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Fantasy Friday: Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

Violet is a prophet and a liar, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased—and not always true—divinations. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so-not charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to strip Violet of her official role once he’s crowned at the end of the summer—unless Violet does something about it.

But when the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus’s love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse, one that will end in either damnation or salvation for the kingdom—all depending on the prince’s choice of future bride. Violet faces her own choice: Seize an opportunity to gain control of her own destiny, no matter the cost, or give in to the ill-fated attraction that’s growing between her and Cyrus.

Violet’s wits may protect her in the cutthroat court, but they can’t change her fate. And as the boundary between hatred and love grows ever thinner with the prince, Violet must untangle a wicked web of deceit in order to save herself and the kingdom—or doom them all.

Amazon Link: Violet Made of Thorns (Violet Made of Thorns #1)

Author: Gina Chen

Genre: YA Dark Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

This story started off okay but it just got more confusing as it went on. I didn’t really understand any of the characters’ motivations. It felt like it was trying too hard to be witty and edgy, especially with the enemies-to-lovers romance. Why did they hate each other so much? Why did that make them attracted to each other?

Instead, it felt like the witch and prince were just bickering like siblings or school children. They were fighting over who got more attention from the king, basically, even though neither of them actually liked him. I found it annoying.

The world-building also felt sketchy at best. There were so many things left open and unanswered for the sequel that this didn’t feel like a complete book. The magic seemed to keep changing to be convenient for the plot without any rhyme or reason.

So all of that led up to a stupid choice made near the ending and a weird twist, and then an abrupt ending. It felt very rushed and incomplete. I found myself finishing it mainly just to see if it got better but it got worse.

I really wanted to like a fairy tale-style story about a witch, but this one was not for me.

Kristen

I'm an author, a blogger, and a nerd. I read and write fantasy.