I received an ARC of this book via the publisher in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

I loved just about everything about this book; from the world building , the humor, the twists and turns and cliffhangers and the internal battles and relationship between Violet and Cyrus. It was easily a 5 star read and I can’t wait for the follow up book. Why must we wait so long?!? Gina Chen is an author to keep an eye on. She’s extremely talented and creative !

Everything the blurb promised is everything that I love in a book. A story has royal intrigue? Yeah I’m there! While I enjoyed this book, I felt the characters were a little one dimensional and a little cookie cutter.

I don’t know if you’re allowed to swear in a NetGalley review, so I’ll censor it all, but HOLY F*CK. This BOOK. When I heard about this deal, I was intrigued. My excitement sort of paled as there were less updates on it, but BOY was that renewed.
I knew from the first few pages that this book would be AMAZING. A morally gray witch and her “enemy,” the prince? GOLD. (I say “enemy” because they hate each other and wish for the failure of the other, but they’d never hurt each other or anything [👀]). First of all, I’m in love with both of them. Violet is so amazing because she’s GENUINELY morally gray. She lies, a LOT, and while she has close friends, she’s not eager to sacrifice herself or help others above herself. She’s where she is because she had the good eye and quick thinking to get her there, not by chance. Although her ability is genuine, Violet manages to keep the readers and her patrons on their toes with her frequent white lies and unwillingness to reveal the secrets she finds. The most important thing to her is that she’s in control of herself and fearless, and I love that so much.
With Cyrus, I love him for different reasons. He’s strong and capable, but also caring and smart. He’s simultaneously selfish and selfless in every decision he makes, which is really cool to see. He, Camilla, and Dante are amazing characters, and while I do love Violet the most, they’re all AMAZING.
While the world wasn’t really the focus of the story, it was easy to follow along. It was a tad hard to remember all of Violet’s different visions and some of the dark magic elements, but nothing worth complaining over. Once again, this book is superior to all others.
In terms of romance, HOLY HELL. My love for Violet and Cyrus individually is trumped only by my love for the two of them together. As two rivals and two sensible (and a bit self-serving) people, these two have a really interesting romance. There’s a lot of obliviousness, but it’s SO worth it. Violet and Cyrus have easily become one of my favorite bookish couples of all time. Their romance is both simple in their feelings for one another and complicated in their positions and agendas. IT’S JUST SO GOOD!!!
Overall, this book is f*cking phenomenal. Easily my favorite of 2022. I’d recommend this to literally everyone, but mostly fans of really loose retelling elements and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. I’d read this book a million times, it’s SO GOOD.

I wanted so badly to love this book. It was even on my list for most anticipated books of 2022 so when I got approved for an ARC I was thrilled! Morally grey characters, oh-so-not charming princes, cutthroat royal court…the synopsis promised everything I’ve been looking for in a book.

Sadly, the delivery was as run-of-the-mill as the “morally grey” characters that were promised.

Violet was, in theory, an interesting character. Is she a prophet? Yes. Is she a liar? Yes. But the synopsis made her sound a lot more interesting that she actually is. Mostly it was just angst and making the decisions that were expected of her and palming it off as cleverness. I love YA fantasy so having such a common character interpretation wasn’t a deal breaker but when you are promised something more, when it isn't delivered it is kind of a let down.

The story also focuses highly on the not-so-charming Prince Cyrus. That boy had all the backbone of a jellyfish. The plot would have you assuming that he is wily and a fine hand at subterfuge but he was just another blonde, white prince thinking with his pants. Nothing interesting to comment on there.

Lastly, let’s take a little peak at the plot. The Special Girl (Violet) lives at the castle and, oooo, evil things are afoot and she is some mysterious Seer who sees bad things in the future. Does she do anything about them? Not really but she is really good at brooding and making very emotional decisions. The trees seem to be evil. I’m serious about that. Evil trees try to kill her and pretty much everyone else. Oh no, the kingdom is in danger and the trees aren’t what they seem! Drone on about that for about 100 pages longer than it needed to.

It wasn’t massively interesting but it wasn’t horrible either. If you like cookie cutter ya fantasy romance then this book should occupy you for a little while but it is entirely forgettable once you are done.

