Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I've made it clear by now that I love fairy tales, and any time I see someone doing something new or different with them is exciting. So I was really excited to get into this one where the story is around a girl who poisons by touch. It started off about as I expected but went off in some strange directions. The conclusion felt right for the journey the girl went on, and reading that parts of this are based on Persian stories is really cool.

I usually get my critiques out of the way first. I think the one that really stood out for me was how repetitive it felt at times. I guess you could see that the main character just wasn't learning her lesson when she constantly got in the same messes over and over, but it did make me wish she went about situations a bit smarter or tried planning differently. I understand she was desperate for any kind of companionship and acknowledgment, but when she's thinking for the third time "how could I have gotten into this again", that's when you wish she would actually learn from her mistakes.

There's a lot of talk about choice and trust in this book. Again, I feel like the main character justified her actions with "I don't have a choice" a little too often, even after characters point out that she did have a choice, or she realizes that she had chosen a certain path because of certain reasons-- not because there were no other options. I feel like sometimes she just got lucky that someone else stepped in before she could follow through on her choices. You could say that part of the fairy tale/folk tale aspect is how characters make dumb choices or trust too easily or don't seem to learn, but I guess because this is a longer story she had more time to develop, grow and learn, and to me that means less of an excuse for acting this way.

With all that said, I did like how there were so many morally gray/questionable things that the main character did throughout the book. I like how she wasn't perfect or always nice, that she did have a violent and mean streak to her and she did lash out at people. There was one part of the story that for a long time didn't seem to have a reason and didn't really add up with the poison part, but in the end that made sense. There's a lot about two different viewpoints concerning a story or events, and I think that's pretty cool. There wasn't a lot that was definitively "right" or "wrong". Even things that do have clear morals to us feel like there's some wiggle room based on how this girl was raised and how she sees the world. It's pretty cool.

I also liked how the main villain did not leave the hero alone. A few times during the story she tried to trick him by saying things or acting a certain way, and the villain never hesitated in making her follow through on whatever she's saying. I feel like that's not done a lot in stories. Granted, the villain was a little eyeroll-worthy at times, and his identity was glaringly obvious to me, but he and the main character had a good connection and it was clear they understood each other and could relate with each other, which is cool and makes the struggle between them a lot more interesting.

This is different from most fairy tales and folk tales, and I really enjoyed it. There were things about it that remind me of something else that I can't say for spoiler reasons, but it's still unique enough that it's worth a read. Especially if you want the perspective of someone who isn't the typical hero.

This book had me totally enthralled from the first line to the last. The writing was incredible, and the twists had so many layers that it continued to be exciting. The characters were so real, and the emotions they provoked made me question myself and my initial reactions. The author does a great job of making you love all of her characters, despite their flaws. The romance was not overwhelming - it was well written and fresh.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a story about stories themselves. It's about seeking full truths before jumping to conclusions, learning to accept yourself, and how to be brave. This is a story that will appeal to a wide audience.

I am in awe of this book - I can't wait to read Melissa Bashardoust's other work. Thank you, NetGalley and Flatiron Books, for letting me read this early! This will be a book I recommend to everyone.

I had no preconceived ideas about this book and it still took me by surprise! Heartbreak, suspense, romance and monsters - the perfect combination!
Summary -
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.

Just when you think you have figured out where the story is going, it takes a twist, which I love. We get to watch Soraya as she makes mistakes and grows and learns to accept who she is. The f/f romance is unexpected but written so well! The characters are far from perfect, which makes this book so much more interesting as we watch them struggle. Loved this book!

J. R. R. Tolkien once said, “Not all those who wander are lost”. Well, Soraya certainly did a lot of wandering in this novel and eventually, along the way, found herself. This book is 336 pages long, and a lot happened in there. One thing I think the author did a really good job of was fostering an atmosphere of acceptance for the LGBTQIA+ community. The main character was bi, and her prevailing love interest was another woman. That type of romantic attraction was really cool to read about in a YA book. That being said, I didn’t really like any of the characters. Soraya made way to many blatantly obvious mistakes, and she was constantly lying. Her main love interest, Parvaneh, was also slightly manipulative. Then there was Azad, who would endear himself to me, only to perform a cruel, unnecessary act and make me hate him all over again. Soraya’s family ignored her for the most part, so I never really got to know them, either. Thus, in terms of empathetic characters the reader could relate to, this novel came up short.

