This book sounded really good, but unfortunately didn't do it for me.

The majority of our main characters were not likable. Odette was the worst. She was Maude's best and only friend, until Maude lost her magic. After that, Odette stopped being her friend. When Odette then goes missing, Maude knows that she is the only one that can save her, even though they haven't talked for the past four years. No thank you. One of the most toxic friendships I have ever read, and Odette is an ungreatful jerk. As for Maude, I wish she would have had more confidence in herself. This did get better in the last 20% of the book.

There is also a lot of botany in this book. Lots of names of plants and flowers and how their root systems work and what not. It was fine at first, but then it was just too much for me. It would be half a paragraph saying what plants she was seeing about every 3-5 pages. The book itself would have been shorter if some of that had been cut out. I get why it was there, a decent part of the story takes part in the forest, and because *spoiler*.

I did like the fairy tale aspect of it. I thought that part was done pretty well. Having to go on a quest to save the princess, fighting monsters, etc. The setting outside of Sicklehurst could have used more fleshing out. You don't really know the time setting of the story, and how the magic works in the world is kind of confusing.

All in all, the writing style was fine, and I found the book easy to read. I wouldn't mind picking up another of the authors works, but I probably won't be reading the next in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!~

Maude is the daughter of witches and an incredible storyteller. At a younger age, she starts to notice her mother being taken over by a darkness that scares her.. and one day her mother arrives home in a coffin. Maude is left in the care of her grandmothers and ends up losing her affinity for magic all together. Her best friend Odette, ends up losing her affinity for Maude when she can no longer spin magic for the two of them. The two girls go their separate ways.

See, in Maude's hometown, magic isn't really seen as such a good thing. The government has strict control over what's allowed to be done and what isn't. But when Odette goes missing years later, Maude wonders if she should make her way back to Sicklehurst, a place they visited in their childhood, but can't quite seem to remember whenever they aren't there. Will Maude find and save Odette?

I think this novel was a fun ride! I would have preferred if this took place in more of a past or future setting, as it took some of the magic away by having it take place in present day. I really like Maude as a character and loved learning about her storytelling capabilities and how they came to life and she had to live through them! I honestly could not stand Odette though, she really did not deserve a friend like Maude. I like how this story talks about sexuality and the questioning that comes along with it.

I will definitely be picking up a copy of this and hope to see more from the author in the future!

I really loved this book!! I cannot wait to read more by this author. Definitely a must read book for any fantasy lover.

Actual Rating: 3.5⭐

This is a unique combination of magic and science, the world building is compelling and fascinating. It felt magical with the fairy tale vibes but with a darker side like the danger and the eerie atmosphere which can be felt around the abandoned building.

I have to say it took me a while to understand the magic system but it’ll get easier once the plot progresses.
I really like the last half part of the book with the battle and the last scene of Maude connecting with nature itself and set everything right.

I have a hard time connecting with the characters.
It took me a while to warm up to Maude but I’m glad she’s making good decisions at the end and I can see she’s trying to heal and be the girl she wanted to be.

Overall, it’s a pretty good story – the plot itself is unique and magical, it also has a great writing style which describe the world building vividly.
If you’re looking for a magical fantasy young adult with witches and creepy atmosphere, you can give this book a try.

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: graphic descriptions of gore, violence, death

I think this book overall had some great qualities and some that took away from it for me. The creepy, lush, dark, magical tone to it that the cover and blurb suggest were definitely there. It felt like a haunted fairy tale, and that alone earns bonus points for me. However, I felt that the story dragged on a bit and some portions felt a bit repetitive, where it did take me a while to push through reading at some points. I do think that this is going to be a bit of a polarizing book, where people will either love it or hate it. I definitely fall closer into the love it category, and recommend giving it a try, especially if creepy fairy tale is your preferred setting.

This was a beautifully written modern dark fairy tale. The atmosphere of this story was *chefs kiss*

The parts that I liked, i REALLY liked. The rest of the book felt overly descriptive and repetitive in the slower parts in between which made the story feel much longer. I enjoyed the difference in these well thought out characters and the dark fairytale parts were truly chefs kiss. I had so much fun in the fairytale parts that I was disturbed and on the edge of my seat. I'm excited to see where this series will go after the ending, this could have easily been a standalone so I look forward to checking out what more there will be for Maude.

