Reid's debut novel had a wonderfully dark fairy tale vibes throughout it that I was looking forward to again in her sophomore release, Juniper and Thorn. Set in the same universe as the Wolf and the Woodsman, Juniper and Thorn absolutely immerses you into that dark, violent, magic fueled world where magic isn't all sparkles and sunshine and happily ever after is something you have to fight for.
The characters are broken and flawed. Both Marlinchen and Sevas have deep traumas they carry with them. Over the course of the book they find the support they both need in each other.
The plot was engaging and kept the story flowing even if the final twist was a bit obvious. For me the characters and Reid's overall style really made the book.

Juniper and Thorn was not at all what I had been expecting. I read Ava Reid's The Wolf and the Woodsman and loved the weaving together of Hungarian history and Jewish mythos, and thought this one, set in the same world, would have a similar feel.

I was surprised, then, to find that Juniper and Thorn read like a horror. Turns out it's based on the Grimm's fairy tale called The Juniper Tree, one of their darkest and most horrific tales. The trigger warnings are endless--sexual assault of a child, rape, gaslighting, emotional and physical abuse, and cannibalism. I'm honestly probably forgetting some. This was a tense, heavy reading experience. The writing felt almost clinically detached as the characters experienced horror after horror.

Marlinchen is the third daughter of the last wizard in the land of Oblya, and she and her two sisters are the last witches. The city is shifting from magic to industry, and their remedies and services barely bring in enough to keep them and their cursed father fed. A monster roams around the city, killing men and removing their hearts and livers, and Marlinchen is caught in a web of lies and manipulations that keep her world small. She begins to see through the smoke and mirrors to the truth, but the truth may be more terrible than she thought possible.

This nightmarish retelling is not for the faint of heart. Read with caution. This would be perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson. Naomi Novik, or Catherynne Valente.

Objectively, the book was well written, but I can't give it more than three stars personally because of how absolutely grotesque the story was.

Juniper & Thorn is a dark book with dark themes and dark consequences. It’s a story of two souls valued only for what they can do, rather than who they are, and the unraveling of the world around them that happens when they stand together.
Beautifully written and hauntingly lyrical.

This book is hard to describe. With the author’s beautiful writing you feel transported into a dark fairytale world filled with abuse and monsters and dark magic. It was heavy and daunting and yet I couldn’t put it down even though at times I felt like I couldn’t bear to keep reading. While I figured out what was happening, the heroine did not and I was filled with trepidation on her behalf. There are trigger warnings a plenty and I caution you to review those if you have concerns. While it is hard to say I enjoyed this book, I appreciated the care and talent that went into writing it and felt the storytelling was excellent.

A retelling of fairy tale The Juniper Tree, Juniper and Thorn manages to be a wonderful and immersive story about three witch sisters, their terrible wizard father, and the goings on in the city that has sprung up around them and their home. The original story is already one of the darker Grimm fairy tales, and this one absolutely doesn't spare us equal bits of both light in dark as we learn all about the youngest of the sisters and how she has been wound so thoroughly around her father's controlling and crooked fingers. It's always been this way, since her mother was changed into a bird and then left them to their father, but soon Marlinchen meets a bright young dancer at the theater and she can't help but begin to rebel against the things she felt powerless to change. There's so much her father's kept from her and her beautiful older sisters, and so much that now needs to change whether he wills it or not.

A story centered around grief, loss, abuse, manipulation, secrets, and monstrous fear it does have instances of sexual assault, details of physical and emotional abuse, and toxic sibling dynamics to be aware of going in. I loved the lush narrative, rich details, complex characters, and genuine honesty in its narrative.

Unfortunately I am just super super sick of fairytale retellings after I took a class about them last semester! Which I didn’t actually expect, I thought that I would gain a greater appreciation for them and finally be able to enjoy them. But actually I hate them forever (except for THE GOOSE GIRL series by Shannon Hale) and I should stop picking them up. Also, I found this way gorier than I wanted to expected it to be. I was Just Not In The Mood for the dark places this book goes, including domestic violence and child sex abuse. I’m giving this book three stars.

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid may not be for everyone but I thought it was so good.
Don’t get me wrong, there were times when I was definitely cringing and not sure about and I definitely had some frustration with Marlichen and I absolutely despised her father and sisters.
BUT, the writing is flawless. It is so lyrical and intoxicating. Just gorgeous.
This is definitely a dark and eerie, but if that’s something you like I’d definitely recommend this book.
Do make sure to check the trigger warnings

As a fairy tale retelling, I think this book does a good job of taking the roots of The Juniper Tree and transforming it into something new that still stays true to the original tale.

