I have so many emotions flowing through my mind and body after finishing this beautifully written and completely emotionally captivating book. I don’t know whether I want to cry, laugh, re-read the entire book, or simply bask in the emotions that the wonderful writing of Kat and the world she has created embodied me with.

From the very first page I was gripped to this story and wow was it beautiful. A true romance but not the typical type of romance you would expect but one of both in my opinion a platonic love as well as a romantic love. A love that is so deep it integrates into your very bones. One that chases away loneliness and creates a path to mend what was once assumed broken or lost.
Kat you have outdone yourself on this one and I have to say this is your best writing and story yet, I don’t know whether at this point I want to cry or track you down in London and hug you. This is just beautiful!

And last but not least Kat I see you for the amazing writer and person you are and you are totally amazing! Never doubt yourself.

<i>Love was complex, conditional. Not all sweet, but not all bitter.</i>

*Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

<b>Have you ever wondered what a sapphic retelling of your favourite tale would look like? Stop searching cause Bitterthorn is what you are looking for.</b>

<i>Bitterthorn</i> by Kat Dunn is a <b>standalone fantasy fairy tale</b> that you will be able to read in May 2023! This story, full of suspense and beautiful descriptions of nature, will transport you to a world of tales, curses, and witches.

This is a book about <u>grieving and loneliness</u>. About two souls finding each other and a <b>love story that will change the world forever</b>. It’s <u>haunting, beautiful, and atmospheric</u>. It’s splendidly written, and you can see the gothic style lingering around every page.

One of my favourite things was that the vivid language instantly transported me into this world. The author’s description of the nature was one of my favourite parts. You could picture the scenery in your mind, and it was really easy to imagine the places Mina, our hero, was visiting.

The <b>pace</b> of the book was slow and expositive. However, it was suitable for this type of story. You get to know Mina through her thoughts and the inner monologue is what makes this story move forward. It’s a slow burn story in general but also an easy read. The author unveils the mystery slowly, step by step, in a way that you crave for more pages to read.

About the <b>characters</b> I have to say that I didn’t connect with <u>Mina</u> as much, but her feelings of grieving and loneliness resonated with me. She could be annoying sometimes, and I would have preferred to know the point of view of the Witch sometimes. <u>The Witch</u> was my favourite character of the book, she is full of layers and morally grey. Her intentions aren’t always clear but at the end you can relate with her decisions and learn to love her. Both are damaged characters, looking for themselves and looking for love. They are lost and missing something (or someone), and you can see them travel through this sorrow.

I wasn’t expecting the ending and it was a pleasant surprise as I couldn’t imagine where the last part of the book was going. Every small detail counts to this story and makes it wholesome.

If you like <b>queer books, retellings, and fairy tales</b> I’m sure you will enjoy this book. I had a great time reading it and it was perfect for the cold weather and the grey days. I’m sure I will read more books by Kat Dunn and follow her journey after <i>Bitterthorn</i>.

<b>My rating: 4/5
Representation: Sapphic main characters</b>

Absolutely spectacular - we’re only in January and I know this will be among my top books of the year. A gloriously gothic, sapphic retelling of classic fairy tales - Beauty and The Beast (but with shades of Sleeping Beauty and even a touch of Cinderella).

A story about love, loss, sacrifice, loneliness and trying to find your place in the world. About breaking down barriers and realising who you really are.

Can’t wait to own it in book format. Great for fans of A Curse So Dark and Lonely, but much more serious. Beautifully written. Lovely use of nature throughout. Gorgeous. It’s not out till April, but well worth a pre-order.

Thanks to the publisher for allowing me access to this title. This is a beautifully descriptive Cinderella/Rumplestiltskin hybrid with a sapphic romance and deep themes of grief and loneliness at its heart. I found the plot a little aimless at times and the romance a little lacking, but the style of writing and the unexpected time loops kept me reading.

Bitterthorn is a tender queer gothic fantasy, spun with dark fairytale romance. There are a lot of Grimms references you'll recognise here, but I loved that Dunn still managed to find an original twist for the magic at the heart of her novel. While it is perhaps a little too slow-paced at times, there are some beautiful descriptive passages and evocative pieces of world building. It's the perfect YA novel to lose yourself in on a dark winter's night.

LISTEN UP AND READ THIS BOOK OKAY
Okay, I'll stop shouting but WOW I adored this book. There are a lot of fairytale retellings out there, but this one managed to stand out and utterly win me over. It was evocative and beautiful and gothic and managed to convey the main character's grief and loneliness in a way that was both gorgeously written and incredibly moving. I could not put it down, and cannot wait to get a physical copy and lose myself in Kat Dunn's stunningly rendered world once more.

Bitterthorn is a classic fairytale romance built off the concept of loneliness and neglect. While not literally a Beauty and the Beast retelling, it slots into that mould very easily, with just about every narrative moment you expect - a bit too neatly so for my liking. I appreciate the sapphic aspect and definitely find the couple endearing, but such romances built off power dynamics like this can take some real careful balancing, and I'm not entirely sure it comes out right. And I can't help but feel there's a darker, more challenging work under the surface, which turns the Gothic up to outright horror and doesn't settle for easy endings and meaningful speeches. I did enjoy my time reading this, but I have to accept that this is mainly because I am a sucker for sapphic romance and reflective, traumatised characters rather than because this book stood out or made the most of its premise.

Mina is the daughter of the ruler of Blumwald, a small German state that's about to be swept up with Bismarck's unification of Germany. Blumwald has a secret though, every 50 years the Witch comes and takes one of the young men, and her time is coming. Mina is lonely, unvalued and over-looked - her mother is dead and her stepmother uninterested in the child of her husband's first wife, while her father always has too many other things to do. So when the Witch comes, it's Mina that goes.

