Wow, I really loved this one! it grabbed me from the start, and I had to know what was going to happen. I loved Violet and though she wasn't always the nicest character I loved her voice. This book had everything I love in a story, and I can't wait to read more from this author. Hate to love! Morally grey characters! Plot twists, kissing and a wickedly fast paced storyline-seriously everything I hope for in a YA fantasy. This one is up there on my favorites list for sure.

Review of ARC, provided by Netgalley and Delacorte Press

Violet Made of Thorns is the story of a seer, Violet, who is in the employ of the King but who has a very contentious relationship with the crown prince. The kingdom needs Cyrus to find a bride, and Violet's job as Seer is to push him to do it asap. Violet is a flawed antiheroine who is not above doing morally questionable things in order to hold onto her position, and Cyrus is a charming, handsome, prince who resents Violet's efforts to manipulate his future and who has a more principled stance on the issues plaguing the kingdom than the king and Violet, who tend towards more utilitarian views.

What I appreciated most about this book was the representation of a fantasy protagonist who is part of a diaspora community. Violet's mother was a working class Yuenen immigrant but Violet's connection to her heritage is tenuous. She was raised in Auveny, and was elevated to the status of royal Seer as a child, but she has childhood memories, and when she visits the Moon District, which is the Yuenen quarter of town, she feels nostalgia for the sights and sounds and smells that she associates with her mother's homeland. Violet does not "fit in" in Auveny, and she is keenly aware that the status granted to her is conditional. In fact, others make her aware of this fact at various points in the narrative, reminding her that Cyrus could choose another Seer when he becomes king.

This isn't common in YA fantasy. While there are many books that are re-tellings of motherland mythologies, or which feature fantasy versions of real-world cultures, I have seen very few YA fantasy books that explicitly feature protagonists which my own 1.5 generation immigrant children (we moved to the USA when they were in elementary school) could specifically relate to.

It's for this reason that I rounded this book up from 3.5 stars to 4. I think it's an important book. That said, it's not entirely to my taste as a reader, although for mostly subjective reasons. While the author fully admits that the book is a bit meta about fairytales, at times the wink and the nod seemed a bit heavy handed. The worldbuilding also seems a bit surface-level in some ways. Whereas some fantasy worlds feel very lived in and fully fleshed out, and you could really imagine this place existing in some alternate reality, the world in Violet Made of Thorns seemed to me as if it could only really exist within the confines of a story.

The characters are mostly well drawn, and I appreciated that Prince Cyrus was not a "bad boy" but rather someone with a rather firm moral center. This book is often compared to the Cruel Prince, and the comparison of Violet to Jude is fairly apt -- both are protagonists trying to survive in a world where they are outsiders, who have to do morally objectionable things to survive. Cyrus is not cruel or wicked, however, which makes for an interesting dynamic. He is committed to marrying for love, he is against the burning of the magical forest on the kingdom's border, and seems to find Violet's lies and schemes pretty objectionable. I found the romance between the two to be a bit rushed. Violet mentions many times, early on, that she finds Cyrus attractive, but he doesn't seem to feel anything for Violet but contempt until quite far along in the book. Hopefully upcoming books with strengthen that connection and build up the tension between the two, as I predict more betrayals and misunderstandings before the end.

The prose is fine, but there are times when the voice is a bit contemporary for my taste ( although that's entirely personal preference). I'm a fully grown adult though, so I am not the target audience, and I think the voice will appeal to teenage readers like my students or my kids.

Overall this is a strong start to a new series and a promising debut. I look forward to reading more from Gina Chen.

I really enjoyed the subtle underplaying of the king and his court. Its very well written characters and plot but rather predictable ending. Good read for the pre-teen crowd.

