i loved being a passenger on soraya’s journey of morality, power, and self-acceptance. the world-building was absolutely wonderful, would love (and could totally see) an on-screen adaptation! such a feministic, empowering fantasy read. and the romance was very sweet and very quote-worthy.

A fun introduction to Persian folklore and fairy tales. I enjoyed spending time with the main character, Soraya, and watching her gain confidence and a strong sense of self. The beginning and end of the book were very engaging; I felt that the middle section lagged a bit. Overall, it was a nice read!

Phew I am on a roll baby. Anyways this was so great!!! I mean sure Soraya did a few things that might be stupid in hindsight but I mean she was very sheltered throughout her life so I understand. 

The subtle enemies to lovers with Parvaneh was simply <3<3.

Also

the way Azad was so manipulate even I was bamboozled. But maybe that’s the bloodlust talking idk

Finally I have to say that I loved

the fact that Soraya got her powers back towards the end. Just when I was thinking Oh her powers sure weren’t developed the author was like BAM

Honestly I’m glad I finally got around to reading this. Very much worth it. 

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a beautiful take on finding oneself and embracing what hurts us as much as it makes us who we are. It takes a girl with a horrid curse, and shows us what happens when you dissect that curse and how one can claim their own tragedies and make them into what they want; something miraculous.

Sapphic, chilling, and wonderful, I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a beautiful cast of Persian-inspired mythos, and feel a tension and edge-of-your-seat suspense that is rarely found.

A sleeping beauty retelling! With Persian influence?! Wow I really enjoyed this! I love how the romance was subtle but had a nice feel to it and that the parent wasn’t entirely useless and that a man wasn’t the one to step through and save the day. 

I started this book as a buddy read but finished it before everyone else. It was just captivating. The story, the characters. It was not what I imagined, but it was really really great. Don’t stop at the blurb. It’s much more than that. 

Three people who have their fates tangled together. Victims or monster? You’ll discover more by reading it 

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).

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