I loved this audiobook so much! Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a Persian inspired fantasy. I can’t recall that I’ve ever read books inspired by this mythology. This story is so refreshing in the YA fantasy genre.

A princess is cursed with a poisonous touch. This is a story of friendship and betrayal and monsters and family.

I devoured this book! I see myself rereading this book many times in the future.

I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I believe this is a cautionary tell on keeping secrets from those you love. I think a lot of people can relate to this story if you have ever thought nobody cared about you or your own family didn’t seem to care about you. I have always loved fantasy stories and this one was so interesting because I have never heard about middle eastern mythical creatures now I want to know more about them. I would definitely recommend this book.

All I needed to be completely pulled into this story was the knowledge that it is a Persian inspired fantasy that twines together old myths and Persian legends. I am HERE for it. This book is an absolutely beautiful journey! If you loved The Daevabad Series, you will likely love this book too!

Soraya was cursed at birth by a demon. She has poison running through her veins. She will kill anything that she touches. She must stay hidden with only her garden for company.
News reaches her that a demon has been captured and is being held in the dungeon. Could it possibly know how to cure her?

I loved this book! I loved the characters, the story, all of it. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I guessed right away who the villain was.

Nikki Massoud is an amazing narrator. I would love to hear more books narrated by her. She made this book even more enjoyable.

This is the second audiobook that I have listened to on the Net Galley app, and they both played out of order. Not sure if it's the app or what. I had to go back a couple of times because it was confusing.

This book was so interesting, I didn't expect so much depth, the book captivated me, Soraya's story was refreshing and deep, it's more about who she is and what she wants to become, being isolated all her life she now finds the courage to go into a journey what will lead her with accepting who she really is and finding love in the most unexpected ways. This fairy tale YA story will captivate you.

4.5 stars

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was even better than I expected! It delivered a really good YA Fantasy story with a captivating f/f romance. The plot kept me interested and engaged and I was living for those romantic moments between Parvaneh and Saraya.

This book is about a girl who has always been hidden away because of her poisonous touch. She's a Princess but she's more like a prisoner in her own home. Her family barely spend time with her and when a thief who might know the answer to her questions is held in the dungeons, she's going on a path to find out the truth about her "curse" and how she might fight it. By the end, she'll learn to accept who she is without feeling ashamed and I loved that.

I also read Girls Made of Snow and Glass by this author and I have to say I loved Girl, Serpent, Thorn even more. I'll be looking forward to reading any books she might publish in the future.

(Thank you for letting me listen and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I love a book where the main character learns to love and accept themselves! Soraya has been cursed with a poison touch and has been hidden away by her family for her entire life. She finally gets a lead on how to break the curse and ends up causing a bunch of chaos. I liked that Soraya didn't so much need someone else's help to fight back, she just had to stand up for herself and become the badass she was meant to be.

This did a flip flop as to who the bad guy was and I liked seeing the character's true selves. Soraya's relationship with Parvaneh was sweet and I like that Parvaneh always encouraged Soraya to be strong. The girl power in this is awesome, who needs men when you can save yourselves?!

Quick and fun audiobook and I'm glad I checked this out!

I received this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Book 162 towards my goal of 280! 4/5 stars for this fantastical loose retelling! Loved the world/magic sysem/characters in this book! There were a couple parts that I saw coming, but past that it was a great story! Definitely recommend! Narration wqs perfect!

*I received this book in exchange for honest review from Netgalley*

**Review**

This was such a fun book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Girl, Serpent, Thorn is about a young girl who was cursed to be poisonous to the touch. One day she meets a boy who up-ends her whole world. I know you think you may already know this story, but I assure you, it's worth the read. Not everything is always as it seems.

This was a pretty fast paced and quick read and think it was executed perfectly. There was never a dull moment and we are always learning some new secret or questioning the intentions of one of the characters. I adored that this story is plum full of morally grey characters.

Soraya was such a great main character and this is not your typical underdog fairytale. I loved watching Soroya go from not understanding and being afraid of who she was, to being a strong force to be reckoned with. Her character is believable I wanted to root for her the whole time. Especially when it came to her own family.

As for the love story, well I'll let you find that out on your own. It's not what it seems and not what you expected. Aren't those the best ones!

**Audiobook Review**

Massoud does a wonderful job narrating this story. The vocal inflections and pacing are done well and Massoud's voice was a great match for the MC.

I wouldn't say that there is a major distinction between the characters but it is enough to realize that a different person is speaking. As this is a first person narrative, that is not a big issue.

I would definitely search out other books with this narrator.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

***Disclaimer I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for a free review. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillon Audio!***

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. It’s very eye catching and striking. Now that I have listened to the audiobook, I can say with certainty that it is the most perfectly descriptive book cover I have ever seen. The serpent twining around a rose is a perfect representation of this plot.