A beguiling tale of lost innocence, betrayal and redemption. An adventure story that peels away the pretty cover on your fairy tales and exposes the rot underneath. Beautiful feminist exploration of what makes the magic within us and how we can tap into it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

I’m always sad when I have to say I don’t like something, because I only select books I want to love and when the synopsis sounds amazing, but the story let’s it down I’m sad of what could have been , thecharacters weren’t likeable at all and I really wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, the emotional abuse involved alone put me off, not for me

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Rating: 2/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

When I read the synopsis, I thought this would be a great book, I loved the fantasy, with witches, LGBT, and so much more but it was lacking. I thought the magic system was interesting and loved the foreboding feeling that something bad was going to happen. For me it was the pace of the book, it was really slow and all the back and forth from Maude was a child with Odette to her obsession with Odette afterwards. I didn’t mind her wanting to find her best friend/maybe love but it was how it was handled in the book that I did not like.

I know a lot of people thought this was a wonderful book and I hope that others will give it a try, it just wasn’t for me.

Come for the cover, stay for the story.

Thankfully this book lives up to the lush magical world on the cover, kudos to both author and illustrator.

I think this book is a niche cult classic in the making. What do I mean by that? I think this isn't a "mass market" story. This is a book that, when in the hands of the right audience and the right reader, is going to strike them down with intense emotion and really become their new favorite thing. But I do not think this book is for everyone, and honestly that isn't a critique. Stories shouldn't be blandly packaged to be loved by the widest audience possible.

The writing style is intensely vivid and extremely descriptive. I loved it, personally. I love really seeing and sensing what the characters are experiencing. One of my personal annoyances with some books is when everything is so vague that I have no idea where I am or what the characters are seeing. This book is detailed and immersive; it really describes sensations in a beautiful way, lots of interesting metaphors and unique phrasing. It really felt unique to me and utterly refreshing (a GREAT anecdote to some plainer books I've been reading lately).

The writing style pairs with the story in a mutual harmony. The story is about straying from the path, about going deeper and deeper and darker and darker. It's about pursuit even when you should turn back, even when all your senses feel like something is wrong. The writing and descriptions match this theming.

In short: this book is an EXPERIENCE to read, truly a fairytale in the gothic, Grimm, haunting cautionary tale way. While I did feel meh about a couple of the side characters, and some of the teenage dialogue felt anachronistic to the rest of the descriptive tale, I would recommend this for anyone who loves poetic prose, loves dark fairy tales, and loves feral stories that learn to bite the author back.

I really wanted to like this book. It has everything that I love in a teen fantasy book. Witches, different magic, a curse, twisted fairy tales, and a princess who wants to save the day not a prince. Personally, for me though this book feels super flat. The book overall was super slow, and I lost interest more times than I was sucked in. Maude is good at hyper focusing on one thing in most of the book. Which by the end she realizes that the fantasies she has created in her head are half the reason that they are in the situation they currently are. I will say the end message of embracing your wild nature was a reeding quality, but getting there just took so long. Overall, this book didn’t quite live up to my hopes for it, but I am sure there will be many readers it will resonate better with.
Thank you so much to Random House Children and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

I thought that the premise for this story was really good but unfortunately the execution for me was lacking. i thought that the story started off strong and i was really interested in the magic system and the setting. i found the characters to be interesting. I had two real issues which i think kept me from really loving this book. The first was the pacing. This book was slow and it just never seemed to pick back up for me. My second issue was the obsession that Maude had for Odette. It really for some reason just really got under my skin after a while. all in all i think that there are alot of people that will really enjoy this story but it just wasn't for me.

The world-building and descriptions in this book are stunningly vivid. The only issue that I have with it was the repetitive reminder about the power of three. By the 5th chapter, I was already in love with this book. I found The Once and Future Witches to be the closest book I’ve read that I can compare it with. If you like the original style of dark fairy tales then I am fairly positive you’ll love A Hunger of Thorns. In my opinion, the synopsis does not fit this book. Elements of it do, but I’ll be honest, I was unprepared for the darkness, the wanting, the obsession.

There is so much about this book and the characters contained within that I would absolutely gush about but I don’t want to spoil their complexity for anyone that hasn’t read this yet. There is personal growth and realizations, even if they hurt and absolutely suck to admit. The same goes for the realizations – some were done by trying to do the best possible while others were just crushing. I thought that the lore around redheads in this book was interesting and I absolutely loved all of the plants! Even if I had to look up several – I just had to know what they looked like because there was a lot I wasn’t familiar with.