A YA fantasy that draws heavily on classic fairy tales, but instead of a sweet princess, you have a cynical witch as your antihero. I enjoyed this premise, and the influences from different fairy tales (some Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, shades of Beauty and the Beast). Folks who enjoy an antihero will like being in Violet’s head, but the male prince ends up being less understandable and relatable as a character. On the whole I found the love story a little hard to swallow, but after learning this is a duology I’m definitely curious to see what happens next (though I suspect a second book would focus on the secondary character Dante).

I like it much better than The Cruel Prince. The diversity within the book was wonderful and is a nice love story.

Well this was fun.
I really enjoyed the story and the world in this book. The twists and turns definitely kept me on my toes. I do wish the romance would have been a little different... there’s a bit of toxicity there that the main characters never seemed to work through. It felt to like enemies to lovers... but also still a tiny bit enemies, lol. If you liked the romance in The Cruel Prince, you’ll like this. It’s just not my cup of tea.

That aside though... what a story. Recommended.

This book was a fun read! I really enjoyed the main character. I found her very interesting, because in many ways she's not your typical heroine. She's a seer with a rough personality to love. She's ambitious, but she's also someone that has a caring heart underneath. Cyrus was an interesting character from the get go as well!

Their tension was noticeable right away. You could tell there was something more to them than the "hatred" they portrayed towards each other. What I love about them is that they're both duty bound, despite how they feel about each other. It created tension that I found absolutely delicious! I love the rivals to lovers energy they have.

As for the pace, I personally found the chapters a bit too long for my liking, but it didn't take away from the story as a whole. The story itself was well paced, but I do feel like it could've used shorter chapters to help me truck through it a bit easier.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read. I can't wait for more in the future!

Violet Made of Thorns is a dark and captivating YA fantasy with an enemies to lovers romance that is more enemies than lovers. The story is so well-written, and it pulls you in with its immersive writing from the first pages. A world with magic, witches, prophesies, fairies, seers, and dark forces threatening to destroy it all, the story is a suspenseful and exciting read. It also has fairy tale vibes, and there are some clever nods to classics like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, which is great!

I loved Violet! All sharp edges, she is a flawed and layered, morally grey anti-hero who doesn’t do anything without reason. She is cunning, cynical, and hard, and, at times, she seems more like the antagonist of the story in her actions and motivations. Her position as the king’s Seer doesn’t stop her from being bold and brazen and unapologetic. It also doesn’t make her honest, as she is often asked to lie or embellish her prophesies, and she doesn’t have many qualms about doing so. It’s really interesting because even though Violet makes a lot of mistakes and acts in a very self-serving way a lot of the time, you still root for her.

Cyrus, the prince and Violet’s potential love interest, is as complicated as his relationship with Violet is. At face value, Cyrus appears to be a charismatic, handsome prince primed for his soon-to-be leadership role. However, when he lets his guard down and shows his vulnerabilities, he’s a completely different person. His best friend Dante and his sister Camilla are also layered and compelling, and their relationships with Cyrus and Violet reveal a lot about all of the characters. All of these characters, like Violet, are morally grey with their own secrets and motivations, and you’re never really sure who you can trust.

If you like enemies-to-lovers romance, this is definitely the book for you! Violet and Cyrus have an incredible amount of chemistry, and the sparks really fly when they’re together. Yet, they hate each other so much!! Even when they love each other and show their tender feelings, their antagonism toward each other is palpable. There’s so much anger and animosity between these two, but if you dig deeper and look beyond the surface, there is so much more there. Cyrus and Violet have a long and complicated history that has muddied, especially in recent years. I enjoyed watching them antagonize each other and grapple with their conflicting feelings. There are so many unresolved and unexplored feelings with these two, and every interaction is laced with this passionate undercurrent that’s fantastic!

The political intrigue and fight for power are predominant in the plot, and there is a ton of action and suspense. Violet is haunted by the voices who speak to her and make dark suggestions. They fill her mind with doubt and questions, and it seems there’s more at play than just her prophetic abilities. There are many surprising twists that I totally didn’t see coming, and there are several gasp out loud moments as revelations are uncovered, betrayals are exposed, and mysteries come to a dangerous and deadly head.

