I appreciated the prickly (in more ways than one) heroine, but despite the story being told from her perspective, I still didn't feel I got to know her enough, particularly with respect to her feelings about the hero. The characters were all interesting, and yet I didn't feel like I got enough of their emotional lives or development.

This book really grew on me. It was almost a DNF at about 15% but I continued on and I’m so glad that I did. I love that we have a unique twist on Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast combined. The MC is a girl named Violet who is a “seer” that can look into someone’s past or see their future simply by touching their palms. She was an orphan living on the streets when she got a vision of a boy being killed and she went and saved the boy from death. The boy was the Prince Cyrus and his father, the King, moved Violet to the castle and made her the Kingdom’s seer. The big catch…. The Prince is cursed by a prophecy and the Fates wanted him to die. The story ultimately is centered on Violet as she works for the greedy King that wants to expand his territory. Violet and Cyrus loathe one another and do not get along. The King uses Violet to try and trick his son into marrying based on a “vision” of the future. He hopes a marriage and finding true love will end his son’s curse as strange things are happening in the world….. beasts made of bark, thorns, and roses are emerging from the magical Fairywood and attacking. The signs all point to Cyrus’s prophecy/curse being fulfilled and war coming. We have enemies to lovers, a stabby and sassy MC, magic, curses, Fates/Gods, and fairies. I’m actually looking forward to the second book.

Violet Made of Thorns is one of the most anticipated book of the year and rightly so.
Riveting, magical, fun..this book is very engaging.
Violet is a unique character. She is cynical, cunning, and brash. She has seen the world - the cruelty and unfairness as a Seer. When she was younger she saved a prince and changed her life, but at what cost? Saving Cyrus set forth a curse. His love will either destroy or save his country.

One of my most favorite book of the year and I cannot wait till next year to find out the conclusion!

Tropes:
enemies-to-lover
sarcastic MFC
fantasy - fairies and magic
slightly spicy close door romance
No cliffhangers! - Duology!

This might just take the spot of my most disappointing read for 2022. Not that I was especially looking forward to it, but just because when i finally picked it up, the synopsis had me salivating. I mean, enemies-to-lovers and a morally gray antihero MC, what wasn't to love??

Turns out, the answer to that is everything. Nothing about this book was redeemable. If I could reclaim the 4 hours I spent reading it, I would. If I could erase it from my mind, I would. If I could warn everyone off of it, I would. But sadly, I cannot, so instead I'm going to rant-review instead of sleeping. (I stayed up till midnight to finish this, and I have every regret. Even Adele and Taylor Swift can't mend the anger in my brain right now)

First off, the outrageous claims this made. This claims to be for "the fairytale reader who has always wanted the heroine to grow sharp teeth and bite Prince Charming." And i mean, yes. YES. I want a sharp toothed MC. I want a mean main character. I really wanted the morally grey witch this promised. And even more, I wanted her scheming. I wanted her machinations. I wanted her to grip the royals by their throats, and claim their power for her own. I wanted so much, and this delivered nothing.

I can already hear the critics, but Brinleyyyyy, Violet lied. She told untruths. And get this - she manipulated the people". *gasp* How dare she??? (Hopefully the sarcasm is obvious) I'll give Violet this, she did lie. But she didn't lie for herself. She lied for the king (more on him later). This isn't a morally grey character. This isn't even a selfish one. This is just a character with a brain. You don't disobey the king, not if he holds your life in his hand.

And other than that, Violet did nothing morally grey. She saved people. She had friends. She never made a plot for her gain. And at the end of this, she got nothing. She spent this entire book claiming to be mean and angry and manipulative, and did nothing. If you're gonna advertise an antihero, please at least deliver. It was so obvious this was just catering to the demands of YA lit, and what has been thriving recently.

Another things that YA lit has been loving is enemies-to-lovers. The tension, the angst, the banter. The knife-to-throat scenes. The passionate hate-sex scenes. The utter suspense in a slowburn enemies-to-lovers ship. This did none of that. Sure, our characters were enemies, and then they were lovers, but that's not enough. Why were they enemies? I certainly can't tell you. And why Cyrus was so attracted to Violet? I can't tell you that either. Their romance was as captivating as a stale piece of bread. They don't deserve the title of enemies-to-lovers, they don't even deserve the title of lovers.