"I cry out for every girl who was told to comb her hair and wash the mud from her face. To keep herself contained. To be ashamed of her voice, her hair, her flesh. To be quiet and good and nice. Girls are not nice. Girls are wild and fierce and powerful, and I will not let anyone take that away. Not ever again."

Lili – if you ever happen to read this, please… PLEASE, never stop writing fantasy. To whoever is reading my review of this book – just buy it, it is beautiful, tragic, tortured, and epic. Whatever comes after this – I am in, one hundred percent. I would like to thank TBR & Beyond Tours for the opportunity to be on the tour for this stunning book, Lili Wilkinson for creating something I will have issues ever forgetting & Delacorte Press for publishing this gem. All opinions are wholeheartedly my own.

A modern fairytale with new magic rules.

Lots of adventure and good characters to enjoy in this fantasy.

The magic world wasn’t well described but I kind of picked it up along the way. Without focusing too much on that though, this was a pretty enjoyable read.

Do you ever pick up a book thinking it’s going to be amazing and then realize part way through that the book is good, but not as amazing as you’d thought it would be? That’s kind of what I got with A Hunger of Thorns. Let me explain…

When I first started looking at A Hunger of Thorns, I was pulled in by the description and by the cover. The cover is absolutely gorgeous. I also love the title. But when I started reading the book it just wasn’t quite the book I thought it was going to be.

For one, I don’t like Odette – at all. She just makes me think of an absolutely spoiled brat who has to have her way no matter what. She wants magic and she’s going to get it no matter what. Just not my type of character.

Maude… well, my relationship with her as a character is complicated. I like her, but I also don’t like her. She mentions the loss of her magic quite often. I get that she’s a witch without magic, but I sometimes felt like she mentioned it too often.

I like the world in this book and would like to see more of the world itself. Perhaps with different characters. Although, after reading the ending, I would like to see these characters all grown up. After all, they are teenagers in the book.

The story and plot are great. I just had trouble reading the book and staying with it. I’m wondering if it is a matter of right book, wrong time, because normally if I’m having trouble staying with a book, it is because I don’t like the content of the book. But that wasn’t the case here.

I gave the book 3.5 stars because like I said, the book is good, it just wasn’t my cup of tea – at least right now. Perhaps later I will revisit the book and it will be more to my liking.

I received this book for free as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so interesting on its take of magic in more modern days. Glamour patches, witches regulated to only being able to make simple potions, big companies taking people magic from them essentially.

I really enjoyed how even though Maude and her childhood best friend were no longer friends, she still goes out of her way to be her hero and save her! The creation of the world in even just the old power plant and how the magic can trick you were absolutely amazing! I loved the character building and how Maude grew over this book! The ending way so amazing I absolutely loved it and would recommend this book to anyone wanting a more modern change to magic worlds!

It is always unfortunate when the synopsis of the book sounds wonderful but the book itself doesn't do it justice. The magic world part was interesting but the characters were toxic ( would not want any young person reading this thinking that this is how friends are suppose to be) and I just didn't want to read anymore so I DNF'ed this one.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not all stories can be fairy tales. Maude has the fortune of growing up in a family with magic. Her childhood friend Odette has not and thirsts for the knowledge Maude has. But magic has broken Maude’s family. The government and schools discourage it and say it must be regulated. They struggle to balance what is safe and not. However, Odette’s passion to know magical secrets and Maude’s willingness to please her friend leads to a fairy tale nightmare. Odette has disappeared, can Maude swoop in and right this story?

This novel had a lot of depth and layers to the role of magic and how it affects our protagonist Maude. This was interesting but confusing at times because the novel is truly about coming of age and finding your true self in the world. The puzzling magic would distract from the growth of story. I enjoyed seeing Maude reflect on her role in her family, school, with friends and even in society as she decides what path to take and assesses who she needs please when making these decisions. I think everyone goes through this processes in their teens and it is very relatable. The fairy tale theme of the novel was a entertaining mode of delivery. 3 stars.

Review based on a digital Advanced Readers Copy provided by Random House Children’s and NetGalley. Thank you!

This is a very interesting story. It relies a bit too heavily on exposition dumps from the characters, but the tension and sense of dark fairy tales come to life help revive it. The magical world and how things work is outside the norm, but in a good way. It needs a healthy dose of "it's just a story, try to relax" around some of the internal logic. If you can do that, you'll have an enjoyable read.