Teenage assassins, witches, magic, ghosts, and a full cast of incredibly diverse characters? What doesn’t this book have? When I first heard about The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole, I immediately signed in to NetGalley to request an ARC, and I’m so happy I did.

This book follows Eli, who was created by her witch “mother” and raised to be an assassin. She travels between the City of Eyes (the world of the witches) and the City of Ghosts (better known as the human world) carrying out jobs for the coven. And yes, by jobs I mean assassinations. However, she usually kills ghosts . . . that is, until something strange happens on a job and she ends up killing a human.

It’s at this point that Eli begins to question everything. She’s angry, and doesn’t exactly trust the coven anymore. Soon, she finds herself caught up with two humans, Tav and Cam, who are somehow aware of the City of Eyes, and need to break in and steal from the coven in order to save the human world. Will Eli betray the world she grew up in, or use her knowledge and power to help others? You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out!

I really enjoyed the world building in this story. I’m always a little wary about debut fantasy titles, but I found this one to be very enjoyable. Yes, some details were a bit confusing, but since there is a second book coming out I assume more will be explained there. I felt the same way reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo earlier this year (which is not a debut, but I was confused and annoyed about some plot details until I learned there would be a sequel).

The writing was incredibly descriptive, which I love seeing in fantasy books. I could picture Eli’s character so perfectly, with her crocodile eyes and lizard tongue, and all of her beautiful blades designed to kill before anyone even notices her presence.

However, for me, the best part of the book was the diverse cast of LGBTQ+ characters. In The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass we see main characters who are queer and non-binary, and it was so refreshing. I know there are more and more books being published with diverse representation, but I still get so excited every time I see it. I hope this book is able to get into the hands of young readers who want to see themselves in the stories they read.

Thank you to the publisher, Dundurn, for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass comes out in Canada on May 16, 2020, and can be pre-ordered or purchased wherever books are sold.

I have such complicated feelings toward this book.
I love the increase in fantasy stories full of queer characters. Having a found family story where all three main characters are queer was a delight. I also appreciated the complicated metaphor about trauma and healing. The writing was at times lovely and lyrical.
Unfortunately, the problems outweighed the good on this one for me. The biggest problem being that the first few chapters write a check the body of the book doesn’t cash. It promises an interesting story about queer roller derbies, magical coffee shops and ghost hunting, but it delivers a magical other world story that just does not land the way the original chapters do. I would love to read the book this promised to be. The magic is chaos idea was interesting, but doesn’t quite do for an explanation of why nothing made sense ever. I also felt generally that sometimes the prettiness of the writing was overbearing on the story, making it hard to follow. Everything felt ungrounded.
I think this author has promise and I would check back in with their future works, but I can’t recommend this one.

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass is about Eli, a made thing who works for the witches to assassinate ghosts in the City of Ghosts. After a mission goes wrong, she is sent back to the City of Ghosts with nothing more than a name and feeling as if she has no idea what is going on or how to do her job anymore.

This is one of the few books I've read that has had a non-binary character that hasn't come off super awkward and difficult to read (the best is still, hands down, the Murderbot Diaries), but that is honestly what this book does best. This should have been a story that was really plot driven, but it was character driven with the only character really fleshed out fully being the main character.

If it was plot driven, the characters would have just worked better. Most of the time, it really felt like there was no sense of urgency, even in the last couple of chapters.

The prose were beautiful, but they weren't attention grabbing. They didn't suck me into the story after we were back in the human world the first time and first met Tav.

If you are looking for a novel that does a great job with non binary characters, this novel does that very well. If you are looking for a novel that is very prose style, this could be a great novel for you. If you enjoy fairy tale style stories, this could be a decent option.

It isn't a novel I would read again, and it was difficult to get through. I really wanted more information about the City of Eyes, and in a lot of ways it read more fairy tale in that it didn't give you a whole lot of information. And, I wanted the rest of the novel to be as engaging as the first chapter.

I did receive a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Such an interesting world set-up here – we’ve got the City of Eyes, aka where the witches live, and the City of Ghosts, aka Earth. The MC is an assassin who was literally made (from plants and trees and odds and ends) to kill ghosts for the witches so she frequently travels between the two worlds.

I really liked all these odd characters too – this made girl who doesn’t fully understand who or what she is, the human friends she makes and are totally onboard for these witchy adventures, the deadly “children” who live in the witch world. So many creepy and cool creatures that live in each of these worlds and the author uses all the sense to describe them, like the girl who smells like the sea.

