*Spoiler free*
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.
When I heard that this was a book about a prophet who was a liar, who shapes her world through the lies she tells, I wanted to read it. Then on top of that, she and the prince do not like each other at all. They don’t like each other so much there might be some attraction between them. It sounded incredible and I couldn’t wait to read it.
Oh, I adore this book so much.
I adore Violet so much. She’s brash and rude and is completely made up of sharp edges. She’s imperfect, and this book makes sure to revel in that fact. She wants and she’s messy and sometimes she makes choices that are frustrating, but that’s because she’s trying to have her place in a world that seems to want to grow right through her. She was so, so wonderful and I love her so much. She’s even allergic to the fairies of this world, which I thought was hilarious.
Really, I loved all the characters. I loved Cyrus and Dante, and basically every side character, even though I was not expecting to. They each have their own tricks up their sleeves, and own ideas on how the world works and how it should work.
This is a fantasy romance, and oh is it an amazing fantasy romance. There is so much hate kissing. They’re so angry that there is attraction between them and there is so much banter and barbed comments, it’s fantastic. Their dynamic was so emotionally charged, just, so, so good.
The world was also spectacular. It is seeped in fairytales. I thought it was going to only be one retelling, but there are little pieces of so many throughout the book, and dang is it amazing. It was so cool to see which pieces it took from which one. Plus, there’s beasts and roses and kingdoms on the brink of war and fairies and dark magic.
Overall, I fell completely in love with this book. I adore it. It’s spectacularly written, thrilling, and I adore Violet. It’s so, so good.
Violet Made Of Thorns comes out July 26th, 2022! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order a copy in the meantime!
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