calling all fans of fairytales, enemies to lovers, and heroines with a bite, this book is for you! i was immediately sucked into this book, and considering the struggle i've had recently with focusing on reading, that was quite the feat. while the world the author crafts is perfectly fine, it's the characters that truly shine. gina chen describes violet as "prickly," and i simply can't think of a better word for her. she is not nice. she looks out for herself. and most importantly, she's <i>smart,</i> and i loved her, even if there were times i wanted to shake her.

the relationship between violet and cyrus is enemies to lovers EXCELLENCE. very strong jude/cardan and zoyalai vibes, which was thrilling to me, and of course, something that is uniquely <i>them.</i> i may not be a seer like violet, but i would put money on them becoming a new beloved bookish It Couple.

and before i move on from characters, i absolutely have to mention camilla. a side character she may be, this princess stole the show every time she was on page.

the sweeping conclusion certainly kept me on the edge of my seat, and i cannot wait to see how violet's story continues to play out in the sequel. (because there better be a sequel, right?) though the overall plot and world building didn't entirely blow me away, i still recommend this highly. fun, fast, and absolutely delicious.

This novel feel like a fairytale. The writing is very lyrical with lush descriptions. The world building is realistic and immersive. I love the main character and thought she was feisty and independent. I also loved the prince. He was very funny yet he proved to be very capable and intelligent. The story was very fast-paced! It had magic, action, and romance! I recommend this fans of Ash Princess, The Shadow Queen, and Seraphina!

Strong TCP vibes. Emphasis on how vile the MC is but would’ve been helpful to see more examples of the deceit firsthand vs recollections of it. We spend a lot of time in MCs mind; too many prophecies to keep track of. Has potential to be darker and wish it had more depth. Not sold on the attraction/romance.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an arc!

Gods this book is so me. So fierce so intense… so heartless. Gina Chen does a wonderful job at weaving this tale as Violet does. Her writing is amazing throughout and I love the wittiness and snark between characters

I loved watching Violet try to piece everything together while we did. She was always so intense and honestly nothing but brutally honest most of the time. Even her lies weaved some evil truths. I just loved the brutalness of it.

As for our other characters I really enjoyed Cyrus, Camilla and Donte. With Cyrus, as “only for his kingdom” as he seems, I enjoyed Cyrus. I’d absolutely fall for him too. How can you not fall for someone who you’ve grown up with who knows you so well? With Camilla and Donte, they both bring their friendship, laughs, and good-times and I’m glad they were there for Violet.

As the ending grew near, I kept trying to guess what was happening but I couldn’t. There were multiple twists I didn’t even see coming. It was horrifyingly glorious. I honestly did not expect the end we got, however I am really happy and cannot wait to see how the second book plays out.

Perfect for fans of classic fairytales, new takes on familiar tropes, and scheming girls, Violet Made of Thorns really took me by surprise by how much I loved it!

The story follows the story of the kingdom’s seer, Violet— a tactical, smart and conniving girl who feels too much despite her every desperate attempt not to. We follow her journey untangling the threads of a prophesy binding her, her home kingdom and the charming Prince who is fast becoming more than just a thorn in Violet’s life.

I loved, loved, loved the characters in this story and the relationship dynamic between Violet and Cyrus. As a rule, if a romantic relationship reads in any way like the dynamic between Jude & Cardan in the folk of the air trilogy, I will adore it, and VMaT executes their dynamic perfectly. Anytime a scheming girl who will ruthlessly manipulate to suit her own aims is paired with Mr “here for a good time”, i will absolutely eat that up.

Full of action and twists, I read VMaT in one sitting and am eagerly awaiting the next instalment! While I would have liked a *touch* more relationship development and perhaps a little more background with certain plot points, it was overall an immensely entertaining read that I am certain will do well with those who love YA fantasy.

4.25/5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!

This was a whole new style of Fairytale and I loved it!

I have to say that at first I was conflicted. The author writes a note in the beginning describing the reasons for the main character's traits.. How Violet was written to be a realist. An in-between of good and bad. Not really fitting into a box. So at first, I found it hard to like her character. But after continuing to read, I wound up really appreciating her.

Violet is a Seer for a king, and really the whole kingdom. She saved the Prince's life at age 7 and now they have a shaky relationship usually based on insults. However, the land is changing and Violet is seeing scary visions of what is to come; Monsters, blood and roses.

Enemies to lovers! An ending that I never could have seen coming! And, fairytale! What more does a reader need?

Out July 26, 2022!

This book is so damn good. I had been in such a reading funk reading so many books that were simply okay and quickly forgettable, Violet Made of Thorns stands out and I can’t wait to read more. The story and romance subplot were written and paced very well. I’m really excited to see where the characters go to in the next one. Thank you so much to the author and the publisher for an e-Arc of the book. First time I’ve ever squealed with joy getting a request approved, especially since it was also my birthday.

