I couldn't even get into this book. It sounds interesting but I lost my interest when I started reading it. And at the beginning, there is a character named Clark Kent? I can't do it. Sorry.

Definitely wasn't my cup of tea. This book has a lot going on but at the same time nothing really at all. Too much is being thrown at you and makes the book super confusing and kind of boring. The book has an awesome premise though.

I loved the premise of this book . An Assassin made by the one they work for struggles with identity and destiny . The world around the main character is also incredibly intriguing.
Sadly this book fell short for me in a few key areas. The world that seemed so interesting is never built upon fully and due to the time jumping nature of the story I could never allow myself to get fully immersed in the flow of the prose. The insta love trope included is also not one of my favorite things but could be improved by fleshing out the romantic interest’s character arc some. A bit more exploration of the world and side characters could have pushed this to a true 4 star for me.
I do think this idea shows a lot of promise and would love to read more by this author in the future.

A YA fantasy with the protagonist, Eli, as an assassin made by witches to kill ghosts- sounds like a strong premise...?

But the beautiful cover and this intriguing concept are a little misleading to the reality of this story. It lacks world-building, is full of plot holes, and the characters are underdeveloped.

However, it did have diverse representations and, if it were to be explained and developed, a potentially interesting world.

I did not finish at 32%

I really wanted to love this book. The story line sounds amazing! Unfortunately, I found the story to be hard to follow. The world building is lacking; making it difficult to understand/imagine the world Eli comes from. I also don’t understand how ghosts work in this world. They have human bodies, but are those bodies stolen from real humans - living or dead - or are they something different altogether?

This book has the potential to be great. I believe the world building and characters need to be fleshed out. They need more depth and backstory.

DNFed @ 35%

I was really intrigued by this #OwnVoices LGBTQ+ fantasy about a girl pieced together from nature and man-made things by a Witch and was also an assassin. The concept of Anger lurking beneath the surface of the novel was also a huge draw in. But, the book itself feels pieced together. The writing style is beautiful but the chapters and scenes don’t flow together. Even a novel that is meant to feel disjointed flows together in some way but this just didn’t mesh to me. I was going to keep reading since it’s a relatively short book and I kept being hopeful that it would all start to make sense but instead just kept finding myself more confused and frustrated with it.

I hope someone else who picks this up will enjoy this much more than I did, but it just wasn’t for me.


Concept// 4/10
Arc of Characters// 4/10
Writing Style// 4/10
Plot & Pacing// 2/10
Intrigue// 5/10
Logic & Lore// 2/10
Enjoyment// 2/10

Total: ★★

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
•
3*
Pros: Stars a badass changeling, a creature not usually seen in YA. LGBT+ lead and cast (including non-binary representation). Mysterious and mystical vibes. Features an incredible take on witches and parallels worlds. Intriguing descriptions.
.
Cons: Confusing narrative style and chronological jumps, probably due to how short the book is. Instant love interest. No emotional depth and relatability.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.

First and foremost, I LOVE the cover. In fact, it was the cover and the description that made me request it, but I couldn't finish it. I wasn't sure where the story was going or what the story wanted to be . It got to the point where I actually had to stop because I couldn't follow it and kept getting confused. I think it needs to be polished a little more before it comes out.

This book holds the chaos of magic. Mazes through worlds, characters, life, being, and magic are everywhere. The characters are fantastic however I did find the ending a bit disappointing.

<b>**FULL REVIEW**</b>

Slow start with this book, felt there was a good premise but it was hard to hold onto. The story has some interesting elements for sure.

But, I found myself trying to skim through much of it...so. Much. Dialogue.

Useless dialogue. A lot of back and forth, it was almost confusing.

I will say, there were some good parts too. The element of suspense of who’s who was fun...the mystical element and finding out who the real villains are for instance.

The characters were different and interesting, although, I’ll admit it was challenging to read in 3rd person POV...definitely a first for me with a different use of pronouns.

Overall, I didn’t hate it. I didn’t particularly like it either...I’m not sure I’ll read the next book in the series.