The best part of this book is Prince Cyrus’s sister. She is a lesbian Boss Bitch and did not get nearly enough page time. More of her please.

Overall, this book was good enough but nothing to get too excited about. Personally, I probably won’t be continuing to the next book of the series. The romance wasn’t believable, the plot drug, and the characters weren’t memorable. Will some people love this story? Absolutely, but it just wasn’t for me because I don’t feel like it delivered on what it promised.

a vicious, sharply-written enemies-to-lovers fairy tale for readers who long for anti-heroines, complicated romances, and beautiful prose. while some aspects of it didn't quite live up to the expectations i'd built for it, violet made of thorns is an incredibly solid debut fantasy and i'm stoked to see what gina chen writes next.

What a fantastic book! The fantasy was interesting. The characters were intriguing. This story kept me engaged from start to finish. The cover is absolutely stunning!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

I loved this book!! Where do I even start?
- The fantasy was amazing, I really enjoyed the worldbuilding. Such a creative fantasy, I really fell in love with this world.
- The romance was incredible, especially with tropes like enemies-to-lovers, I-should-kill-you, etc. And they were enemies for a while too, so there's a lot of banter and tension even after the romance really develops--this isn't a book where they're enemies for like two seconds. It's solid hate-to-love! <3 I think it was a bit of a slowburn too, but that just made it all the more enjoyable. also there was a little bit of smut lol, which is always great.
- The characters were all really fleshed out, even the side characters, which made me as the reader even more involved in the story.
- The plot, of course, was super intriguing! There was so much mystery and suspense, especially around the magic of the fantasy worldbuilding and Violet's powers.

- One thing I maybe didn't like was Violet herself. She was definitely frustrating sometimes as she could be whiny, and though she pretended she was super tough and like morally grey...she really just is a scared young girl. She was for sure a good MC, and I guess the different facets of her make her more real and intense.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this book. I definitely plan to read it again when it releases, and highly recommend reading it, especially for those who enjoy the romantasy genre.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest review*

This is a dark YA fantasy, with a morally gray ASAIN main character, sprinkled with some fairy tale-esque snippets. Violet Made of Thorns follows our main, sarcastic character Violet. She is a seer for a kingdom that seems like a fairytale place to live, but under the surface may not be so picturesque. There are prophesies abound, a King that may have ulterior motives, a Prince Charming that isn't so charming in private, interesting side characters, and a magical forest to keep you interested. This does fall under fantasy, but it's definitely a character driven story more than world driven story.

What I loved about this book were the characters! Violet was an extremely well-rounded character and I loved reading her character arc. She was a prickly, sarcastic, self-serving, always toeing the line, chaotic good type of character, and I ate it up. I'm so tired of reading the perfect hero stories. It's nice to see characters that stumble about when making choices that affect them and others and coming out of those choices scathed. She was driven by self-preservation and that's why she made questionable choices, lying her way into or out of things. Cyrus, the Prince Charming of the book, is also well written. Everything you know about Princes gets shattered in this book. Is Cyrus charming? Yes. Does he make all the women swoon with his chiseled good looks and bod? Also yes. But it's all a facade, a part he plays for being the prince. You can see him struggle with making the correct choices, for the betterment of his kingdom. You can tell how much he cares for his kingdom and wants to be a better king than his father and due to this, is regularly butting heads with him. I found his relationship with his father really interesting.

The love story between Violet and Cyrus is there, but isn't shoved down the readers throat. It's all friends to enemies to lovers to who knows trope but isn't the main plot of the story. But when it's there, phew is it THERE! It's messy and hot, just like the two of them. The only thing I wished we got to see more of was their relationship before current times. I wanted to see that dynamic explored more.

Outside of the two main characters, the book has some great side characters. Especially Cyrus' sister, Princess Camilla. I loved when she was around. Her friendship with Violet was nice to see. I cackled when she told Violet that her and Cyrus had a contest on who could pull more women during the ball and that she was winning.

The plot was engaging enough and kept me guessing on what would happen, but at times did suffer from a pacing problem. I don't mind a character driven story when the characters are well written, so this wasn't an issue for me. I can see how some readers would find the pacing a bit slow though at times. The plot wasn't hard to follow and had enough twists and turns to keep me interested. I did find myself wanting a little more at times though.