This story is a fairy tale of the older tradition. There is little happiness and a lot of conflict. It is a very thought-provoking way to explore prophecy vs. choice, hate vs. love, and truth vs. lies. It’s not really an easy book to enjoy; every character seems to have their own hidden agenda and prophesied actions that may or may not coincide, which can make the reader unsure if the actions occurring are positive. The book was engaging and I was fascinated by the magic in the world.

I greatly enjoyed this book. It was a nice change to see court intrigue and palace life from an outsider. It had a solid twist and fantastic character development. The world building was enjoyable and overall the characters were likable. 10/10 recommend.

Wow! This was an amazing book! Keeps you engaged and rooting Violet the entire time. She's an imperfect heroine which makes her all that more relatable, because who doesn't have flaws. A sickness in the forest is overtaking the land and the king has directed her to proclaim a false prophecy to further his agenda of ruling all of the realms. Of course there's a handsome prince who's the love interest but he's more than a pretty face.
The world building and fairly tale aspects of this story are enchanting. Highly recommend.

I had such a good time with this one. I've learned recently just how much I love books that have fairytale vibes, and I love them even more when they show more of the darker side of fairytales. This book checked every box. Slow-burn enemies to lovers, angst and tension, dark magic, a very grey antiheroine main character, well realized side characters, and more.

Violet is a former street urchin turned seer for the king. She and the king more or less tell the people whatever the king wants them to hear, whether it's what Violet actually sees or not. Violet made her way into this position by saving his son, and prince, Cyrus when he was a child.

I adored Cyrus and Violet's banter and I also really appreciated that we get to know the side characters throughout this.
Violet is such a fun character to follow. She's selfish, a liar, vindictive, and isn't the easiest to like. She shows a lot of people their own bad sides, so by the end I was really rooting for her.

I've since preordered a copy and know/think it will be coming in other book boxes, and couldn't be more excited for it's release. I hope that many of you will pick it up because it was such a delightful debut, and I can't wait to read more from the series.

TLDR: Came for the dark fairytale vibes, stayed for the characters and their banter and dynamics.
I do think that if you go in for the vibes of The Cruel Prince you may find yourself a little disappointed because to me the stories told gave me very different feelings/vibes.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte press for the advanced copy! All opinions are my own.

Violet was such a refreshing female character to read about. She seems more liek a real person than the vast majority of young female characters in YA. Beautiful writing style and a fast-paced plot. However, fast-paced isn't always the best, especially since so much is gong on and things change so quickly that the reader is never sure what is happening and what will be undone in ten pages. Definitely worth the read though.

Fabulous fantasy book that brings in multiple elements from fairy tales. I devoured this book in one sitting!

So I came into this book with high expectations; the blurb excites me!

What I read was less than stellar. I was not drawn into this story at all and I didn’t start caring until about 36% into it. Let me start by stating the things I did like:

- Violet. She was not your typical YA heroine. She was rude, brash, impulsive, and gave zero f*cks. She was all about herself, yet I enjoyed her friendship with Dante and Camilla.

- The romance. I loved the banter and pining and I got major Cruel Prince vibes between Violet and Cyrus.

- The imagery and setting.

Now onto the things I didn’t like:

- I’m still trying to understand the world. So is Sight the only magic available in this kingdom? How does one know if he/she is a Seer? We now have gods and fates enter and as well as witches. I think this is the biggest part that lost me. There were times I had to go back to understand what I was reading and that made it seem distracting and it took my away from the story.

- Some of the scenarios just didn’t make sense. There’s a scene towards the end that elicited a reaction from characters that I could not comprehend; I would assume this would be a good thing. A win-win for everyone.

While I did enjoy parts of this story, I don’t like it enough to read the sequel.

I received a copy through NetGalley for review. 3.5 rounded up.

So I have some weird issues with this book mostly from the way the descriptors of it- one comparing it to The Cruel Prince isn't something any book should have to deal with- publishers please stop doing that to new books! Quit it!
Secondly calling the MC a morally grey character. I didn't find her all that fitting of that description. She's lofted into a high position off the streets, by a king, for saving his son. Although her power is real, she does have to toe a line of how she says things so she doesn't unbalance the kingdom. She still has to please the king, otherwise she could lose everything. Its hard to be morally grey when you don't have full autonomy over yourself or situation and you are put there as a orphan child.
Even calling it enemies to lovers is a stretch. Its more indifference and denial to lovers. It's hard to claim enemies when the romanic interest claims he's been in love the entire time and just pushed her away.
I feel like without all that being proclaimed to me ahead of time, rather intently through the letter and marketing- I may have had very different feelings about it. Because of this it really read like a mess.
Publishers, marketing folks, you need to chill a bit, give these projects their own space before you slap a huge untouchable comparison on something.