The plot also seemed to drag along in many parts of the novel. It didn’t help that hours would sometimes pass between one sentence and the next, making it difficult for the character to get a feel for the chronology of plot. Many aspects of the novel were also incredibly unbelievable. During her stay at a particular mountainous fortress, she would routinely slip away and explore. Did nobody discover that her room was emtpy during the hours she would spend wandering the nearby forest or snooping around a particular person’s room? Or how about the fact that when her girlfriend is locked up, nobody is ever standing gaurd outside her cell, watching her. And would Azad really fall for the same lies he had been feeding her just days before? There were just so many incongruities present that really took away from the story overall.

This wasn’t by any means a bad book, and I certainly applaud Melissa Bashardoust for tackling unconventional societal issues. The bi relationship was a nice touch, and I liked how accepting Soraya came to be of herself and her many flaws. While this may not have been a particularly enjoyable book for me, I would still encourage fantasy and LGBTQIA+ readers to give it a try.

This was an excellent read. Right from the get go, it was a riveting story. I loved watching the plot develop. Definitely not a book you want to miss.

This. Book. THIS BOOK. Let me tell you about this beautiful fairytale retelling of a book about a cursed princess named Soraya, hidden away in the palace, the demon shah from her favorite story, and the div trapped in the dungeon who winds up changing her life forever. For starters, this retelling combines fundamental fairytale elements for a lot of stories--Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel--with the Persian book of history and mythology, the Shahnameh. It's everything you could possibly want from a fairy tale, full of rich culture, magic and curses, complicated villains and even more complicated families. It's an adventure from start to finish and constantly kept me on my toes. The prose is lovely, the storytelling engaging, and the characters heartwrenchingly relatable. Fully recommend for all fairy tale lovers out there--especially those looking for something with traces of the fundamental tropes you love but in an entirely new story told in an entirely new way.

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with the advanced copy of this novel for my honest review.

Where do I even begin with this novel? When I first read the description of what it entailed, I was instantly interested in the concept. I was pleased and surprised to find that some things happened as I had expected them to, while I was also absolutely surprised in such delightful ways by the unexpected.

My heart ached and swelled for Soraya in so many ways throughout this tale. I wanted nothing more than to shield her, to protect her - but she did not need such protections.

This book has instantly become a book that I want EVERYONE to read. Not just because the story itself is beautiful, and the writing is absolutely lovely - but for the messages that it presents. That being yourself is important, accepting who you are rather than trying to change yourself is what counts.

The most important message in this, to me, is that you should accept who you are rather than trying to change things. That even if you feel small and that everything you touch withers away that you are worthy. That you are strong, and powerful even if you feel like you're made of poison. That the Princess doesn't need saving - that she can save her friends and her family rather than needing to be rescued. That you're strong on your own, just as much as you are when you have the support of others behind you. Accept your flaws and your thorns, let them give you strength.

Please, do yourself a favor and read this wonderful, beautifully written book.

Other Notes:
While I did have some issues with some of the Persian words, the meanings and feel of everything was conveyed or explained in such a way that I wasn't confused and needing to go to google to figure it out mid-chapter, which I really appreciated. The other nice thing is that there's some notes in the back of the book that talk about the inspirations for the story, the locations, and an explanation of the words and where they come from. There's even some recommended reading if you're interested in the Persian tales that inspired parts of the book, which I also really love (and have totally added to my wishlist on amazon so that I can pick them up in the future).

Now onto things that may be spoilery...