The thing that really lacked for me was the world-building. I wanted more. I wanted to learn more about this world I was thrust in since what I did get, I enjoyed. I kept finding myself wanting to learn more about the forest and fairies, how the magic worked, why the kingdoms were on the brink of war, how the fates played a role in the daily lives of these people. The world didn't feel quite lived in due to this. I love being immersed in a new world and crave learning about it while the book unfolds. I hope we get to learn more about this world in the next book.

The fairy tale nods were fun to pick up on since they weren't in your face. The different takes and subtleties really drove the uniqueness of how Gina Chen twisted it to fit her own story. I'm curious to know which ones other readers found.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. And the ending?! The ending. How can Gina Chen do this to me? After I finished, I just sat there thinking how this book hasn't even come out yet and I'm already clambering to read the next one. And who knows when the next one is coming out?! The torture I felt as that realization hit me square in the feels was all consuming. I came to the conclusion that I'll just have to satiate myself with buying it when it comes out and reading it again just to relive that torturous feeling of finishing it and having to wait an eternity for the next book.

A lying prophet. A cursed prince. And a seemingly impossible choice. Violet Made of Thorns was literally unputdownable. It started off fast and never stopped. Chen wove in bits of worldbuilding with each scene like an expert. Violet is a witty narrator so expect lots of banter. The book gives off Cruel Prince vibes, especially with the enemies to lovers romance.

I enjoyed Violet’s struggle with her purpose as a Seer and her morality as a person. I didn’t feel she was a total antihero like many other readers, but I loved to see her try! She was supremely relatable in a way some antiheroes aren’t. I was rooting for her and eager to see how she’d get out of an impossible situation.

That being said, I did find the beginning to be a bit info dumpy with backstory, but that’s to be expected of fantasy. I do wish there was more worldbuilding. I also thought Violet could have had an even stronger antihero arch.

All and all, great debut! Bring on book 2!

I was thoroughly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! The story immediately hooked me from the beginning and it didn't slow down from there. It's generally difficult for me to be impressed so early on but the plot was so delicious that I found myself thinking about what would happen next every time I put the book down. As such, I finished the book the same day I received the arc.

I'm a reader that prefers character development over plot, but I have to say the plot was the highlight of the book for me. I love enemies-to-lovers and this book delivered it. Violet is an actual worthy successor to The Cruel Prince: court intrigue with childhood not-friends/rivals vying for the affection of the king where the main characters know they'll have to work together regardless when the prince ascends to the throne, The slow burn romance was incredibly satisfying.

Violet and Cyrus are not perfect; if anything Violet is a self-serving antihero who will do anything to keep the position that she clawed her way to, whereas Cyrus relies on magic as part of his charm. I actually didn't find Violet to truly be an antihero, as you can tell she's still motivated by good, but she also surprised me with her choices in the end. This may have been overshadowed by her sass, which in this case worked in her favor, but even with dealing with going down the dark path, I didn't ever feel like she would turn into the villain. For the sequel, I would like to see her continue to struggle with morality, but for this debut I'm quite pleased.

The author's writing felt so immersive and lyrical; even with the world-building and the magic system I never felt bogged down by the facts. I'm blown away that this is Gina's first book and I can't wait to see more from her.

Violet Made of Thorns is an exciting fairy-tale type YA fantasy with a morally ambiguous lead character and a very hot enemies-to-lovers subplot. And it all works so well!

Violet was a homeless girl who inadvertently saved the life of a young prince who the Fates had intended to die. What dos a grateful king do when a young girl who is also a Seer saves his son’s life? He brings the girl into the kingdom and gives her the opportunity for a new life: as the official Seer of the kingdom.

But Violet’s new life is far from charmed. The kingdom is under the threat of a previous Seer’s prophecy, the Fates still want Prince Cyrus dead, and Violet isn’t necessarily the most forthright about the visions of the future she does have—oh, and she and Cyrus bicker at every turn.