It’s also got great rep with a non-binary character (#ownvoices) and queer romance. There’s a bit of a love triangle (more like an ex and new love kind of situation) that’s handled really beautifully as the MC tries to come to terms with her feelings about these relationships, without her sexuality ever needing to be specifically addressed.

There were some things in the plot that I felt were described too vaguely. It felt at times that there was some missing description though all the characters suddenly understood some plot point. On the other hand, there was a lot of gory description that I could’ve done without – especially descriptions of fingernails ripping off for some reason?

It’s got a sequel coming, which I was not expecting but I’m very excited for! This book still felt like a fleshed-out story on its own but there’s still lots waiting to be resolved in the coming adventures.

I want to thank NetGalley, Dundurn, and author Adan Jerreat-Poole for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

As a practicing Wiccan, I love anything witchy! This was such a fun read. Eli, our main character, is made a witch to become an assassin and kill ghosts in the human world. The many fantastical elements in this story made it feel like you were within a deep and beautiful dream the whole time you were reading. I had been hearing so much about this novel in the bookish world, and I am so glad I got the chance to experience it. This was magical, witty, and a breath of fresh air during my reading routine.

Thank you again to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

A girl is made by a witch to become an assassin and kill ghosts in our world. But there's a bigger picture and the rabbit hole is pretty deep.

What I love about sci-fi and fantasy is the many forms it takes. This is mainly the story of Eli, a girl, an assassin and perhaps a savior. Told in rich detail in a prose like quality, The Girl of Hawthorne and Glass caught me up from the beginning. Mixing the human world and one ruled by witches, the tale spins and spins, catching this reader in its enchantment.

This was like being in a fantastical dream! A debut that has so many wonderful elements. I especially loved how inclusive it was, both gender wise as well as racially. The witch world made things so much more interesting as the witches took on many fantastic shapes. We follow an assassin made of hawthorn and glass that is sent by the coven to kill ghosts upon earth and do the covens bidding. After accidentally being roped into a plot, Eli our assassin, slowly makes friends and uncovers more than she bargained on.
I was very excited to read this as it sounded amazing and the author lives in my hometown. This book was a breath of fresh air. It sucked me in and I never wanted to come out. The imagery was rich and intense, the story was meandering and full of twists and turns, and I loved every minute of it. As Eli discovered things she grew into herself and became more than just the sum of her parts. I’m looking forward to more from this author and want to see what they do with Eli and her friends.

Eli is a girl, but also definitely not a girl. She is a made-thing, an assassin, a witch's tool. She can travel between the City of Eyes, where the witches reside, and the City of Ghosts, where the humans live, because she is of both worlds. And yet, there is change afoot.

This was a ride and a half. I want to make a special point of talking about the magic and the sheer imagination that went into this story - I loved so much of it, and a lot of elements that were added along the way just made me gasp in sheer delight at the wonderfulness of it all. And also the darkness of it, too. This is definitely my kind of book. The labyrinth in particular is actually something I'd love to know more about, but, to be honest, I feel like this author might be able to make an amazing world out of whatever they write.

Eli is definitely an interesting character to follow - she is so conflicted at times, and curses this as her 'human side', and at other times she curses herself for being a monster. The other characters, Kite, Tav, and Cam specifically, were all fantastic, flawed, real. At least, they felt that way to me. And the representation and diversity was fantastic. (Speaking as someone who identifies as non-binary, I appreciated the little bit of backstory we got for the enbie character, but also that it didn't devolve into a sort of 'torture porn' level of pain. There was more focus on the character stepping forward into who they were, and just being that person. I loved that.)

I have read that other people felt like nothing really happened in this book, and I am not really sure where that is coming from, however - I know that I like slower books sometimes, and I also love this quality that Jerreat-Poole has created throughout the whole book: dreamlike, magical, sort of flowy. One section will sometimes flow into a memory, and then back to 'current time'. Having said that, the last 25% or so was basically all action and I loved it all.

Very interested to see what Adan Jerreat-Poole does next! Someone to watch, methinks.


8/10 thorn, glass, and pearl stars.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

I was really interested in this book based off of the summary and the cover is absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately I could not get into the story. It wasn't entertaining to me and I had a hard time connecting to it. I DNFed this book at about 25%.

As a witch-made teenage assassin Eli was born to hunt down and dispose of the ghosts that plague the human plane. She armed only with her wits, seven enchanted blades and a glamour of a normal human teenager. Her recent mission has unintended and surprising consequences causing Eli to begin questioning the rhetoric she'd consumed about both worlds from her oppressive witch-mother and the Coven itself.