I loved the descriptive imagery, but ultimately, this story didn't go anywhere for me. I gave up at 50% Maybe I'll go back to it one day, but it was too abstract for my traumatized brain to follow right now.

I really, really wanted to like this one. The cover is beautiful and the premise sounded so unique and interesting but this book just did not live up to my expectations. I found it slow and very hard to get into or connect to any of the characters and the plot was kinda all over the place. This had so much potential but was ultimately a disappointment.

First thing to know: first impressions - I ADORE this cover, it sucked me in right away! I knew that I had to have it, it’s got everything I love in book covers normally and the colors are so eye catching!

So this book right away had my eye and the potential for me to fall head over heels in love with it … but then something happened, it fell flat. The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass is okay, but that’s really all it is - OKAY. Not great, not amazing, nor wonderful, just okay. This book is a massive slow burn - which can work, but here it did not. Instead of easing you into the story like normal, it never picks up. The story just DRAGS on. Y’all, I wanted to love this book, Eli is basically a female Pinocchio, created by a witch and al, but the story was boring. Nothing dragged you in or caught you off guard, it was just a mess. You meet a slew of side characters that were actually more exciting than the main character? Maybe that was the issue for me overall? It’s hard to tell because NOTHING in this book stood out for me.

Let me praise the book for one thing that it did VERY well - LGBTQ+ representation

witches and badass assassins! what more could you want in a book as they search for the heart of the coven !

Well I loved it! It takes a very old and overdone topic and gives it life. I did not see what was coming around the bend and I loved that. Plus the cover is gorgeous but my only issue is that the cover gives no hint to the story. I wish it were a little more specific to the story.

I saw a lot of people reading this on goodreads and it was really polarizing opinions, but I decided to give it a try on my own, plus I was intrigued by the cover and description, but if I'm being honest, this book just wasn't for me.

First, I just want to commend this book on its LGBTQ+ representation, which was the main aspect of the book that I actually enjoyed. I think the author did a really good job with it. The characters were interesting, so I'll give the book that.

But this book... it really dragged for me. I'm a person who usually powers through and don't mind slow beginnings if it pays off in the end, but this book really just...didn't. The plot and the characters all just fell short for me on many accounts.

I think the book had a lot of potential, but the book lacked the proper worldbuilding to be able to accomplish what it wanted to. I also just wasn't a huge fan of the writing style in general, which I think was a factor in my dislike towards this book.

I really just wish there was as much attention given to the plot as there was to the LGBTQ+ representation. I hope other people liked this book more than I did, but overall it was just disappointing.

Vor allem das Cover hat mich aufmerksam auf die Geschichte gemacht, aber auch der Klappentext klang sehr interessant und ich hatte wieder einmal Lust auf eine Fantasy Geschichte. Jedoch hat mich das Buch sehr enttäuscht: Die Charaktere waren zu wenig beschrieben und zu flach und die Erzählung war mir viel zu schnell, sodass ich fast nicht mehr nachkam und mir deshalb auch das Worldbuilding gefehlt hat.

I have to say i did not get into this one. I felt no connection with the main character. It was an original story, with action, that made my imagination work... but i did not care what happened because of my lack of connexion

While the description and the cover did reel me in, the book did not exactly live up to my expectations. For me, it was difficult to immerse myself in the world the author created and most of the time, I was confused with the setting and the plot. The start was quite dragging and difficult for me to read. Yet although I was quite curious to learn more about the structure and rules of the coven and of witchcraft, I just had a difficult time reading it and trying to see it in my head. It was also a struggle for me to attach myself to the character and I just felt the main character was a bit flat and I didn't find a strong connection that would keep me hooked throughout the story. Perhaps the writing was not my style and and I didn't really have a good grip on to where I was in the story.

DNF @ 10%

The book cover is so gorgeous and the description was compelling that it made me pick it up. The writing is different - interesting, but felt choppy at times and I wasn't able to connect with the characters, setting or plot.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing ARC in exchange for an honest review.