Violet Made of Thorns isn’t your typical YA fantasy. Violet is a bit of an antihero: she’s aloof, guarded, and really only looks out for her own best interests (for the most part). This is a much darker novel than many, even the royal castle & grounds hint at deeper, darker things lying in wait.

I vacillated a bit between 4 & 5 stars, but the finale really pulled it up to a 5 star for me with one act I thought Violet would never have the guts to pull off. Now I’m definitely waiting for Book 2!

Violet Made of Thorns will be out July 26, 2022.



*I received a copy of Violet Made of Thorns from Netgalley and Delacort Press in exchange for an honest review*

If roses are red, and violets are blue, then grab yourself a copy of this dark prickly fantasy right now so it can enchant and madden you, too. What a magical read! What a wonderfully cursed, heart-stopping debut!

I love fairy tales with sharp thorns and edges, always have. Just as I love stories that feature characters who are vindictive, selfish, prideful, ambitious, duplicitous, and cold enough to freeze hell with their attitude, so what enthralled me most about this book is that I was gifted all of that and more. Nothing was black and white in this universe. Nothing. Not only was there a curse that was purported to end in either salvation or damnation, but everything and everyone in the kingdom of Auveny dwelled, sometimes sunk, in shades of gray.

Violet, for instance, the antiheroine, is a seer and a liar, and a compelling one at that. She's cold, acerbic, and unapologetic about it, caring more about acquiring the respect and power she wants than being liked. She's also cutthroat, conniving, and selfish. Her main goal is to preserve her position in the royal court by whatever means necessary--even if it means lying for the king, even if it means going toe-to-toe with Cyrus, the resident Prince Charming and perpetual thorn in her side, even if it means keeping her visions of war and bloodshed and disaster to herself. As a character, she's unreservedly flawed, no doubt about it, but while she does commit a few heinous mistakes, her heart is torn about it. She struggles. She wavers. She reevaluates. She, like so many of us, hits hard against a wall where hope, love, trust, and faith in other people becomes integral for her growth and survival but, if she's not careful, may also lead to her doom.

Is she willing to sacrifice herself to save someone else? That is the question.

(The answer? Well, it's still outstanding, if you want to know the truth.)

Cyrus, too, her rival and potential love interest, is no less morally ambiguous. Sure, he may be able to doll out charm and charisma like it's second nature, with all the ladies of the kingdom swooning into puddles of tulle every time he smiles, but there's calculation behind his words. There's manipulation behind his actions. He puts on one perfect princely face for the world, yet wears an entirely different one when he's behind closed castle doors. I enjoyed seeing his facade crinkle away, being privy to the burning hate and unquenchable attraction he felt toward Violet, as well as witnessing how he attempted to thwart his prophetic fate. Let's just say the man knows how to work a room!

As a pairing, Violet and Cyrus definitely put the COMPLICATED into "it's complicated." They were enemies to lovers gold with their combustible unresolved tension, their bickering, their goading, their backstabbing, and their childhood "I saved your life" backstory, which worked in a two-fold fashion because neither one of them would be where they are today without the other. Cyrus wouldn't be next in line for the throne because he'd be dead. And Violet, despite her magic, despite her prophetic gifts, wouldn't be Seer because no one would've plucked her from obscurity.

Did I love them as much as Jude and Cardan? No. Not quite. But they're close, mighty close! They have a precarious "will you kiss me or kill me" quality to their dynamic that dangles their potential romantic future on the edge. And given what happens toward the end..never has there been a finer line between love and hate!

The fairy tale nods that are sprinkled throughout are also a delight. There's Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Tinkerbell (because of all the fairies), and even a dash of Maleficient. More than that, they're all implemented with twists, tangles, and turns that make them feel fresh. Novel. Unique. And of course, magical.

So yeah. Consider me enchanted. In fact, if the Evil Queen wants possession of my heart while I wait for the second book in this duology, then she can have it. No strings attached. (Pssst, Camilla: be sure to save a kiss for me!)

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

I absolutely loved this book! It has amazing character development and while you can see some of the major plot twists coming from a mile away it still leaves you wanting more. definitely a reverse retelling of beauty and the beast with a twist of sleeping beauty mixed in. Would read just for the twin sisters witty banter or the Mc calling out Prince Charming.definitely a book to put on your tbr list or pile in my case. All opinions are my own and I did have the pleasure of reading an arc copy from the publisher.