The more I think about this story, the more I like it. It’s so layered and dark and twisted, and after that epically intense ending, I’m super eager to read the next book in the series. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and the author for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. I would highly recommend Violet Made of Thorns to readers who enjoy richly layered YA fantasy.

I had been really excited for Violet Made of Thorns. I do love a good "enemies to lovers" storyline and the comparisons to The Cruel Prince had me very excited. However, I just don't think it lived up to what it could have been. Cyrus is simply not as well-developed as Cardan (in The Cruel Prince). And while Violet was more developed than Cyrus, I also felt her character to be a bit lacking. Their relationship (hate-friendship-love) was not well-paced. I was never convinced that they actually hated/disliked each other. The side characters were also not developed, which was disappointing, especially with Dante (I had really wanted to know more/see more of him). Additionally, the dialogue throughout the book is very forced. I do think that plenty of readers will enjoy this book, but it just wasn't a hit for me.

I may not be the intended audience for this YA novel, but I was captivated by the beautiful cover. The premise just happened to come along for a ride. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books Educators, for the ARC.
The story feels simultaneously familiar and different; or relatable and new. The thin line between love and hate, so vehemently crossed, then sewn up. Raggedly so, but you're pulled in, and while it feels predictable, you as the reader know there's more than the young hormonal thrill of a princely romance. There's an homage to Rita Skeeter, among other fabled characters, and chaos breaks amidst diverse characters. Violet walks the reader through twists, turns, valleys, and betrayal. Fantasy, lust, self-discovery it’s all in there with witty and sharp dialogue and creative analogies. Violet is someone you maybe want as a friend but would still feel the need to be leery in her presence. Pieces of her a relatable, yes, and she makes you question what humans are capable of, even in a world of magic with seers, witches, and fairies.
Violet is any young woman out to protect her heart, scared to let anyone in because her commitment is to her survival.

This ARC Was provided to me by Net Galley and the publishers free of charge but the opinions below are my own.

I've been trying to a little more strict with my rating system and this book blew it out of the water.

Violet is the heroine that every out of place girl needs. She's a beautiful mess who doesn't apologize for the things others don't like.

I truly thought I knew how this was going to go yet when the expected happened I was still floored with the twist.

I loved the Beauty and the Beast similarities

I truly look forward to where the story goes and will be happily awaiting the next

I knew immediately when I started this book that I was going to enjoy it. It has the vibe of a book that feels like home. It felt similar to other books I've read, but also something of it's own. I loved the palace setting. I enjoyed the characters and felt that they were all very distinct. Some parts felt a bit rushed to me but that didn't take too much away from my overall enjoyment. Overall, I am very impressed and will pick up whatever Gina Chen writes next!

“Once, a girl saved a prince who was meant to die” -From Violet Made of Thorns

4 stars

This started out a pretty captivating read. There were fleshed out characters, good world building and writing; and I wanted to see what happened next. The middle ended up dragging a bit, while I became a little confused. The author’s note at the beginning made me think I was getting this big prickly antihero. Violet pretty much is just playing the hand she was dealt. She is the seer to the king, so she has to listen to him. Otherwise I assume she’s going to be back on the streets. I didn’t get nearly as much of an antihero, or someone hard to like at all; her decisions seemed pretty logical. I also never saw the prince’s relationship as enemies. She is angry she has to lie to him, he is clearly in love with her… shrug. Luckily I’m not a huge fan of that trope, so I didn’t mind that element missing. There is a cliffhanger, and I would love to see how everything turns out.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 Stars

A witch who cares only for herself, a cursed prince who wears a mask, and a hatred for each other that can almost be seen as love….

