than she can chew and wraps the whole kingdom in lies - and kick-starts a curse to go with.

Now she has to choose if she's going to save the kingdom (and the Prince she's falling for), or herself.

I really liked everything about this, except the romance. Cyrus never grew on me, not as a love interest or as a character. He could be very annoying at times and the romance between him and Violet felt unbelievable.

The tension that was supposed to exist before they kissed the first time (and the second, and the third) didn't. Even their banter didn't make me feel a spark.

Dante would've been a much better love interest, and Violet even wondered what it would be like to kiss him, but unfortunately she and Cyrus seem to be endgame.

As for Violet herself, I have no complaints. She did great as a main character, and was rightfully mean to those that deserved it.

The plot is one of my favourite things about this, because it seems simple enough at first, with Cyrus having to find a bride or else but it turns into so much more, and eventually involves an evil witch who I can't help but love.

I wish Violet made the other choice at the end, because I was so happy that she did that thing involving a thorn that I screamed "YES" and was preparing for a corruption arc. Alas...

The way it ended is fine though, I like that it's in the format of a fairy tale story.

WHICH REMINDS ME, the fairies!!! I adore them. They're the cutest little things and I'm hoping we'll see more of them in the next book since they seem to like Violet.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Gina Chen threw all my favourite things into a melting pot and really said "it's Christmas in July". DO NOT miss this book.

Universe: How many fairytale influences do you want in your book?
Gina Chen: Yes.

I'm usually wary of hyped books, but you should believe in the hype for Violet Made of Thorns. It's exactly as amazing as it sounds.

Violet was everything I wanted in a protagonist and more. She's cynical, cold, and ruthlessly ambitious – but also afraid to trust, to love. Fantasy needs more protagonists like her. Give me allll the morally grey, stabby girls. Though Violet did call him 'Princey' one too many time in my opinion, Cyrus was just as delightful. Their dynamic and banter was one of the best parts of this book, and their relationship arc (enemies to lovers, of course) was SO good. There was a biiiit of steam here (nothing explicit, but not fade-to-black either), and I absolutely need more in the sequel.

As well as the characters and relationships, Violet Made of Thorns does politics and worldbuilding very well. I loved the magic system: Seers like Violet having Sight, their visions through people's threads, the magical wood and witches' curses – all of it. I think it's here that the fairytale inspiration really shines through, and if you like retellings, then you'll no doubt enjoy this book. Besides the magic, there's a lot of politicking too: scheming, lies and half-truths, brewing wars, and more – and it's all remarkably done.

Overall, I adored Violet Made of Thorns and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I'm already eagerly awaiting the sequel!

When a prophecy told by Violet’s predecessor seems to be coming true, she finds herself being forced to lie about the fate of her prince’s love life by his father. As an ancient curse threatens their country, the prince needs to find a bride because the prophecy states that his bride will determine the fate of their kingdom. Meanwhile, Violet receives some mysterious visions related to the curse that only further complicate the mystery around the curse looming over all of them.

As you can probably tell from the short synopsis above, Violet Made of Thorns is a story clearly inspired by fairytales. It has a lot of typical fairytale elements—witches, princes, fairies, curses—but is different in that it’s written from the perspective of a lying, manipulative Seer. Violet is an 18-year-old girl who grew up as an orphan on the streets, until one day she saved the life of the Auvenese prince, Cyrus. The royal family took her in because she can see the future, so she now serves as the court’s Seer.

The initial setup of the book is clear and engaging. Violet has been telling false prophecies by the king’s command because she wants to stay in his good books, but this has also caused friction between her and Cyrus. The false prophecy about his love life forces the prince into an engagement with a foreign noblewoman, while signs of dark magic are creeping up throughout the kingdom. The problem is that the plot, for a large part of the book, revolves around Cyrus and his engagement, while Violet is holed up in her tower for a large part of the second act especially.

Many of the story’s essential developments happen in the palace, a place where the main character is hardly ever present, making her feel like a side character in her own story. A lot of the important happenings in the palace are indirectly conveyed to the reader through side characters telling Violet about them, which is a shame because court intrigue can be so much fun to read about, especially when the main character is someone who lies and manipulates others.

I feel like either Violet should’ve been drawn more into the court happenings throughout the book, or this book should have been told from both Violet and the prince’s points of view. That would have also provided the opportunity to flesh out Cyrus’ personality a bit more, as I feel like I know barely anything about him after finishing the book. The same goes for two of the more important side characters, Camilla and Dante, who are the prince’s twin sister and best friend, respectively. It may also have made the dynamic between Cyrus and Violet more interesting because they both have complicated and very different feelings about the tension between them.

When the third act arrives, finally, some developments around the curse and the mystery surrounding it draw Violet back into the main plot, but at this point, the plot reveals happening simply didn’t land for me emotionally because the plot had taken a backseat for a while and because a lot of the character’s problems at this point stemmed from Violet not sharing any of the information she received in her visions with anyone. So many things in this book went wrong because Violet lied or simply kept quiet about vital information. I understand why she grew to be that way, but to have so much of the plot hinge upon her silence and lies was incredibly frustrating in the end.

And that really sums up my final thoughts about this book: frustration. There seemed to be a lot of potential in some underexplored parts of the worldbuilding too (Fairies who are drugged by humans to essentially enslave them? A magical forest that interacts in weird ways with human blood?), but instead there was a lot of Violet being secluded in her tower while things were happening elsewhere. What a shame that one of my most anticipated YA fantasy releases ended up being such a disappointment for me.

