Expect this book to be about 40% sadder than you are initially expecting and that will give you a good sense of this book. The tale is well written and while there are the usual difficulties in following a high fantasy world the plot explains nearly all the questions are reader might have. Something I really liked about the book is how important stories and legends are to Soraya and how her love of legends helped inform the reader about world-building.

I appreciate that the book tackles such a complex issue as compulsive heteronormativity (without calling it that obviously), but by making the villain of the story her heterosexual option he was humanized to the point that he was no longer a fun villain.  It is hard to hate such a dark villain when you can see him as just a broken human, and then I kind of hated myself for not being able to hate such a clearly evil man.

I read the book specifically because I wanted a sapphic fantasy, and while this does technically hit the mark I wanted so much more from this love story. It needed so much more gay.

Meh
I enjoyed parts of this book but overall I don't think it's that good... the main thing that bothered me was the main character, she is frustrating, the way she keeps falling into the same conflict over and over, and she confronts do or die situations with 0 plan I just rolled my eyes multiple times.
I think the set up is interesting and it's probably what kept me reading, but what did bother me is that some of the themes were described in a way that was too on the nose, the author really spelled them out and for me that's a bit annoying. 
I will give props for having queer characters without it being a conflict, it just is part of the story and that's always welcome for me (Although the romance isn't that great either, too forced).

Well-written and interesting story, it was just very different from what I was anticipating and didn’t really grab me. 

This was so beautifully written. Reminded me of the tale "Rappacini's Daughter" by Hawthorn (the author mentions it as having some inspiration). So if you loved that story and you love beautiful sapphic representation-- you'll love this one. 

I mean it was fairly okay??? Like I lowkey hated the main character, but I loved the resolution???

Soraya was so infuriating, and I DESPISED the back and forth "I love you and I hate you and I LOVE you but I have to remember why I hate you" like girl??? We are only here for Parvaneh, not flying snake boy with daddy issues. Have some taste.

Also we're going to completely ignore how long this took me to read lol

 5 ⭐ CW: violence descriptions of blood and corpses, parental neglect, isolation, murder, relationship abuse

"He must have already known what Soraya hardly understood--that the price of humanity was vulnerability."

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is the second book I've read by Melissa Bashardoust, and this one did not disappoint. Bashardoust has a knack for making you feel like you're in a fairytale and the relationships are so real and complex. Plus she always finds a way to subvert a trope.

I loved everything about this book. The cover, the descriptions and imagery, the fact that the emotions are relatable AF. Bashardoust based her story on the the Persian story the Shahnameh, and was nice to see the incorporation of how oral storytelling is told, for example starting a story with "there was and there was not," similar to the "once upon a time."

Soraya is beautifully complex, and has some really great growth (*cough* pun. IYKYK) throughout the novel. At first it starts off with your typical cursed princess forced into isolation, but that is where it stops.

I really appreciated the way Bashardoust handled the complicated feelings Soraya had for her family. She had a right to be angry and hurt, but her actions had consequences. I also liked how she handled the abusive nature of the Shamar toward Soraya. I could see this being one of those things where people might like the idea of this villain, who is relatable (to an extent), but make no mistake, he is abusive.

The twist at the end! I didn't see that coming at all!!! It was beautiful.

We have Bisexual representation here! Which makes this a great start to my Pride Month. Anyway, read this book. 

While there was nothing inherently wrong with this book, it didn’t stand out to me as one especially captivating or memorable. I never got attached to the characters, and Soraya’s arc was one I’d seen multiple times before in some way or another, without any way to make hers stand out.

I went in expecting a sapphic romance, and while technically I did get one, it was more of an undertone than a focal point. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that, as romance isn’t and doesn’t have to be central to every story. It was more of a misunderstanding on my part. I did like it, though.

Also, the antagonist? I saw that coming a mile away. Even if I didn’t guess all the details, the brunt of it was quite obvious. Nearly every fairytale I’ve come across tells you that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. And beyond the reveal, it didn’t feel like any part of the story was particularly intense or any of the obstacles were truly fearsome.

Overall: good world-building, plain characters, and nothing really surprising throughout the book. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a fantasy that’s not quite so intense, or a very character-driven retelling. I do think there are people that will enjoy this book; I just ended up pretty indifferent toward it.

Representation