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A review by books_first_
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
5.0
Thank you Netgalley for the copy of Girl, Serpent, Thorn, in exchange for an honest review
My, this was a wild ride. First of, can we just agree that we all needed a badass, fearless and smart Middle Eastern Heroine? Who falls in love with a female demon with wings? Because my friends, my heart is SINGING.
So, our main character, princess Soraya, has only ever been hidden in the castle without any public appearances, casual touches - or not so casual touches. Because she is poisonous and everyone who touches her will die. But she's always dreamt of a world outside of her bedroom, her rose garden and the tiny, dark tunnels that lead her through the castle inside of the walls.
When she has a chance to find out who made her into who she is and how to undo her curse, she takes it but with consequences that are more than she bargained for.
She has to decide between good and evil, her family and her freedom and between being a girl or a monster.
My bookish friends, Girl, Serpent, Thorn was an absolute delight and to be honest, it flew by way to quickly. I was very quickly completely sucked into Soraya's story and felt with her all through this book as she was put through tough decisions and tests and imprisonment.
Bashardoust does a wonderful job building a world which you can easily navigate as a reader but still feel utterly amazed (and horrified) by. The characters are as lovable as their decisions are questionable, which makes them so amazingly human that it's hard to find a character to dislike.
The world of the different demons is amazing and if there was a book where I wish I had a map in there, it is this. But even without I felt taken on journey of self-discovery and the big question of what makes one human and what makes one a monster.
Soraya struggles a lot with the fear of becoming a monster as soon as she let's her curse run free. She's afraid that she will lose herself when she let's go and all this while she experiences betrayal, love and war for the very first time. She feels like a very relatable character and one that I would have loved to spend even more time with.
Without wanting to spoil anything, I thought this book was going into a completely different direction at first. There was the kind of insta love that makes me roll my eyes but then there was a plot twist that had me gasping out loud and I think this book will do that for you, too. I recommend this book for everyone who loves fantasy, fairy tales and who loves character arcs, because this is it, sis.
Lastly, I want to mention that I highly enjoyed the author's explanations of the different tales and fables she borrowed either parts of the story from or the language that is used. All of it can be linked to old Persian fairy tales and books have never made it onto my TBR list this quickly as the ones that are recommended at the end of this book.
What a lovely, lovely story and I cannot wait to see what comes next for Melissa Bashardoust.
My, this was a wild ride. First of, can we just agree that we all needed a badass, fearless and smart Middle Eastern Heroine? Who falls in love with a female demon with wings? Because my friends, my heart is SINGING.
So, our main character, princess Soraya, has only ever been hidden in the castle without any public appearances, casual touches - or not so casual touches. Because she is poisonous and everyone who touches her will die. But she's always dreamt of a world outside of her bedroom, her rose garden and the tiny, dark tunnels that lead her through the castle inside of the walls.
When she has a chance to find out who made her into who she is and how to undo her curse, she takes it but with consequences that are more than she bargained for.
She has to decide between good and evil, her family and her freedom and between being a girl or a monster.
My bookish friends, Girl, Serpent, Thorn was an absolute delight and to be honest, it flew by way to quickly. I was very quickly completely sucked into Soraya's story and felt with her all through this book as she was put through tough decisions and tests and imprisonment.
Bashardoust does a wonderful job building a world which you can easily navigate as a reader but still feel utterly amazed (and horrified) by. The characters are as lovable as their decisions are questionable, which makes them so amazingly human that it's hard to find a character to dislike.
The world of the different demons is amazing and if there was a book where I wish I had a map in there, it is this. But even without I felt taken on journey of self-discovery and the big question of what makes one human and what makes one a monster.
Soraya struggles a lot with the fear of becoming a monster as soon as she let's her curse run free. She's afraid that she will lose herself when she let's go and all this while she experiences betrayal, love and war for the very first time. She feels like a very relatable character and one that I would have loved to spend even more time with.
Without wanting to spoil anything, I thought this book was going into a completely different direction at first. There was the kind of insta love that makes me roll my eyes but then there was a plot twist that had me gasping out loud and I think this book will do that for you, too. I recommend this book for everyone who loves fantasy, fairy tales and who loves character arcs, because this is it, sis.
Lastly, I want to mention that I highly enjoyed the author's explanations of the different tales and fables she borrowed either parts of the story from or the language that is used. All of it can be linked to old Persian fairy tales and books have never made it onto my TBR list this quickly as the ones that are recommended at the end of this book.
What a lovely, lovely story and I cannot wait to see what comes next for Melissa Bashardoust.