I received an ARC copy of this from Flatiron Books via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review

Summary
Soraya is cursed to be poisonous to the touch. She has spent her entire life being hidden away, apart from her family. As her twin brother's wedding approaches, Soraya becomes desperate to release herself from her curse. With the help of a young soldier, who is actually not afraid of her, she enters the dungeons to seek answers from the demon held captive there.
Soraya thought she knew what she wanted. But her actions have dire consequences, and Soraya finds herself wrapped in dark web where she is forced to chose who she wants to be - demon or human?

Overview
➸ POV: 3rd Person from Soraya's POV

➸ Soraya: Princess, Cursed to be poisonous to the touch, Stays hidden away at Golvahar - the families spring castle, Twin sister to Sorush - the shah of Atashar

➸ Content Warnings: Murder, Death, Violence, Torture, Abduction

My Thoughts
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and unfortunately it didn't quite live up. This story was rich in history and fairytale-esque atmosphere, but ultimately the characters and relationships felt rush and underdeveloped.

I have some pretty mixed feelings about this book so I'm going to break this review up like I used to: into the things I love versus what I didn't love

What I Loved:
1. The atmosphere and feel of this story was so rich. I felt like I dove straight into a Persian fairytale. This story is full of a so much folklore and mythology and it was so magical and haunting.
2. The world needs more standalone fantasies! And I love that this book delivers on that.
3. This book explores some really heavy and complex topics. Soraya's struggle with accepting herself was so expertly handled. She struggles with romantic feelings, self-acceptance, family betrayals, and lots of other internal dilemmas. I loved her story and journey.

What I Didn't Love:
1. My number one issue with was the pacing. While I love that this is standalone, I think this book ended up having more ground to cover than it could handle. This story is complex and deep. And personally I felt like too many things were rush and brushed over. The insta love so damn real with this one. I couldn't connect to some of the intense feelings behind a lot of the decisions/actions because to the reader, these characters knew each other for all of a second. Everything happened so fast that I never had time to believe in the stakes. And unfortunately that is a big miss for me as a reader. I need to believe in and care about the characters in order to love a story.

Overall this book had aspects that I loved mixed with a few things that kept this from becoming a new favorite. I think where this book excels in it's rich setting but falls short on the characterization and relationships. I still think this is a solid read that a lot of readers will love - especially if you are plot driven reader! It just wasn't quite everything I had hope for. I am really excited to see what this author writes next - I love that she creates such unique (and dark) twists on fairytales and folklore.

⭐3,5

4.5

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Girl, Serpent, Thorn read like a fairytale from the very first page. The author’s writing was an effortless flow, creating a world which was part magic, part Persian myth and incredibly real and tangible. The complexity of the world-building surprised me, given that it is a standalone novel—and it was a perfect standalone novel. The pacing alternated between fast-paced action and shocking plot twists and slower, softer moments that revealed character vulnerabilities. The plot felt neither lacking nor condensed. It was just perfectly structured.

As always with any book that steals my heart, the characters were my favorite part. Soraya’s character development was full of internal struggles and intense desires, but never did she feel whiny or immature. Her actions were perfectly aligned with her situation, with her curse, and with the events she was a protagonist of.
Azad and Parvaneh were the perfect side characters and enriched Soraya’s story. The LGBTQ+ “love triangle” that was hinted intrigued me from the synopsis. I usually loathe triangles, but boy did I enjoy this one! The LGBTQ+ element of Soraya’s bisexuality was introduced so naturally and developed so beautifully through the story. I loved the interactions with Parvaneh—softer, filled with witty banter and full of self-discovery. I loved the interactions with Azad—thick with tension and feeding Soraya’s conflict.

I don’t want to say too much…but the villain of this book was brilliant. That’s all I’ll say.

My one “complaint” is that I would have wanted to see a bit more of the romance, which I felt had the potential to have more page time, but that’s just my opinion! Overall, this book really blew me away for its amazing characters and the beautiful work the author did of weaving myth in her narrative. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Loved the world building. Loved that it makes you look at yourself and find a way to be at peace with who you are.

""In the dungeon, I used to like making you angry,” Parvaneh said. She reached down to scoop up one of the moths and held it up to her face, brushing its wing against her cheek with a tenderness that only worsened the fluttering in Soraya’s stomach. Parvaneh let the moth fly away and looked Soraya in the eye. “But I think I like making you laugh even more.""

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⭐⭐⭐ / 3 stars

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a sweet fairytale-esque story with a beautiful Middle Eastern setting about self discovery and acceptance as well as love. While it is a cute little story perfect for a spring day, it lacks depth and character development to really make an impact.

Princess Soraya is cursed to be poisonous to the touch and thus lives an isolated and lonely life. Just before her brother's wedding day, a new appointed guard makes Soraya feel like she's more than her curse for the first time in her life. At the same time, a newly captured demon may hold all the answers to Soraya’s questions and may even relieve her of her deadly powers. Yet no one will know until it's too late what kind of consequences will follow the unfolding of all her family's secrets.

Firstly, I liked the setting of this story a lot. It takes place in an ancient kingdom-esque in the Middle East, I think Iran to be more specific. I haven't read many books having an environment like that, so it was a welcome addition. Also the Persian mythology interwoven in the story is very interesting like the djinns and Shahnameh. Bashardoust provides at the end of the book in an author's note more information concerning the mythology if you're interested.

Secondly, I think the characters this book were lacklustre and I didn't feel any connection with any of them. The main character Soraya is pretty dumb at times and makes illogical decisions. A lot of the plot revolves around learning the truth about Soraya’s curse and why her mother isn't telling her the truth about it. All Soraya needs to do is ASK HER MOTHER THE TRUTH, but she doesn’t because that would be disobedient? It just doesn't make any sense to me. The same is true for the main villain of the story. He trust people blindly even though they have proven time and time again that they're not to be trusted. How is he getting anything done really? It truly removes any impact he might have and I wasn't afraid of him. Also, because the characters were so illogical and lacklustre, for me, the whole plot around self-acceptance fell flat.

Lastly, the romance is one of the reasons I kept reading. It's sapphic, sweet and just a delight. It is a little more juvenile than I would've liked, but that is okay because it fits the story.

In conclusion, Girl, Serpent, Thorn was a fine story and I'm glad I read it because I had been anticipating it for a long time. While it wasn't exactly what I had been wishing for and I left the story a little dissatisfied, it is a fine book overall.

would've been 3 stars if the sapphic romance made more sense and was built up better

I loved the plot and characters! This was such a fun read and I loved the sapphic romance and many plot twists! Such a beautiful book