This is a fairytale, with a cursed pining prince, and everything goes wrong. Who's true love is supposed to save him and his country but everything is out of order. And everything needed to save everyone has been there the whole time, they just took a while to see the pieces.
Thorns, wild beasts, roses, a lusty princess, a imposter and an evil witch.

This book is fairytale perfection!! It took me a while to get through it only because I have so much going on in my life, but coming back to it was ALWAYS a happy and consuming reunion. I am someone who loves a bity witch and lots of palace/political intrigue, so this book kept me entertained and I can't wait to pick up a physical copy!

This was enemies to lovers excellenceeeee!
I think this is listed as YA? But definitely read more as NA to me. I really liked the main characters and the fairy tale inspired plot was interesting especially with the twists! I will say I feel like they went back and forth one or two too many times for me which made the ending feel a little rushed but I’m really looking forward to book two and want to know more secrets about this world!

I enjoyed this one, Violet is definitely not the typical heroine, and she can be a little difficult to like at times, with that said I wanted to love her as much as I love Jude, but I just didn't.
I did like the fairy tale feel of this book, and the setting, also the setup for the sequel, which I am looking forward to. With that said I just didn't love it, I wanted the nostalgic feeling of reading TCP which I do love (to pieces), but I just didn't get that.
We'll see what happens in the next book.

Happy Reading!

4.2
As a fan of morally gray protagonists, chaos, and fairytales, this book was a genuinely good time!

Violet is a great character, one who has no issues climbing the latter to get power, or lying to keep it, and a pragmatic character who decides exactly what she can deal with and tosses out what she can't. Violet isn't a villain, but she's also no hero, and you can say the same for Prince Cyrus, a man many are happy to paint as a perfect prince charming, but who actually has sharp teeth and a fierce resentment for his father. I'm a huge lover of two not-great people coming together and clashing even as they fall in love, and that's definitely what we get here.
I think this romance is one that fans of The Cruel Prince is going to fall for. The "I don't want to like you" dynamic with the push and pull of being on opposite sides and yet needing to reluctantly meet in the middle is a little like catnip.

I was impressed by how far this story could go into the non-standard cast of characters while also feeling so much like a fairytale itself. There are very clear references and points of inspiration from the classic fairytales, roping it into that canon, but even beyond those it was a feeling of fate and beasts and clever girls that finds itself stuck in your head for the rest of your life.

When I picked tis book up I wasn't sure if it was a standalone or not, but I think the set up for a sequel was well done. The pacing is good, the tension comes to a head without feeling like a cliff hanger, and I find it hard to believe anyone could easily walk away from these characters or their power struggle.

For me, I had higher hopes for the romance itself. I would have liked more of a slowburn, with the tension allowed to grow higher, instead of coming to a head about a third of the way through. And that rush to romance from mutual dislike always made it hard for me to buy into the romance at times. I don't think that'll be an issue for some people, but I would have vastly preferred having more of a reason to believe in the romance.
I also felt like some of the plotlines in general were underutilized or left thin, though it's possible that will be rectified with a sequel.

If you enjoy flawed, morally gray characters, curses, and enemies-to-reluctant-lovers, this book will probably be right up your alley.

I really loved this one.

Violet was hard to like, but I liked her anyway. She's a seer that saved the prince when he was younger. Violet and the prince, Cyrus, have a love/hate relationship. Mostly a lot of hate. At least that's what Violet thinks. There has been a prophecy that basically shows that only one of them will survive. Violet was asked by the king to lie to Cyrus and everyone else. She was to tell him of his fated love. He would meet her at a certain time at the ball he is hosting. Violet knows that he needs to marry right away. It's the only way to hopefully change the prophecy a bit. But Cyrus starts to show Violet his feelings. At first, it's physical. But as much as Violet wants to deny it, she does care about him. But she doesn't think it will be enough. She wants to live. When a Fate starts showing up in her dreams, Violet starts to get influenced more. This "fate" is hurting the people around Violet, but she never really felt like she belonged. Violet was an orphan. She will never fully be one of them. And Cyrus starts to push her away and tell her that she needs to leave. He can't be around her if he's to marry someone else. Violet has to figure out a way to save the kingdom, but mostly to save herself. But she doesn't know if she could put Cyrus's life above her own.

I love a good hate to love story. While this one doesn't have a ton of love, there was definitely a lot of attraction and confusion. I like to think that Violet can be a good person that makes the right choices. I am rooting for her and Cyrus to be together. I also liked the other characters in the book. I'm curious to see what happens next.

I gave this book 5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.