I was SUPER interested in this book just based on the first line. I mean, WHAT A FIRST LINE. However, I unfortunately didn't end up enjoying this as much as I thought I would.

The book doesn't really move anywhere. I felt stuck in this castle/tower space and the bigger plot beats with more action still felt a bit anticlimactic. Violet and Cyrus's relationship also didn't do much for me. I don't think these two characters should be together. Cyrus is kind of manipulative and I don't like that he makes decisions for Violet/pushes her into tough situations she really can't do anything about.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Somewhere between 4-4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this! I started it last night before bed and found myself staying up way past my bedtime to read most of it. I could have used a bit more world building but it moved at a pretty decent so I didn't have much time to dwell on that. I'm looking forwards to the next one!

I enjoyed the plot of this book and found it a fun read. Definitely looking forward to adding it my shelf permanently

The first couple of chapters were hard to read honestly. The characters are quite juvenile, even for a YA story. It felt like they behaved as if they were in modern day high school, not a high fantasy royal court. I also found certain details to be irrelevant. Just as an example, I didn’t see a reason for the character to mention her period every time it comes. It’s unnecessary, just as mentioning that I have to use the bathroom every time I wake up is unnecessary. The character “relatability” also felt forced and the writer didn’t allow for the reader to come to their own conclusions on any of the mystery.
However, I pushed through all that and found the story to be intriguing. I wanted to know more about Cyrus’ plans, and how Violet will grow. I have high hopes for the second book and I do intend to read it when the author releases it. As long as the story grabs me, I can get past a lot of issues, and this story grabbed me.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for the e-arc.

This book is a pretty good twist on a tale as old as time. Violet is a Seer in a royal court telling prophecies and sometimes lies. But the last seer predicted a curse on Prince Cyrus and war for the land, Violet is working hard to prevent the curse from coming true, even as her own dreams and prophecies are becoming more and more violent. She's fighting against the fates and the arrogant Prince Cyrus, just trying to hold it together.

I like this twist on Beauty and the Beast. It was well-written and fast paced, though predictable. Part of the predictability is just due to the source material being so widely known. I did like that this was a darker re-telling with more grey areas. But the romance and twists were easy to figure out. I would read more from this author though, I just hope the next book is more original.

Violet Made of Thorns was a thrilling fairy tale reimagining that kept me guessing. Violet is a seer, who came into her role at a very young and impressionable age. She is taken in by the king of Auveny and his family to be their new seer. She inherits a prophecy that dooms the prince and is influenced by the king to lie about the future of the Sun Capitol. Violet is a cynical and stubborn young woman, who sees the cracks in the glamor of noble life that others chose to cover up or ignore. When a witch threatens Auveny, Violet's lies come back to bite her, and the people she is trying to save don't trust her.

This book includes all of the best things about YA fantasy! A stubborn, strong heroine, romance, betrayal, and plot twists that keep the end of this book a complete mystery. It's interesting to watch Violet navigate the politics of court, where she is given a lot of of power for her age, but must learn to recognize when she's being manipulated. Readers are able to see Violets thought process as the book progresses, which normalizes the fear, worry, self-doubt, and second guessing anyone would experience in her position.

I love the factor of having a prophecy to allow to play out, or fight against. However, I felt there was just something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. I think I just wanted for more of this. I loved this book and feel it's perfect for YA readers. If there's a sequel to this book, I will be thrilled. I'd also be interested to see other stories from different parts of this world. This book takes place within the castle and capitol city, but I hope the author explores other parts of this world in other books.

I read this book as an ebook and advanced reader copy. I volunteered to read this book as the description looked interesting and my review is my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I really enjoyed this story. Mainly all the angsty attraction going on. If you like the relationship dynamic of Jude and Cardan, you’d like this. I also loved how the MC looked out for herself before anything else. It’s hard to find books truly like that. I do wish there was a more substantial plot. It was a nice, easy read, but I was never at the edge of my seat or wholly invested. Hopefully the bigger developments occur in the second.