A gruesome curse. A city in upheaval. A monster with unquenchable appetites.

Marlinchen and her two sisters live with their wizard father in a city shifting from magic to industry. As Oblya’s last true witches, she and her sisters are little more than a tourist trap as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and trying to placate her tyrannical, xenophobic father, who keeps his daughters sequestered from the outside world. But at night, Marlinchen and her sisters sneak out to enjoy the city’s amenities and revel in its thrills, particularly the recently established ballet theater, where Marlinchen meets a dancer who quickly captures her heart.

As Marlinchen’s late-night trysts grow more fervent and frequent, so does the threat of her father’s rage and magic. And while Oblya flourishes with culture and bustles with enterprise, a monster lurks in its midst, borne of intolerance and resentment and suffused with old-world power. Caught between history and progress and blood and desire, Marlinchen must draw upon her own magic to keep her city safe and find her place within it.

The writing is beautiful. At least for me, it really paints a picture..
Everything was fine and dandy but then this book found my rare triggers and flipped them all. (child SA, ED, gratuitous gorey violence)
Normally I would work through it for such interesting writing, but I just don't have the emotional fortitude right now.
I do feel bad giving it such a low rating but I think there should be more warning just how bad it's gonna get.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Harper Voyager and the author for the chance to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

*Check CW, as there's some gore, abuse and scary themes*

Wow that definitely kept you hooked all the way through! I was truly captivated by this dark, horror retelling. I'll admit, I wasn't familiar with the original story, but I imagine you don't need to be to enjoy this story. It is gorgeously written, with every detail played out like a film in your head. The imagery is *chef's kiss* and does not disappoint (even in the scarier/thrilling scenes) - definitely creepy. I liked the happy-ish ending too, tying up most ends. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is a fan of retellings, thrillers and horror.

A dark, grim retelling of "The Juniper Tree".

Marlinchen Vashchenko is the third daughter of the last wizard in Oblya. She is a flesh diviner, able to read people through the touch of their skin. She is kept locked away in a decaying home, never allowed to leave, with her older sisters, a scryer and healer, The only contact they have with the outside world is when paying customers come to call, which is more and more infrequently as the demand for magic is drying up.

When the girls sneak out to the ballet one night, Marlinchen catches the attention of the lead dancer, Sevastyan. Later, Sevastyan’s handler brings him to the witches seeking a cure for a strange malady. Marlinchen's father notices their attraction, and tightens his hold on the girls. To make matters worse, a monster is prowling the streets of Oblya, killing innocents. Nowhere is safe.

Reid does not shy away from dark, violent themes and paints a truly horrifying picture of the abuse Marlinchen suffers. Trigger warnings for assault and easting disorders. Great fit for fans of The Bear and the Nightingale who want a more macabre tale.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

TW: disordered eating, childhood SA (moments are revisited), emotional trauma, emotional, physical, mental abuse (some of which stems from negligent and abusive parents/guardians), extreme self-depreciation, sex, dëath, mürder (can be descriptive), incest, animal death/horror, general horror themes, mutilation, gaslighting, comments on body image, hyper-sexual trauma response

Yes, just, yes. Ava Reid has done it again, and the writing is even better than The Wolf & The Woodsman. This book is haunting and twisty, with balms of hope and moments of love and sincerity. A full review to come, but if you’ve been eying this one I recommended. It’s a seemingly bleak fairytale, with a seemingly average witch at its center.

This story relies on a lot of repetition and dark themes. Our MC is constantly reminded how useless and ordinary she is. This can be a bit tedious when you read the story but it makes sense for the abusive family she comes from. I think this story really highlights abuse in a true light, how words can be manipulated and even when the abuser is trying to harm you, a victim may still try to see good in them.
If you aren't a fan of dark themes, don't pick this up. If you are a fan of fairytales, this dark one is right up your alley.

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

This book was really interesting. Juniper & Thorn is loosely based off of Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Juniper-Tree. If you're familiar with the Brothers Grimm, you know that the vast majority of their stories were not intended as children's tales, and were later referred to as "warning tales" for children. Most of their stories contain some dark elements, and The Juniper Tree is no exception.