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC via NetGalley from the publisher for reviewing purposes. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

If you are a fan of classic fairy tales then this is the book for you. There is prophecy, fairies, beasts, a magical dying wood, a cursed prince. Just everything you want in a fairytale, plus a little bit of enemies to lovers and morally grey characters!

Violet is a seer who can read peoples pasts and futures and also dreams about prophecy and futures in her dreams. As a child she saves a boy destined to die, however he is not a normal boy. He is Cyrus and the future king. Cut to several years later Violet is the courts seer and Cyrus is closer to becoming king than ever they should be getting along but actually they hate each other, or do they?

The banter in this book gave me life, Violet has such quick retorts and the sass! So good. I loved all the moments between her and Cyrus but my favourite character has to be Cyrus’ sister Camilla her energy is everything.

This was a fun and entertaining story thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with a review copy

I rated this book 4.5 🌟 but rounding it up to 5 🌟 on GoodReads because this is a truly fantastic debut novel.

This book surprised me in the best possible way. From very early on in the book, I was hooked. The writing was so well done that it felt so easy slipping into this world and it allowed me to swallow up the pages.

I really like Violet’s character a lot. She doesn’t see herself as good but neither does she see herself as a villain. It’s more that she does what she needs to in order to survive in the palace and retain influence with the King. In this world, it isn’t necessarily the good people who are the people of power or influence. Those in charge are in that position because they’re able to manipulate the truth for the good of the country.

I really enjoyed the instant connection that you see between Violet and Cyrus. There’s a lot of resentment from Cyrus’ side as the King preferred Violet so he hates that he has feelings for her. You can see how easily she gets under his skin and he gets under hers.

I love how magic is represented in this world. It reminded me of Cruel Prince. The way magic is represented in this book is almost nostalgic with faeries and glamours. I also loved the fairytale elements within the book and I was super excited to pick up hints from fairytales that I know and love.

The ending took my breath away!! The betrayal and reveals really came together at the end. And I’m super excited for the direction that book 2 may possibly go in. This truly was a stunning debut novel and I’m super excited to see what Chen will come up with next.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodderscape and Gina Chen for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A review will be posted on publication day, 26 July, on @mysisterstolemybook bookstagram page.

I wanted to love this. There were so many aspects of this novel that are some of my favorite tropes and factors in fantasy stories. But it just didn't wow me.

I should have loved Violet. I didn't. No matter how I tried I just couldn't click with her character, and for some reason, none of the other characters stood out to me or felt overly prominent. This is a fantastic idea and there are a lot of really cool elements. And whilst I finished it and liked aspects, I just didn't love the novel overall.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Violet Made of Thorns was so fun! If you like fairytales with a twist, this is the book for you.

This book was pretty twisty, with plenty of deception going on, and it was fun to try and figure out exactly whose side each character was on and what their ultimate goal was. Both Violet and Cyrus are deeply flawed characters whose actions are, for the most part, completely self-serving; Violet's a prophet that lies (a lot), while Cyrus is a prince who's a little too charming. The arc they go through is very much enemies-to-lovers, with them still remaining enemies even when they are also lovers (which is my favourite brand of enemies-to-lovers as it leads to better banter and tension).

Outside of the Violet/Cyrus arc, expect plenty of prophecies and magic, as well as some interesting side characters - from the King to Cyrus's sister to Violet and Cyrus's mutual friend Dante - all of whom have not-so-straightforward intentions themselves. This book also sets up the next book very well - the last 10% of the book left me reeling and I can't wait to read the next!

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading the description, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 as it seemed to have everything I enjoyed in a book. Unfortunately it fell short and didn’t hook me as I was expecting.

I enjoyed this, it felt very fairy-tale esque. The fortune telling was an aspect I really enjoyed:

❝I might feel the Fate’s intentions instead: foreboding feels like the wet gust before a storm; opportunity, like a dip into wet honey. But much of the time, the Fates don’t like showing their hands. Not unless they mean to, anyway.❞

I liked Violet, she was independent and sassy and unafraid of being different:

❝I don’t have the luxury of being nice. The only people who are nice are those who have never had to claw for anything they’ve wanted.❞

The relationship she had with Cyrus was interesting. I’m not sure if I found it believable though, it didn’t really make me feel swoon-worthy or anything. There are some steamy moments so it’s recommended for older readers.

The plot was ok, predictable and left me feeling underwhelmed. Unfortunately, there didn’t feel like there was anything new or exciting that happened in the story, I feel like I’ve read this same story a hundred times already. I know there a lot of people who enjoyed this so it might have just been me who didn’t vibe with the story, sorry!

2 stars.

[Thanks to the publishers for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.]

Thank you to the publisher Hodder & Stoughton and of course the author Gina Chen for this eArc copy of this book.

I have rated this book a 3.5 but rounded it up to a 4⭐️

Overall I liked the story but I found the first 3/4 dragged on a bit like not much happened apart from talking I feel. The last quarter or so of the book was much better! 😁 I love camilla! ❤️

If you love fairy’s, beasts, magic & enemies to lover romance I would say it’s worth a go! 🧚🏻‍♀️🧌✨❤️

#VioletMadeOfThorns #NetGalley