As for the worldbuilding, it was disastrous. The author took the components of successful YA (again) and shoved them together. We have an evil witch!! (Serpent and Dove, Throne of Glass) And a malevolent forest!! (Small Favors, The Luminaries, Edgewood). Oh, and of course we need a magic system! So use random visions and the title witch. It works, right?

Wrong. Completely wrong. None of these elements fit together. Sure, the twists tried to fit them together, but they didn't fit. At all. Reading this was like riding a rollercoaster, and not a good one. Ones with 90° turns that break your neck. Ones with no warnings and no foreshadowing, just pure action. I know this is the author's debut, but some more effort would've been nice.

Another thing this claims to do is politics. This is not a political fantasy. Calling it that is an offense to all political fantasies. Because this had no politics. The main ship got into a childish screaming match in front of the entire court... These characters had no royal duties, no royal plans, and no royal act either. They were royals for the ~aesthetic~ and that was it. As for the politics, also for the ~aesthetic~ Just so it could check off another mark on the YA Bestseller Checklist

And I just have to mention the king. Other reviews refer to him as the villain. (view spoiler). Was I supposed to care about that? Was I supposed to have an opinion on him? He just seemed like a bland dude. He didn't seem to do anything particularly villainous, he just existed.

I'm tired of spending my brainpower on this book, so I'm cutting it there. This had everything going for it, and yet failed completely. It's a disgrace to the name of YA fantasy, and I want to forget it exists.

Reviews Posted: July 17, 2022
Goodreads
Storygraph

Everything about this book was just okay. From the plot to the characters to the world-building, nothing was awful, but also nothing was great. I still had a good time reading this, but to me, nothing was special.

The plot was a little all over the place, and so was the pacing. At times the plot was moving so fast I could hardly keep up, and at others, things dragged out so much I wanted to skip pages. I will say I loved the concept of this book and loved seeing all the characters blur the line between what is right and wrong. The author truly has a talent for writing characters that are morally grey. I think the plot twist was interesting, and it defiantly hooked me enough to see what would happen in another book.

While I enjoyed how morally grey the characters were, I really only felt a connection to Violet. I think this book would have benefited from multiple POVs because it was hard to understand the other character's motives. Violet's interactions with the side characters were fun and dynamic, but her interactions with Cyrus often fell flat to me. I could not get behind them as a couple, and the banter that they had was fun but often drawn out.

The world-building was probably my favorite thing about this book because I found it to be unique. I liked that, for the most part, we were able to learn about the world throughout the whole book. But I will say that at times, so much information is being thrown out that it is hard to follow.

The descriptions and the politics applied within the pages of this book definitely sucked me in quickly!
I want to root for the heroine so bad - the writing style is lush and gorgeous and makes you believe.
Every character - but Violet especially - has been written with a personality you can feel.. Their intentions & motivations play out brilliantly.

Perfect for fans of The Wicked Prince, this YA fantasy novel has a lying prophet and a smoldering enemies-to-lovers romance.

Violet can see strands of the future, which allowed her to save the Prince Cyrus's life in the market one day when they were both kids. She was immediately brought to the palace and began training as a seer. Now, as prophet to the king, she regularly lies for him, causing Cyrus to despise her, even though he's no longer the sweet boy she saved, either. Violet's an opportunist building a future in a palace, and Cyrus is a charming flirt who is chased around by all the girls in the kingdom.

However, when the kingdom is threatened by mysterious beasts, who arrive at the same time as a potential bride for Cyrus, Cyrus may have to trust Violet to get the answers he seeks. Violet keeps being visited by the fates - or other beings - encouraging her to kill Cyrus to secure her own future. However, all of this is complicated by how hate seems to be turning to passion between the two of them on the eve of Cyrus's marriage to another.

This story has a glittering court setting, where everyone enchants themselves with fairy glamours to look more alluring than they really do. Even Violet regularly wears fairy-made gowns, and the descriptions of the balls and all the desserts served are a delight.

The romance takes center stage, with the witty, scathing banter between Cyrus and Violet bringing a lighthearted balance to the danger they face. Their ups and downs keeps the reader guessing who Cyrus will end up with, and who he really wants to end up with.

This engaging fantasy left me eager to read the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating or review.