What I liked:
I liked how the characters were unlike any I have read before. The main character, Violet, is a seer who lies, she never does anything without a motive that could benefit her. She isn’t a hero but she also wasn’t truly a villain.. She is brilliant! I also liked how the characters interacted with each other, it was natural and interesting but informative. The romance! I love how the romance was a “I love you but I can’t be with you because I hate you”

What I did not like:
I did not like how everything was so repetitive!! The same things were said multiple times throughout the entire book, it kinda got annoying. They kept saying how something was going to happen, but NOTHING happened. If someone asked me what was the plot I would only tell them what happened in the last 4 chapters and that was the entire book.
Lastly, I did not like how intense it got very quickly but then calmed down. It went from 0 to 100 back to 0 within 5 pages.

Overall, I can’t wait for the next book because this book set the stage for the next book very well.

P.S. this book is fairy-tale inspired

Violet Made of Thorns has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and boy did it NOT disappoint!

What makes this book incredibly appealing to me is its use of classical fantasy elements and references, but seeing everything through the eyes of our rather cynical protagonist Violet makes it feel less cliché. Violet was an amazing protagonist; i've always enjoyed books featuring flawed characters and even when Violet made some terrible decisions, i still loved her with my entire heart.
The cast of characters was delightfully diverse and i enjoyed seeing them develop throughout the book. The romance felt well-paced and to be quite honest, i am just a sucker for enemies-to-lovers.

All in all, this is definitely a book i can see myself recommending whenever i am given the chance and i can't wait to follow Violet on her journey in the next book!

I just personally have mixed feelings about this book. Do I think it has the potential to be a great hit? Absolutely. Are there elements that could make this a great film adaptation? For sure. But there are some elements that could hinder this as well and that's where my mixed feelings come in.

The story is engaging. The plot line is fairly easy to follow. But with all fantasy novels you run the danger of world building that is too far removed from what is already known that your audience doesn't connect. For myself personally I found the world of "Violet Made of Thorns" a bit hard to follow. I do think it will connect with other readers though. Additionally, because of the one swear word and the more descriptive elements of the sexual relationship between Violet and Cyrus I think it limits the potential audience which may impede the progress. That's not necessarily a bad thing but the marketing needs to push towards older YA and new adult as opposed to broad range YA which I don't think is happening at the current moment. The descriptions are okay but they just didn't paint as vivid images in my head as I would hope a fantasy book would.

I really appreciated the end- the last chapter as it were which is like a flash forward and wrap up. I almost wish that this was written as a frame story where that closes it out. I'm not sure why but it feels like it would've felt more complete to me.

I really, really wanted to love this book. And I just don't. I hope it finds its audience because there's a lot of good but it's just not something I would shout from the rooftops that everyone should read.

Initial Thoughts
I was SO thrilled to get an ARC of this book in NetGalley. When I saw that cover, I knew I needed to read it.

Some Things I Liked
Calling all fans of exceptionally morally grey characters, do I have a book for you!
I’m obsessed with the magic, world building, and absolutely unashamed morally greyness of the main character in this book.
Violet was a phenomenal narrator. She was morally grey and just told you enough to keep you guessing. I loved her!
I also loved the realism. There was so much more to this than a fantasy romance. Violet and Cyrus were exceptionally real and I loved their story.

Series Value
There absolutely must be a sequel! @delacortepress and @actualgina please please please tell me there is more to this story because I am so ready for it!

Final Thoughts
Add this book to your TBR today, you won’t regret it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.

Oh fuck me with a rusty teaspoon, this is ANOTHER terrifyingly dark, morally ambiguous faery-tale first part of a series YA thingy. Except it’s brilliant, so I don’t care.

(Seriously, though, my reading resolution for 2022is going to be: do more research and don’t embark on unfinished series).

Anyway, Violet Made of Thorns centres on Violet, an orphan street urchin and seer, who has clawed her way into a position of authority in the royal court of what seems, at first glance, a benign fantasy kingdom. Except Cyrus, the crown prince, is cursed, the king is not above manipulating prophecy for his own ends, and Violet herself is a cynical, closed-off liar determined to protect herself at all costs.