I found the audiobook narrator to be delightful for this book. There are a lot of words and names that are Persian in origin and quite difficult to pronounce, but she did perfectly. Her tone and characterization for Soraya was exactly the way I imagined in my head.

This plot was an interesting mix and was also where it lost a star for me. It started off with a huge bang. Within the first 20% Soraya’s entire world explodes in violent drama. Then the plot really slows down and frankly I didn’t know what the point was for awhile. It started to get a little boring. Then the ending picks back up and the pace races all the way to the end. I loved the story but I felt the middle could have been shorter and the book would have been better off for it.

And in one last fangirl moment, Soraya’s romance was so romantic. I mean, what more could a girl ask for than someone who promises to bring your enemy to you on their knees. Swoon.

Overall I really loved this book and the audiobook does it perfect justice. I highly recommend it.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was a delight to read. It was definitely a page turner and I loved everything about Soraya. I honestly felt bad for her because of how she was treated by her family and the people from her kingdom. It was always the people who were close to her that would end up hearting or betraying her.

Ever since she has known that she was cursed, she has wished to be normal like everyone else. She wanted to be loved by her own family - heck even being acknowledged by them would've been nice. Yet, she couldn't touch anyone or they would die. So she lives a very lonely life until she meets a certain someone.

Now this book is filled with so much betrayal and twists. I loved every second of it because that's why everything was so addicting. Plus, I wanted to know how everyone was going to take down the bad guy. I mean this was all about her accepting her for her. Now making everyone else accept her and all that jazz.

That being said, I definitely enjoyed the ending and this entire book. I'm so glad that I got a chance to dive into it because it was just fantastic. I look forward to my next book by this author.

WOW. I fell into this story immediately. GST was a deviation from the typical female curse story. Soraya was the heroine we all needed. I binged this story on a car ride and I couldn’t get my mind off the drama! I could NOT decide who to root for during the course of the book until the last chapter.
Such a good read. I would suggest this to ANYONE!

This is a really interesting and unique book for young adults with an empowering and deep message for young women in particular. It is a fairy tale based on a Persian story and it is lovely in both the writing and the narration.

The allegory of a girl poisonous to the touch who has to make her way in the world is really interesting and brings up some awesome feminist ideas in a completely unobtrusive way in the fantasy world of this book. Soraya, the heroine, encounters both a man and a woman brave enough to love her even with all her complications.

I applaud this book for making themes of feminism, empowerment and bisexuality accessible to teens within the confines of this well-written fantasy story. I think this book will probably help and comfort a lot of kids facing similar issues of isolation in real life. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the gorgeous cover. I know we aren’t supposed to judge a book by it, but it doesn’t hurt when it’s this lovely and such a great representation of the book.

Know ahead of time that this book
Is heavy on the lyrical and the fantasy, with princesses and dungeons and curses and all manner of fairy tale elements. The author writes these beautifully. I also thought the narrator had a gorgeous voice and her accents were perfect for the story and not at all overdone or cringeworthy like some other audiobooks have been in this genre

This is a book I would definitely recommend to any young adult, and particularly kids who might feel isolated as a result of being too imaginative or too unique in any other way. I also recommend to anybody adult lover of good stories, especially fairy tales and fantasy. This is a particularly deep and thoughtful book underneath while still being fun to read or listen to at a surface level.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Melissa Bashardoust for the advance audiobook!

Shut the front door! Don’t mind me, I’m just sitting here with my audiobook hangover.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust is a YA Fantasy fairytale with origins in Persian mythology history. Our protagonist Soraya was cursed as an infant with poison in her blood making her touch deadly, and her emotions reflected by changing colors of her veins. This keeps her isolated from society, hidden by her royal family. To find the truth of the origins of her curse she must confront magic that has betrayed her family several times before. A key element in YA is often coming of age, self discovery, and this is very much the case here. Soraya experiments in relationships with both men and women, however neither play a central focus in the story. The central theme explored being in this fairytale the girl saves herself, and her pathway there is a metamorphosis to a complex, dark character. It makes a really interesting, compelling, and nuanced story. Unlike many fairytale retellings so much of the narrative is fresh and unknown. The reader feels like they may have heard it, something similar in parts, but you may not be sure. It’s very well done.
The audiobook experience, narrated expertly by Nikki Massoud, is a must listen. Her lyrical voice acting gently rocks you along, as a fairytale does. Then before you know it the story has turned dark and twisty, and you’re all in! This lends itself especially well to leaning back and being read to, being immersed in the the story. Not to be missed is the author notes at the end. I found her details on word history and where she drew her inspiration fascinating.
I highly recommend to those readers that enjoy YA, Fantasy, fairytale retellings, those that are new to audiobooks, and absolutely to those that think ‘these aren’t my genres’. I was so pleasantly surprised by this audiobook and hope a wide audience finds it.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley Macmillan Audio & Flatiron Books for gifting me with a copy of this audiobook. These opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5 Stars
Genre: YA Fantasy, LGBTQ+

First of all, can we talk about how beautiful this cover is? Talk about a show stopper! 😍 This is probably my FAVORITE cover of 2020!

