Apologies, I wasn’t able to get to this one but I did feature it in this video: I DIDN'T KNOW THIS MANY FANTASY BOOKS EXISTED - July 2020 Book Haul
https://youtu.be/j5uP2-g4VfA

I have loved this author's other work, but couldn't get into this story. Some day I will try it again because the book description sounds like something I would like.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book!

I enjoyed this one and I highly recommend. I binged read this in one day!

I really enjoyed this book. I think it was an interesting take on a classic trope. Would definitely recommend.

The fact that I keep checking my apps to see that I did in fact listen to this book despite not remembering anything about it is not a good sign.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to review.

I tried very hard to get into this audio book but I just could not. I am not sure if it was the pace or the story line but it did not hold my attention so I did not finish.

Archived before I could download. Will come back to review if I read in the future. Thank you for the opportunity.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was such an amazing listen. I am so beyond grateful that I was able to listen to the audiobook rather than read the book. I thoroughly appreciate the narrator for the dialect of the names, along with many other things that just wouldn't have been the same while reading.

I absolutely loved this whole story, it brought me t so many different realizations than I ever would have realized. This story was just out of this world amazing! I cannot wait to read ore from Melissa!

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

DNF @ 20%.

I’ve tried reading/listening to this multiple times but can’t get into it. The cover is gorgeous, the plot is interesting, but my brain just isn’t following. The narrator does do a fantastic job though!

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was a beautiful story with characters that not only kept you turning the pages but held onto you after the last.

I enjoyed this book a lot, the Persian influences were clear and the main character was incredibly sympathetic. This one had a truly beautiful cover as well, I'm glad it did well and I hope to read more books by the author in the future.

I received this audio book from NetGalley for review.

I followed along in the book after receiving it in a book subscription box while listening to the audio. I really enjoyed this story and from the first page I was hooked. It’s a sapphic romance and so fairytalesque .
Soraya is isolated, exiled and lonely because of the poison that is inside her that can kill anyone with just a touch. Is she a monster or a damsel in distress, neither and both would aptly describe the story. This is much more than a love story.

It’s stories like these that have me reading more of this genre. First excellent narration , dark and twisted , solid magical elements . World building that I didn’t get lost in . An all around great book

Girl, Serpent, Thorn // written by Melissa Bashardoust // narrated by Nikki Massoud

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a fun story for anyone that enjoys YA fairy tale retellings. The author did a great job of giving it that magical feeling without being too whimsical or childish about it. I really enjoyed the variety of characters she had, the way those characters interacted, the shifting loyalties, and the way she adapted and included real-world cultures to her stories. The criticism I do have for this book are things that I generally struggle with in YA books: the world-building and the ease of solving issues. As another reviewer said, I think this story could've really benefited from being maybe about 100 pages longer so that the world could be fleshed out a little more and so that the conflicts that are spoken of as so difficult could have a little more room to actually be difficult rather than being solved relatively quickly. Overall though, I really enjoy this author's style and am looking forward to hearing more about her work.

I definitely recommend listening to this book if you have the chance. Nikki Massoud is one of my favorite audiobook narrator and she once again did a fantastic job with this one. It is so easy to tell which character is speaking because of her range of voices and accents, and she always adds to my enjoyment of every book.

Thank you for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love hiking and I love photographing birds. I was on my way to a much anticipated hike where I hoped to find a few new lifers and I started listening to the book on way. When I arrived to my destination I was not ready to stop listening to the book.

I had so many questions regarding Soraya and I loved how her loyalties kept being questioned throughout the book. She had to make difficult choice after difficult choice, was forced to rethink things she thought she knew, and had to learn to trust herself after years of living a sheltered life locked in her tower.

Hiking done I drove back home where I picked up a physical copy of the book and finished reading it in my hammock. There were definitely some heart-pounding moments and the resolution was more that I could have hoped for.

I wish this was a bit longer than it was. I feel like another 100-200 pages could have been good for this book. I enjoyed the characters and plot, but everything happened too quickly for me. It was an enjoyable read, enough to get a 3.5 star rating. Audio was perfect with the narration and pacing.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn felt like a fable, went to places I wasn’t quite expecting, and overall impressed me with its nuance. It’s not a book where you’ll necessarily be blown away by plot twists, but it deals with growth, self-discovery, and gray moral areas in ways I really enjoyed. It’s also inspired by Persian history and mythology, as evidenced by the well-researched author’s note, and has interested me in reading more of such stories. I wasn’t completely on board with the romance – as someone who prefers a slow build, there just simply enough time to pack that in along with everything else and make me invested – but I did appreciate the bisexual rep and that it didn’t end up how I thought it might.

This book is definitely more of a solid 3.5 for me. While it was interesting and enjoyable, I just felt like something was missing to really push this book in the 4-5 star range. Maybe I needed more pages for character development since all the romantic feelings seemed to get caught too quickly for me. Or maybe it was the fact that I was so confused about who the love interest should be. Am I supposed to root for the villain? Was it that kind of story? It turns out, no it wasn't. Overall: very cool, very interesting, but honestly lacking. Would I read something else by this author? Definitely! As for the audio quality. I really enjoyed the narrator and thought it was well performed.

I really liked the concept of this book but I didn't like the execution as much as I thought I would. The main character was so wishy-washy, it never really seemed like she was monstrous just incredibly indecisive.