With the possibility of being unmade looming over her for her transgression, Eli lets her guard down enough to get swept up in a group of renegades - one that includes human and witch members. The leverage the hold against her forces her to agree to the ambitious and deadly task of retrieving the Heart of the Coven. Armed with her seven blades; Eli along with two human rebels and a girl as bottomless as the ocean will attempt the impossible. Possibly with a side effect of freeing Eli of the constant threat of becoming unmade.

The beginning of the story throws you to the wolves without much world building or explanation so it's a little confusing to follow along with the events and characters. The lack of world building where it would be beneficial continues throughout the book with a little more explanation towards the end but in my opinion still not enough. I really wish more time was spent on the City of Eyes, the background of the witches (which we could see more of in The Boi of Feather and Steel). Eli getting roped in with Cam and Tav felt exceedingly rushed and not as well thought out as explained by another character in the book. I could actually go for a prequel to this book - one that explains the background, possibly Circinae or in third person.

Eli referring to Tav as "they" threw me, I thought I'd missed another character and had to go back. It feels out of place for Eli to make an uninformed decision like that regarding Tav after they literally just happen to meet - it feels like to personal of an assumption. The book I read prior to this one also had a character that preferred the use of they/them and it was entirely more successful for one reason - the characters had previous interaction and knew each other prior to them appearing in the book. It made the use of the preferred pronoun more fluid and believable than using it for two characters that just met.

I was interested in Eli's character and development who is the namesake of The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass but I could take or leave Cam and Tav didn't really hold my interest until halfway through. The histories of Cam and Tav are hinted at but not explored which makes them feel a little flat - we know a good portion of Eli's past through current events and flash backs but not much for the others. The character that was more interesting to me than Cam and Tav was mercurial Kite and even though she wasn't a main character - the ever frustrating and mildly terrifying Clytemnestra.

Other than the possibility of getting hung up on the LGBTQ aspect of this book it is fairly PG for everything including the violence. I did enjoy this book even though it felt like it suffered from lack of world building, events and plot being a little choppy but I do believe that it has the potential to become a great series. I would read the second installment in this series to satisfy my curiosity of where this story could lead. I really do like the concept and the world that Adan Jerreat-Poole has built and I hope it obtains the potential that I think it has. I would consider recommending this book to readers who enjoy LGBTQ characters, witches, and low fantasy. I would like to thank to Dundurn Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this interesting YA debut.

There were so many great aspects of this book, the complex and vivid magical system, and the sharp and witty MC assassin, and the storyline was there.
However there were certain aspects that also made me cringe a little. At certain points I cant tell who is talking to who, the timeline can be utterly confusing at times as well. But altogether it wasn't a horrible read, I was really taken back by the mc and the magic.

I had the same issue with this one as I did The Hazel Wood. The covers are gorgeous, the plots have such promise but where Seann Macguire succeeds these books fall a bit flat. There are bits and pieces that I love and with some serious editing and character revisions it could be a great book; but there is something missing between plot and character development that leaves me not able to connect with the novel and feel like I just read something that I need to hand to every person I meet. I really wanted this book to be that.

DNF at 61%
I had such high hopes for this book. The simply yet beautiful cover drew me in and the blurb promised an amazing story, but once I started reading I felt very underwhelmed. I just couldn’t connect to Eli, the main character and I just didn’t really care about her or what happened to her.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this book, I just think this wasn’t my cup of tea. The writing is absolutely fine and draws you in without trouble, it was the characters that just let me down a little. If I can’t connect to a character when I’m reading a book, I often don’t like the book and end up DNF-ing the book. That’s exactly what happened here.
Having said that, this book has really great LGBTQ+ representation, with a bisexual character, a gay character and a non-binary character that to on a mission together.

It’s a shame, but it wasn’t for me.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be utterly enchanting and hypnotic. Eli has said fascinating character in that she spends much of the book like the reader not entirely sure what's going on.
Eli's experiences are defined by her knowledge which honestly isn't much.

I really enjoyed her relationship with Tav and Cam and the mystery of the House Witch.

It's a beautifully written book and I can't wait to spend more time in this world!

This initially sounded like something I would really enjoy (I mean, look at that cover), and it ended up being, well, not. Everything fell flat to me.

The characters were almost interesting. The representation was great and I think I did enjoy Cam, but other than that, they just weren't developed enough for me. I had trouble connecting with Eli, the main character.