4 STARS OF INTENSE MF-ING SEXUAL TENSION

We’ve all seen books these days with labels decreeing they’re “perfect for fans of ACOTAR!” or “perfect for fans of Six of Crows!”, but rarely do they actually live up to expectations. But this book. THIS BOOK. When it says it’s “perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince", it is not kidding. This was possibly as close to The Cruel Prince as you can get without being too similar, and it had all the best things about TCP – sexual tension in droves, a nightmarish (in all the best ways) prince, and a kickass and not-afraid-to-maim heroine. I was sucked into this book from the very first page, and soon I’d flown through 50% of the story and could barely breathe from the sexual tension between these two mains. I know I’ve talked about it a lot already, but HOT DAMN. I was swooning with their every interaction; the banter was golden just the perfect amount of cruel, and their backstory truly completed their complicated and mildly twisted relationship that I just had to adore.

“Love is a fickle thing traded by fools, but lust is exactly that – no promises. It’s as hungry as any starving creature but honest in what it wants.
And I want him.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

I highly recommend this book to any fairytale lover – it was filled to the brim with magic, fairies, beasts, ballroom escapades and everything else we know and love. But at the same time, it came with a fair few twists, and was definitely a little darker than the usual fairytale – I loved it. Antihero, morally-grey – call her what you want, our main character was determined and ambitious, and I loved that for her. And while her Asian-related heritage was not often mentioned, I thought the little snippets where her appearance or hometown were alluded to completed her character really well.

“Still, a title and a tower don’t erase a fear of things people don’t understand. When something as strange as magic lives in someone as strange to them as a foreign-faced girl, I will never stand a chance.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

There were also some really interesting discussions on truth, who writes history, and how far loyalty to one’s nation should go – especially when that nation is run by a monarchy. I loved Violet for all her moral ambiguity; she did what she had to do to survive, but also tried to stick with her moral compass, slightly crooked though it may have been.

“All the tale needs is the villain, and the line between revered and reviled is as thin as an accusation.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

All in all, this was incredibly enjoyable and I look forward to reading the sequel!! Definitely recommended to lovers of fairytales, morally-grey heroines and The Cruel Prince. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and Turn the Page Tours for the ARC copy provided :)).

Violet Made of Thorns promises a morally gray protagonist and enemies to lovers delight, and it delivers. Somewhat. Certainly, Violet is a bitter and disillusioned heroine who lies to protect herself, but she felt like a passive player in her own story. In a world that’s very inspired by fairytales but delves into the less-than-sunny politics of the people living there, her work as a Seer is equal parts prophecy and deception. She’s placed in a very interesting position, but is at the command of the king if she wants to keep her head. The plot consists mostly of her investigating the strange happenings at court and fighting the voices in her head, but I’d hoped for more ambitious scheming to prove how deadly of a player she is in these court games.

As for the romance, it is uniquely tumultuous but hard to understand. Her relationship with the crown prince is jabs and angry kisses in dark corners. The attraction is too chaotic and could have benefited from a slower progression. Their shared history plays a big part in their romance, which ultimately acts to their detriment as we aren’t shown enough of it to justify their feelings.

I did really enjoy the fairytale aesthetics present throughout the story, as well as the colorful side characters, Dante and Camilla especially. The plot has left off at a good cliffhanger, and if the villain gets fleshed out more in the sequel, I’ll be a very happy camper.

Overall, Violet Made of Thorns needed more time to flesh out its central romance and side characters, while also giving Violet more opportunities to take an active role in the story. Much of the book felt like set-up for something to come, but while I’m interested in where our heroine will go from here, I was left a little wanting.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I don’t know what I expected when I picked up Violet Made of Thorns, but it definitely exceeded those expectations: it flips some fairytale tropes on their head, there’s a morally gray, yet somehow still endearing heroine, and actually well executed and sensual love/hate dynamic with the love interest?!
Violet is the star of her own narrative, and I love that Gina Chen wrote her for the “unlikable” heroine in all of us, even if some readers want to deny her. There are some moments that spoke to my soul, like when she talks about how exhausting it is when people are being nice to her, so she feels obligated to be nice in return. While you don’t always agree with the things she does, you have to respect her confidence in her decisions and willingness to stick to them.
I also love the way her race plays into her standing in the world, although it’s also impacted by her possession of magic, so there are some intriguing parallels there.
Cyrus is as flawed as Violet is, and just as compelling. Their dynamic as enemies is as intriguing as it is as when they become lovers, and everything in between.
Plot-wise, it’s pretty consistently engaging, and there are some pretty thrilling, nail-biting moments as Violet navigates the court intrigue and danger. I was a bit surprised to find there was going to be a sequel, but it does make sense, as while there is a more or less complete arc, there’s still places the characters and story could go.
I really enjoyed this, and would recommend it to readers who also enjoy dark fairytale-inspired YA fantasy.

