Absolutely loved this book, I really liked the exploration of Soraya’s character and her feelings. As the book says “sometimes the princess is the monster” and I love that.

I really liked that even through Soraya gave her curse/gift up, she realized that was a mistake and she got it back and she accepted and felt comfortable in herself and with her power. I’ve seen books end too many times with the (usually female) characters having to give up their powers and I hate that troupe so I’m so glad this book did not do that and it let Soraya be powerful and dangerous.

“She had thought nothing would be more incredible than the simple sensation of touch, but she'd been wrong: more incredible still was the idea that she could be dangerous, all her thorns on display, and that someone would dare to touch her anyway.” 

This book was absolutely beautiful in every way. I absolutely loved how descriptive it was, without droning on or slowing down the pace. It helped me connect with all of the characters, individually.

I didn't find myself relating with anyone in particular, which is unusual when I read. Typically, I can find myself in one or two of the characters, but in this case, I didn't. However, it didn't take away from my reading journey. Instead of looking for myself throughout, I was focused entirely on the cast and what would happen next.

I found the plot to be somewhat predictable, overall, but it was another thing that didn't bother me. I knew it was a fairytale and inspired by Sleeping Beauty, so it wouldn't be without its stereotypical moments. What I did love was the representation! It's not every day that you find a LGBTQIA+ fairytale and this one was just gorgeous.

Since I listened to the audiobook, I have no clue how to spell any of the character names, yet again, but I just want to say that they were all brilliant. There was no lack of character development or world-building. It was the perfect mixture of both!

I enjoyed the world building. It was thorough enough to feel real without being bogged down. I enjoyed the Persian rather than European foundation. I think we weren’t given enough time with Soraya before the action to understand what her life was really like and to be able to notice how much she changes. I wish the context of Soraya’s bisexuality had been better placed in her world (is it acceptable or subversive?). I also think the two relationships Soraya had were unevenly developed and explored, which was a shame. Overall though, I enjoyed this fresh, dark take on fantasy.

At first, it took me some time to get into it and I didn’t feel the urge to keep reading, yet it was totally worth it! I love the mystery and not knowing what character had what motives! The author’s note helped understand this masterpiece even more!

GIRL, SERPENT, THORN is a queer story about monstrosity and beauty, full of secrets and longing for what's just out of reach.

This book was absorbing, totally compelling. The style is simple and clear like a great fairy tale, but the characters have depth and feel so vibrant within the easy prose. I like the premise (girl has a curse where she can't touch anyone or they'll die), and the way the nuances of that premise are explored throughout the book was great. It could easily have been a series of people and things she can't touch, but it goes somewhere much more interesting and I like it a lot. One of its strengths is the way the antagonists show a lot of nuance and depth while also being believable as friends or potential romantic interests. How the narrative shifts to change who is thought of as a hero and a villain throughout the story was really good.

This first part of the book was a bit frustrating for me because I spent the first half wishing that the characters could just talk to each other instead of not saying things and then having everything go badly because of a lack of communication. The justifications for why certain things were kept secret felt like it boiled down to "if they talk to each other the plot won't happen, shhhhhhhh stop asking". I liked the second half a lot better, partly because the secrets starting coming out and communication got a lot freer. I love the ending, it lands in a place that feels like real growth for the MC and secondary characters. It fits the story without undercutting the earlier struggles. Overall the story arc makes sense and it needed to establish the frustration of living with all these secrets in order for there to be any tension when they slowly get revealed and resolved, but it did make this a book where I wanted to just stick the characters in a room and make them have a conversation, or several. Eventually those conversations do happen, to be clear. I just get stressed out by this kind of tension in general.

Soraya is born with a curse. Poison flows in her veins so that anything she touches dies. Her poison could be her greatest strength or her greatest weakness. It could make her fold inward or stand tall in power. I mean, what a premise. I was drawn into this story immediately, and every bit of wonderful literary potential was pulled out of this incredible set-up.

In a sea of patriarchal fantasy and heteronormative romance, this book was a breath of fresh air. Everything about it was feminist in the best way. The female bi protagonist drove the story with her flaws center stage right next to her self-reckoning and strength. But her moments of weakness were just as exquisitely written. It is just so hard to put the perfection of this book into words. Where is the sequel? I need more of Bashardoust's writing.