That being said, Juniper & Thorn does capture the darkness of the original story. I wouldn't say it was a direct retelling, I found little parallels to the original tale, but the roots are there. It is dark and grisly. This book is a gruesome, horror-fantasy tale telling the story of Marlinchen, her two sisters, and her overbearing father. The atmosphere is immersive and creates a sense of dread throughout the reading experience. Reid's prose is lovely, and her words flow fluidly throughout the book. Marlinchen's growth and character development was interesting, but I found her sisters to be a bit one-dimensional.
It was definitely an interesting reading experience, but overall I enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this dark and chilling fantasy! It was fast paced and intriguing, I read it in two days! This book is definitely not for the faint of heart, there are some very dark and gruesome parts.. But if you like a little bit of a darker fantasy, you will probably enjoy this! I loved Marlinchen’s growth as a character throughout the book… She started out very naïve and basically lived by her father’s strict rules and silly situations such a beautiful ttstories, but by the end she found love and took down her father all on her own! I enjoyed the romance between Marlinchen and Sevas.. he was so sweet to her when everyone thought her plain and simple! I can’t wait to read more of Ava Reid’s books in the future!

Heartbreakingly brutal this book has solidified Ava Reid as a favorite author. Juniper & Thorn is full of extremely graphic and horrifying themes that in most situations would be a straight turn off for me as a reader but the way that Ava Reid addresses these issues in a way that's immersive and elegant (for lack of a better word). This is a story that will stay with me for years and I know that I'll revisit over and over again.

Ava Reid has done it again in their sophomore novel. Juniper and Thorn starts off as a slow moving quaint little story about.. well stories and how the truth can be hidden within those stories.

We follow Marlinchen and her two older sisters who are forced to live with their father who just so happens to be the only wizard in their town of Oblya. Everyday they are to do as their father says, feed him, take care of the house, serve the clientele who come to their house for treatment.

Finally one night her sisters invite Marlinchen out into town with them, breaking their horrid fathers rules, She has never seen the outside world, but her sisters have been going out behind her back for years. So once she has a taste of the outside world she needs more. Especially when she catches the eye of the theaters best dancer.

Marlinchen continues to disobey her father, realizing the world is much more than the stories she has been told. But being out in the world she also finds there are monsters, for one is killing men and has an insatiable appetite.

This was one of those books that I was confused for about 75% of the time and then everything clicked and I went OH SHIT! It was so dark, so good and such a gruesome look at how trauma affects us. Ava handled it beautifully and this book shocked me to my core.

cw/tw
child abuse
gore
xenophobia
blood
violence
antisemitism
eating disorder
misogyny
sexism
sexual assault
gaslighting
sexism

(4.5 stars) i feel so beyond honored to have been able to receive an eARC for this! thank you to ava reid, harper voyager, and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this lovely book! i will absolutely be picking up a physical copy of this book and reading all of ava's future work.

if you ever find yourself yearning for the gruesome, absurd, yet beautiful storytelling of grimm's fairy tales, then this loose gothic horror retelling of the juniper tree is exactly what you need. this is the first of ava reid's work that i've experienced and she has quickly become one of my favorite writers from the beautiful and haunting way she illustrates her story.

following the youngest of three witch sisters, marlinchen is sheltered from the outside world by their xenophobic and oppressive wizard father. after a night of secretly venturing out of their home with her sisters, marlinchen embarks on her journey encountering a captivating ballet dancer, discovering the secrets of her own desires, and surviving her father's oppression.

i loved so many things about this novel, especially the depth in which we get to know the main character's inner thoughts no matter how disturbing and dark. (especially sevas! what a lovely character!) some of the lines left me in awe at how magically they were crafted and for that i must PRAISE ava reid! you are magic yourself!

my one biggest qualms that i had to dock a star for was that i wish the patriarchal themes present in the story were challenged a little more. marlinchen's entire story arc felt very male-centric and i wished we had gotten to explore more of her actions and desires outside of her relationships with the male characters.

this is a very dark and explicit story and i find it essential to go over the trigger warnings before reading.

CONTENT WARNINGS: child sexual abuse, physical and psychological familial abuse, eating disorders (bulimia), graphic depictions of vomiting, gore, body horror, animal death, cannibalism, self harm, suicidal ideation, pedophilia, antisemitism, xenophobia

Great fun.

This reimagining of a Grimm fairy tale is absolutely luscious in its plot and prose. Three daughters trapped in a house by their wicked wizard father, and how love plays a part in their imprisonment and their liberation. It's Angela Carter by way of Erin Morgenstern, and I had an absolute blast with it. Read it during a thunderstorm if at all possible.

Also, good grief did this make me hungry.