“The land will bloom red with blood and roses and war. The prince— his heart will be damnation or salvation. His choice may save us all. His bride— it is up to her! A curse , a curse, accursed curse— gods, be wary—”

This book reads like a fairy tale but you aren't quite sure who the hero is. Is it the morally grey female main, Violet? Is it the charming prince? Could it be the bisexual princess or the foreign dignitary?

This was very much an enemies to lovers, but without so much of the love. Violet isn't a role model - none of the characters really are. The love story is messy and human emotional pitfalls are prevalent. Add in monsters and prophecy and magic for a captivating experience.

I can't wait to see where book two takes us!

Violet is the kingdom's prophet and she and the crown prince hate each other. Prince Cyrus has been cursed by a prophet (not Violet's fault) and Violet takes come creative liberty with her own prophecy's of Cyrus' true love destined to break his curse.

This was a really cool way to do fairytale retellings because this creates a twist on a bunch of different "Disney princess" stories. There are aspects of Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and probably others I'm not thinking of. This is an enemies to lovers trope in a YA fantasy setting. I really enjoyed this story but I don't think its for everyone. Violet is an unforgivingly unlikable character and she is truly selfish. The romance isn't going to turn out how you expect it to. If you're going into this be prepared for a subversion of the standard enemies to lovers miscommunication.

I'd recommend this to someone who likes the unlikeable and isn't a fan of the "perfect romance" or happily ever afters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 /4.5 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!

Violet Made of Thorns is a story about Violet, a seer who lies to influence the royal court at the king’s command. Cyrus, the crown prince, plans to strip her of her role once’s he’ll be crowned, unless Violet does something about that.

“I am a better liar than I am a prophet.”

I really enjoyed reading this book! it is so refreshing to see a book where the ugly parts of being human is explored and emphasized. As the author said in her notes “Hiding that truth in our fiction sends the message that we ought to run away from the ugly parts of ourselves rather than face them.” I wholeheartedly believe that as well and this book is a beautiful presentation of that.

I really liked the plot and prose of this book! It has very much fairy tale feels, but without the damsel in distress and prince Charming coming to save her. The world-building is beautifully done! I love this idea of different countries or continents and the magic, while not really unique, really added to the dept of the story. I loved how there was a threat from Fairies, monsters and Fates. I really hope the Fates and Fairyland will be more explored later on. It really feels like we’ve only scratched the surface of all there is.

Violet is very prideful and ambitious. She doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do or who to be, and I love her for it. I don’t believe wanting to be yourself and not letting other decide for you is necessarily a bad or ugly part of one’s character. I myself strife to be like that, to fully decide for myself and not let myself be swayed by other because they “know” what is best for me. Violet is truly a character you can get behind I believe. Yes, some of the ugly parts such as her selfishness are shown, as the author had previously mentioned, but it made Violet just very human and very easily to connect with.

I loved the romance! I loved the push and pull between Violet and Cyrus and how it all came to stand. While they would very easily ruin each other, I love how they slowly kept graduating towards each other and how their romance developed. I am really excited to see all that play out in the rest of the series! Especially, since their story is only just beginning!

The political intrigue, scheming and ending really add another layer to this book as well! I loved the number of details that went into reading this story. While there was a good amount of build-up, there wasn’t really any big reveal towards the end. I did like how the ending came about. Without giving away any spoilers it is harder to explain hahaha, but I did wish the standoff at the end was a bit more drawn out. It felt a bit quick and easily solved.

Overall, it was a very good book with an amazing antiheroine in the center! It is very layered and intense and I can’t wait for the next book!

Great book, amazing story, totally got me hook , definitely recomendable and I can wait to get the copies I order , so worth it

a morally grey with a love/hate relationship with a cursed prince sounded amazing !! and it was compared to the cruel prince so i was super excited !!

that being said, i’m so sad i did not like this book much. i found the tension to be lacking? i did not vibe with the love interest at all. i thought their bickering was childish. and if i don’t like the love interest then it really, REALLY kills the book for me (even if the romance is subplot, i know, i’m terrible like that). while reading i did not feel very intrigued or engaged by any of the characters, dialogue, or plot (the real killer). i want to be at the edge of my seat when i read !! but that never happened. nothing really stood out to me. this book fell flat for me

I loved this book. This gave me all the vibes that I craved while reading Marie Lu's villain origin trilogy The Young Elites.