In case it isn’t clear from that description, I LOVED Violet with all my messed up, damaged heart. In the note at the beginning (that I sincerely wished had come at the end—I’m not mad keen on being told what a book is trying to do before I’ve had an opportunity to decide for myself if it works or not) the author says very explicitly that she wrote Violet specifically for those who tend to relate to the unrelatable. She’s an unabashedly flawed heroine who not only makes some pretty terrible decisions, but her defends her right to make them. And, most notably, struggles to do those things that sometimes seem to come so naturally to certain fictional characters: trust, hope, believe in love, surrender her own power.

I feel very seen right now. And slightly called out.

For anyone who has read Stephanie Garber’s Once Upon A Broken Heart, Violet is kind of the anti-Emmeline. And how much does it kind of delight me that I’ve read two YA faery tale books this year, one of which allowed its protagonist to make non-ideal decisions because she refuses to listen to her head and another that allowed its protagonist to do the same because she refuses to listen to her heart.

Anyway, I don’t want to go into too much detail about Violet Made of Thorns because the narrative, with its twists and turns and it’s thrillerish who exactly is trying to achieve what and with whom quality, is such a pleasure to watch unfold. But, believe me, everything about the book was pitch perfect for me, from Violet’s brutally sardonic voice, to the diverse and intriguing cast (special shout out to Camilla, Cyrus’s chaos lesbian of a twin sister), to the way Violet’s identity (she’s an outsider by social status and race, as well as because of her magic) is inextricable from her story. I was also incredibly impressed by the way Violet Made of Thorns gradually peeled back the layers of its initially generic fantasy kingdom to explore themes of colonialism, expansionism and the destruction of the natural world, and all without ever seeming forced or didactic.

And there is no way I can wrap up this review without mention Violet’s “Prince Charming” Cyrus. He is a flawed hero for a flawed heroine and, oh my God, does this book take enemies-to-lovers to a new level. They were enemies even when they were lovers. And, yet, somehow, swept away on UST and my romance reader need for a happy ending, I found myself rooting for them? In all seriousness, though, enemies-to-lovers is not generally a trope I’m drawn to because it’s hard to make the ‘enemies’ part as convincing as the ‘lovers’ part without making you question whether the characters should be together. And this often feel a little toothless to me, over-shadowed by its own trope (the reader’s meta-knowledge that everything will work out okay): that is very much NOT the case here. I believed in both the enemies AND the lovers, and the result was a relationship that felt genuinely unpredictable, precarious and dangerous for the participants.

Y’know, for someone who doesn’t read much YA, I’ve read some abso-fucking-lutely incredible YA this year. Of course, it’s not a competition and if you’re looking for something to read I’d stand by any of recommendations. Violet Made of Thorns, though. This book was amazing in all the ways. But it also felt … special, personally special. If your taste skews anywhere close to mine, you need to read it.

This books had everything! Enemies to lovers, witches, curses, so much drama! What I loved about this book was that I could recognize so many fairytale stories all converging into one enchanting story. Violet was wonderful, she was flawed but perfect in every way. She wanted to be loved but was afraid of it knowing that she had to protect herself from such a cruel world. I think so many can relate to that feeling. And Cyrus, what a charming prince he was. The side characters were marvelous, Camilla was a great addition. Read this book and you won’t regret it.

A darkly enchanting fantasy book about a morally gray witch, a cursed prince, and a prophecy that ignites their fate-twisted destinies, Violet Made of Thorns was quite the fun book. Though I didn't love it, it was good. Violet was a very strong character, I think that her development was really well done. I loved that this felt like this very fairytale like world, and where she would have been the perfect little main character, she had rough edges and was powerful, not afraid to do what she had to to get what she wants. Camilla was probably my favorite character though. I loved her humor so much. I wasn't really a fan of the romance, but I am sure that a lot of people will love it, just a bit too steamy for my taste. The plot was fun though, I haven't read a prophecy book in a long, long while. So overall, I did enjoy this, but I wouldn't necessarily scream about it from the rooftops.