This is a fairytale with echoes of Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast, and includes the "wicked stepmother". But it's also charming in its own right, with characters who are not always easy to like, and a mystery at its heart. I think I worked out what the Witch was doing before Mina did, but that didn't take away from the story at all, and the ending was cleverly done.

I really enjoyed it!

The story follows Mina, a young woman who isn’t wanted by her family, so she decides to become a companion of the mysterious Witch.
A wonderful gothic story, one which will give you goosebumps for a while!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bitterthorn is gently mysterious, compelling, immersive and emotive. A richly rendered queer fantasy.

Wow. Very rare that I love a quiet fantasy, but this is a true treasure of a novel.

Mina is unwanted, by her family, by her town of Blumwald, by her country, so she seizes the chance to become companion to the Witch, a mysterious, magical woman who comes to Blumwald every fifty years to take a person to her castle, never to be seen again.

Dunn beautifully renders the gothic fairy-tale-esque world of 1800s Germany, and Mina, the quiet, awkward protagonist, who wishes for companionship but finds herself an outcast everywhere she goes. She finds herself trapped in a decrepit castle with the Witch, an aloof, sharp woman, who bounces off Mina’s tender composure seamlessly, and the story blossoms from there. Several threads of mystery propel the story to prevent it from becoming stale: what is Mina’s purpose in the castle? What is the Witch hiding in her mysterious tower? Where are the former companions? The questions begin to press against her as she uncovers more and more about her new life.

Between lavish descriptions and a gently brewing romance, Dunn expertly explores themes of loneliness and the power of love. If anything, I wish this novel were longer and spent more time developing the relationship between Mina and the Witch, but even so, this is a book I wish I could forget, just so I could read it again. Perfect for a cosy night.

I loved this! The writing is elegant and melancholic and the main character's grief and loneliness is beautifully described. Recommended if you enjoyed Uprooted and The Mercies.

If you felt lost, unloved and lovely would you offer yourself to the Witch who comes calling for a companion? That's exactly what Mina does when Blumwald's ancient curse comes a calling, the Witch has come for her once-a-generation companion and Mina knows that if she goes with her she will never be seen again.

Through the story, Mina learns more about the castle she now lives in, the Witch she resides with, the companions who came before her and the fate that awaits her. Beautiful and hauntingly written, Bitterthorn had me from the first chapter.

I would note that the ending was wrapped up very quickly but I can understand the reasoning for this and it did not detract from my enjoyment of the novel.

This is a beautifully written love story. The world Kat Dunn has created is so rich and the characters so real. The book was fairly slow compared to what I’d usually prefer, but I would still recommend this to so many people.

Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn is an eerily beautiful twisted fairytale set in 1871. Every page seemed to flow effortlessly with dreamy imagery and a delicate air of melancholy. This book is part gothic romance and YA fantasy featuring a torturously sweet queer romance.

Each character is deeply flawed and a little bit broken but this makes them incredibly endearing. There are secrets upon secrets hidden deep in the walls of the Witch's castle and I loved how they were carefully unravelled.

I adored everything about this book. I read it in just a few hours. I simply couldn't put it down. I was completely enamoured with Dunn's way with words.

A thoroughly enchanting fairy tale, with nods to the classics of the gothic genre. Incredibly complex characterisation had me falling for the Witch alongside Mina, and desperate for them to find a way to break their curse. Will be recommending to everyone and anyone!

I read this on my holiday and nearly threw my Kindle in the pool (in a good way). Kat has destroyed me in the best way.
I loved the setting of this book, the curse and the way Mina takes the opportunity to leave behind a life she hates and people who don't care for her, even though she has no idea what the Witch has in store. I loved seeing the Witch gradually open up. The mystery of why Mina is there and why the Witch needs a companion was the perfect slow, creeping horror in the background of their story. It blew me away.
Bitterthorn has cemented Kat as one of my all time favourite authors. All the stars for this one!

Was both consumed and blown away by this gothic, Sapphic retelling of beauty and the beast. Lately, I’ve been avoiding B & the B retellings because no one seems to get them right or understand that it’s a story about choice and bodily autonomy. But Kat Dunn’s effort was breath taking and enthralling. You need know no more than that. A wonderful book.

Thank you so much for my earc of this book.
I loved the story, setting and characters in this book.
I felt so frustrated for Mina and wanted better for her!
I loved the witch and the mystery behind her and loved the way the story surprised me.
I can see why it’s been compared to Uprooted and agree that people who loved it would probably enjoy this style of story. It does stand on its own though!! A great story.

"I kneeled in a graveyard and told myself it was paradise."

Thanks to NetGalley and Andersen Press for this eARC.

This was a delightful read. A true gothic fairytale in the truest sense of the genre. It feels much like a sapphic retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast, and it does its job absolutely perfectly. So many gothic fantasy novels tend to fall flat in this day and age, but this one was a breath of fresh air amongst an often busy but stagnant genre.

From the first page, this one was an easy read for me. It was one I didn't want to tear my attention away from, and I read it quickly, only delayed due to the fact that I, unfortunately, had to work, eat and sleep at some points during the days! Beautifully written and descriptive, the setting of the German forests in the 19th Century worked perfectly for the genre, and I was really drawn into it,

The characters were complex and likeable, even when they were being cruel, or rude. The idea of love being the breaker of all curses is not a new one, but it's a trope that still lands well when it is done correctly; this novel is a true example of that.

At times a little heavy on the description, which could lead to some readers finding it slow in places. Overall, I throroughly enjoyed this and would definitely read more from the author.

This book broke me apart and put me back together again in the space of 36 hours. Will I ever recover? Probably not. 🥲

5 stars is not enough for this - a stunning, gothic fairytale!