One of the things that I love the most about this book is that no one seems to bat an eyelash at the fact that Soraya appears to be bisexual (or maybe even pan, who knows!). It's not a major point of contention. It just is what it is and no one makes a fuss over it. It's just normal - as it should be. It's not looked at with disgust or even brought to the forefront like it's a spectacle at all. It just... is.
I wish that there were more stories like this, where love was just acceptable no matter who it was that you loved - regardless of their gender - without everyone purposefully drawing attention to it as if it were some sort of spectacle that needed to be pointed out in such obvious ways. It's just part of who she is, and no one minds. The way that the romantic interest is written in the story, it's just... the way things are and I love that it's not poked at in such a way that makes it seem like a cheap ploy to get LGBTQIA+ readers to pick it up because "oh, hey, gay!" - no, readers should pick this up because love is love is love, and that's all that matters. The love isn't the important part, even. It just happens! Perhaps this resonates so much with me because I am an LGBTQIA+ person, and finding a novel that treats this not as a commodity to make money with but just the way life is... it's really refreshing and lovely.

A poisonous girl threatens the people’s lives who dare to touch her (intentionally or accidentally) Poor Soraya suffers from loneliness, is exiled from her inner circle, living in the shadows because poison flows through her veins and she can kill somebody anytime. But a mysterious boy gets interested with her situation and he seems like he is not afraid of her.

You may think what a great pilot, the boy will break the curse, fight with the demons and ride to the sunset singing “take my horse to the Old Town Road, duct taping Billy Ray Cyrus’ mouth not to join him singing! Nope, when you reach half of the book, you just say “oh, I didn’t see it coming, it just moved to the different direction! Actually this book makes you feel like you read more than one books (I think a trilogy is hidden inside of this story and I wish the author told Soraya’s beautiful, emotional, awakening, self-discovery story in more than one book.)

So this fairy tale mixed with Persian culture and magical elements kind of story. A girl does not want to use her curse to gain power and threat people’s lives. She accepts her unfair faith and we catch glimpses from her early life and witness that she had a crush to a girl which is reciprocated. (Yes, we have a bisexual heroine on the board which is a different and unique touch) And yes, Soraya loves to see the roses’ growing because instead of killing or hurting any living thing, she wants to give them live and see them grow.

Second part, we just realize, main love interest of this story is f/f relationship. But as I said from the beginning, this is not romantic fantasy about a girl who needs to love for breaking her curse and having her HEA! When we learn more about both of their skeletons they hid in their closets, we may see they are so flawless, pure, golden-hearted characters. So we have two realistically developed female characters’ uniquely developed story, are ready to atone their sins because they are not the villanelles. They are just humans who made mistakes and wrong choices in their pasts and now they want to correct them.

Overall this book is definitely not only a love story, it’s about a girl’s evolution, learning from her mistakes, choosing what she wants from her life, discovering her own strengths, sensibilities and forming her own path story . World building with Persian cultural elements and magical touch is also one of the best parts I truly enjoyed about the book.

I have to admit longevity of this book made me a little hesitated before I decided to start it. I still wish the story could have told in more than one book because the writing is intriguing, characters are easy to connect, pacing is balanced ( not too fast or slow).If you keen on reading some original, different approach with feminist vibes to the fairy tales, this book is definitely a great choice.
I gave 3.5 stars and of course the author’s hard efforts and lyrical, magical story-telling forced me to round it up to 4 stars.

So much thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for sharing this unconventional, unique ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review.

I absolutely loved this title. I flew through it in one night. The pacing was spot-on and I really enjoyed all of the twists and turns the story took. This world was vivid and exciting. Bardhardoust does a wonderful job of letting the scenery create itself in your mind and gives plenty of detail without bogging the book down with too many flowery descriptions. I thought that aspect was perfectly executed. The main character was very flawed, but that’s part of why I liked her so much. She made a ton of mistakes, but in the end, she learned and grew because of them. That’s real. That is what each and every reader can relate to. She also matured as the book went on and I really enjoyed all of the prophetic moments, plus you know, the fact that she was POISONOUS was freaking awesome! Very different from other titles I have read with a similar plot, and very well done overall!

This book was received as an ARC from Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was excited to read this book solely from reading the description. I have always loved the name Soraya and when she was going through a struggle in hiding in her own "Garden of Eden" like home she has to battle between being a beautiful princess or a monster until one man discovers her and is not afraid of her inequalities and he understands her and the struggles she is going through. This book also reminded me if Beautiful Creatures were in beautiful gardens instead of dark castles with the choice of choosing their beauty side or their dark side. This book had goth elements and romance elements to it that it could be a potential battle of the books contender for our library. I know our book club will spring interest as well.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.