Girl, Serpent, Thorn was just a wonderfully narrated story that followed the life of a Princess named Soraya, who has a poisonous touch and will kill anything but her beloved garden with just a simple touch. Soraya has been hidden away in the shadows for her whole life and when she’s given the possibility of breaking her curse, she has to decide how far she’s willing to go to live out in the light of day.

This is a beautifully written new fairytale, with threads of your classic fairytales woven throughout it. I loved that the author used pieces of Persian history & folklore to help bring this story to life. This isn’t your grandma’s fairytale though, there are currents of f/f romance slipped into the fold as Soraya begins to discover herself and her power.

One thing that I found quite intriguing was how this was a fairytale within a fairytale. Soraya grew up hearing the fairytale of her life and of her family’s history. This helped build some of the story’s foreshadowing without ever giving away what might actually come to pass. There were so many moments where you were waiting for the theoretical shoe to drop, which kept the story at a nice pace and left you hooked and on the edge of your seat.

I was honestly glad to listen to this on audiobook. The narrator did such a fabulous job with the accent & pronunciation of the words derived from the Persian dialect. The author also included a chapter in the back of the book that discusses how to pronounce some of the words, as well as some of the background for the characters/themes.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book.

I have been pushed to read this book for a while and I am so glad that I did! It was so well done and unlike anything I’ve read before. There were so many twists and turns throughout the entire story. It felt like a mix of Sleeping Beauty, Repunzel, and some very intense Persian folktales. I absolutely loved it!

If I had to pick one theme for this book it would be trust, and how it can be a good or bad thing and how people can take advantage of it. This book addresses the abuse of trust in both a family as well as trusting those around you. Going along it also is a play on what a monster is and how a person can become a monster and what to do with powers. This approaches the literal desperation of figuring out what makes a monster and even though our main character has poison in her actual veins, it isn’t what makes her dangerous.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the rep, when I say that I want to talk about Soraya, who is our main character. I find her to be the summary of how I see a pansexual character. She loves a person because of how they treat her, not because of their gender. I absolutely loved it!

This book made me so happy and I can’t help but recommend it to everyone in my life! This book really was very empowering and I just can’t go on about it enough. Please go read it now!! 5 out of 5 from me.

A really cool audiobook companion for an exciting YA release- definitely recommend, though it isn’t the greatest audiobook of all time, it is still a very good one.

I enjoyed this book; not only because of the intriguing story, but about what the story represented. Moreso, this book incorporated Farsi which I enjoyed as it provided more depth to the culture of the characters.

This is story about a young girl who believes she is cursed. She finds out later, however, that what she thought was a curse is actually a gift. What I got from this story is that what you may see as a negative or flaw about yourself, is something that someone else wish they may have. Your "flaws" are what make you who you are and your "flaws" may save you when needed the most.

I look forward to other books by this author.

First, let me say thank you to the author, Melissa Bashardoust and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is a fantastic fantasy standalone and the writing made me curious as to what would happen! In my opinion, some of the issues were resolved a little too easy, making the suspense not as rewarding, but it was still a solid story line! I was a huge fan of the writing, and I thought the author did a great job in the world and character building aspect.

Soraya was a complex character that I though Melissa built up in a way that allowed the readers to become familiar with her. My favorite part of this character was her power, which was amazing to read about and I though was very unique. Parts of this book reminded me of other fantasy books I have read in the past, which made me happy because I also adored those books and authors too.

If anyone is looking for a solid fantasy read, which a strong main character with a fun, unique power this is the book for you! I am going to recommend this book to all my YA fantasy loving friends out there because I know they are going to love this book just as much as I did.

Why I Requested This: Many moons ago, I read Melissa Bashardoust’s debut as part of one the first debut projects that I ever did. It was also one of the first arcs that I ever received from Netgalley. So, to say that I was anticipating this…would be an understatement especially when you throw in that it is also based in part on Persian mythology.

Pros:
Our protagonist!! Honestly, this comes as no surprise to me, having read Bashardoust’s previous work, but our protagonist was just the right level of toeing the line of morally grey.
The atmosphere helps the story. I love a good story where the atmosphere seamlessly blends with the story elements.
A sort of retelling of a story you may not know. I am a sucker for a story that is based on other things and you can tell with this one at just the right moments.

Cons:
The romance, that for some is the driving selling point of this book, is not the main focus. The book is so much more, but the romance does not get to properly flourish under this other leaving the reader wanting more.

Overall: Don’t go in for the romance, go in for the monstrous princess.