Violet made of Thorns is such a clever name for this book. The main character is really quite frankly your "unlikeable character", she doesn't really care what other people think of her and she has a lot of self serving attitudes that dictate her choices. Is she evil, is she misunderstood...does she even know what she is capable of becoming?

This is a book that is for fairytale lovers. This takes place in a castle surrounded by a cursed wood where monsters roam wild and fairies can grant you your desires. I loved how the magic system revolved around Violets prophetic powers and how she used those for her gain. A curse binds her and the prince and while they hate each other...once that flame is kindled they truly have a hard time staying away. The banter is truly "I hate you but I want you and that seriously ticks me off".

The hate to love trope is strong here. Definitely where I see The Cruel Prince comparisons. Its a fast burn romance on the New Adult Side and so my only complaint was that I wished we would have gotten more back story into Violet and the Princes earlier memories with one another. BUT the banter is fun and every time I picked it up I wanted to see where it would go.

This book is full of twists and turns and I found it very unpredictable. The ending was so sinister and sweet and I will be running to pick up the next book to see where these characters go next. A solid and entertaining debut in my opinion!

I'm not a Serpent and Dove fan but I am a big fan of this!

I can definitely see this being a huge hit with people who love fantasy and the YA genres. Prophecies, enemy-to-lover vibes, and amazing magic is just some of the things you'll find in this book! The tension in the banter of the romance was wonderfully written and I enjoyed it quite a lot.

A YA fantasy novel that has a morally grey female protag, an enemies-to-lovers romance, AND gives Cinderella/Beauty & the Beast vibes?! I was 100% here for it. Not gonna lie though I was a little on the fence given that I’d seen a couple early reviews about the pacing of this novel but I actually really enjoyed it!

Violet Lune, a Seer, saves the life of Prince Cyrus thanks to her abilities, and becomes invaluable to the kingdom. The pair do not hit it off and unfortunately, for them they must work together to save the kingdom when a curse is revealed. What ensues is your typical enemies-to-lovers, heavy on the enemies.

I really loved the world building and the plot, and despite the pacing being a bit slow, I devoured this. Looking forward to the second book! Thanks Netgalley & Random House for the arc!

Violet Made of Thorns is a YA fantasy romance about a morally gray seer and a cursed prince. It has "Beauty and the Beast in reverse" vibes. I enjoyed some aspects of the book very much and was disappointed by others. Because the story is told only from Violet's pov, we don't get to know Cyrus's side, so he comes off as one-dimensional and not very interesting. The pacing was a bit off, with nothing much happening in the first half. I enjoyed the second part of the book more. Overall I think Violet Made of Thorns is a solid debut, and I would recommend it to YA fantasy fans.

Violet Made of Thorns is the first novel in the duology of the same name. The story follows Violet, the resident Seer of Auveny. As the blurb mentions, she is also a liar. I love these types of protagonists, so Violent was one that greatly intrigued me before I even read the first page. Violet obtained her position through events involving Prince Cyrus and the two have become enemies since. While the cover and the character description of Violet, there is something very intriguing about an enemies to lovers story that I love. When a curse is revealed, the plot is set into motion along with Cyrus and Violet fighting some underlying feelings for each other.

As this is the first novel in the duology, it is difficult to have complete thoughts on the world, plot, and characters since there is a lot that could be done in the second novel. For this one, there was some world-building, but I wish there was more. The same goes for the romance as it felt a little rushed in places, but there is still a lot of potential, and I cannot wait to see how it develops. The two of them flipped constantly between love and hate, so I wish there were more exploration into each switch. For me, it was difficult to invest in this possible relationship as there did not seem to be progression into maybe they could be lasting by the end of the duology or even become complete enemies; they seemed to just hover around the center.

Along with Violet and Cyrus, I loved the side characters Camilla, Cyrus’s sister, and Dante, Violet’s friend. There is a lot more to them than initially meets the eye in different ways and I cannot wait to see how all the stories develop in the next novel. There are some fun fairy tale references throughout, and I love that the author drew inspiration from multiple instead of just one as it gave some nice variety. I also love the Chinese representation in the story as I have not read a lot with this type of plot. While there are many pieces that I wanted to be explored in greater depth, I think the general elements were all greatly enjoyable. There’s a lot left to be explored in the second novel and I cannot wait to read it!

**I want to give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Delacorte Press, for a review copy of this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**