ARC Review: Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
10:00
Series: None
Author: Melissa Bashardoust
Published July 7th 2020 by Hodder & Stoughton
Goodreads Synopsis
A captivating and utterly original fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse...
There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.
As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.
Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming...human or demon. Princess or monster.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn follows Soraya, who was cursed as a baby to be poisonous to any living thing. The story she has known her entire life is that her mother crossed a div as a child, and was told that her first born daughter would be cursed, and since Soraya's birth, and the death of her nursemaid, she has been kept separate and isolated. Every year, the royal court arrive home to spend spring in Golvahar, and that is the only time she sees anyone but the servants who leave her food outside her rooms. This year, her twin brother, Sorush, the shah of Atashar, is planning on marrying, and even though she is a princess, she's not invited. One of the new recruits in the royal guard, Azad, seems to be the only one who sees Soraya, and helps her to discover how to remove her curse, and actively encourages her to do so. In the dungeons, a parik named Parvaneh needs her help, and once Soraya is betrayed, and captured by the evil Shahmar, finds that though she may have removed the poison from herself that made her a monster, the monstrous parts might remain.
From start to finish this book was lyrically beautiful! The plot and aspects taken from Persian mythology were woven into a tale that I was wholly engaged with. Soraya, as a main character, was not without her flaws, and that made her so much better than an ordinary princess. Someone who has questioned her sexuality from a young age, knowing that her feelings for her best friend will come to nothing, not with the curse, or Laleh marrying Sorush, but once Azad appears, and shows true interest and affection, she finds herself starting to fall. I did like them two together, but the snark and chemistry between Soraya and Parvaneh was perfect! Soraya taking her fate into her own hands, even if it did lead to her and her family's imprisonment, showed her growth, and I was rooting for her always. This book definitely wasn't one where the heroine was a damsel in distress. No, she took what she wanted, and through accepting herself for who she was, was able to triumph!
Dates Read:
June 23-25, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
0 comments