The plot was also weak. I didn't follow it super well and everything felt super rushed. I didn't have a good grip on the main character's backstory or her present. She was also built-up to be this amazing assassin, but we only see that in the very beginning. Plus, the whole plot involving her taking Tav and Cam to the coven didn't. make much sense to me and neither did most of the things that happened after that.

The world-building was hard to have a firm grasp of, too. Even in a fantasy world, I like to have details that make it feel real and believable and I didn't really get that here. The magic involved seemed really interesting, but I still didn't get enough of it to really enjoy it,

Overall, I like the concept, but the book as a whole doesn't feel complete.

This is an interesting story. I like the overall story but I would have absolutely loved it a few years ago. Eli was a fun character to learn about, too. Something just was off about the story. Maybe not enough worldbuilding? Dunno. It was a good read though.

Thanks to NetGalley and Metamorphosis Books for the ARC of this book!

This was an interesting read, it was cool to see such diversity in characters. I enjoyed some of the flashbacks a lot because I thought they were really mystical and fit the theme of being remembered through the eyes of a child.

The thing that was missing from this book was a lot more clarity about characters and their motivations, I found myself getting lost quite often about what it was the characters wanted. As well the world building and magic system were quite confusing. I know they weren't supposed to be totally clear because it's a mysterious magic system, but I came away having no clear picture in my head of what the world looks like. As well I know it was discussed what the goal of Cam and Tav going to the City of Eyes was but I still found it confusing and unclear.

This is the authors first book so I would be willing to check out future works because I think they are very creative but this wasn't quite the book for me.

First, the cover of The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass caught my eyes. Then I read the synopsis which sounded intriguing and I became really excited about a story with an assassin who was made by witches to go into the human world and kill ghosts. I liked this concept and the scene in a café at the beginning, but otherwise, this book has been a struggle.

The world-building was a mess. I was confused and felt like the author is quickly jumping from one thing to another. It didn´t make sense and I would call it very bizarre, too weird… like in some psychedelic dream.

I also did not connect with Eli or any of the other characters or their relationships. They needed a little bit more depth. I did not completely understand why Eli joined the group of renegades in the first place. She joins unknown people to betray her Coven without asking questions. I just could not see where this change came from. I felt like there was something missing. It lacked depth.

I wanted to stop reading at 30%. The plot was confusing, not completely thought out. I wasn't really sure what was happening and did not care about the character or what is going to happen to them. I really wanted to just give up and be done with it but decided to keep giving it a chance so I´ve read another 30% of the book until I decided to give up.

I wanted to like this, but unfortunately, I did not enjoy it and found it difficult to get through. There wasn´t anything to make me want to come back to the story and read. I had zero feelings about the characters and I was not invested in the plot. It just wasn´t a book for me.

DNF at 60%

An electronic ARC of this book was provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley, for the review opportunity.

I’m not sure what I felt about this book. I was like the author had all the pieces there but it didn’t sit right. Firstly, I didn’t fully enjoy the writing style, I felt the story was overly complicated without adding further ‘like’ prepositions. Whilst it’s usually a great way of describing a scene or situation, when you’re already struggling with the complexity of the setting, adding many additional ‘they fell like snow’ or ‘dark clothing that burned like an eclipse against white stone’ just don’t work. More often than not, I couldn’t distinguish what the author was trying to describe and what was actually a magical addition.

The characters were individually interesting but lacked the emotion or connection to really feel for them, a bit more backstory would have really helped this. I really wanted to like our teenage assassin Eli, physically created out of random objects to do the bidding of a witch, but she fell flat for me which completely changed the atmosphere of the story. Cam and Tav were unusual side characters who could have used more passion and purpose for their mission to suddenly leave earth to go on a quest they didn’t know much about. The overall journey had no feeling, even with the small spark between Eli and Tav.

The setting was messy, you knew the author was trying to create an extraordinary world with magical ties that allow you to find your way through the maze that is the City of Eyes, but it was all over the place. I wasn’t sure where the characters were half the time or how they got there. It’s a shame because there was so much potential for this mystical world, I would have loved to explore it some more in a simplified sense to try and envision it clearly. The various time changes really didn’t help, I felt they were completely unnecessary.

‘Threads of magic criss-crossed one another in the hallway, strings of pure light that stretched between every single body and object and made-thing. Animate and inanimate, living and dead. The network of power that made up the world. Eli tried to sort through the kaleidoscope of colours and shapes that was a world made entirely of magic.’

The storyline was overall interesting but didn’t have the right emotions from the character to really pull it off, a group of beings in the human world wanting to steal the magic from the City of Eyes without really knowing how or why or what will become of it, or even the consequences of it if they actually succeeded. Were they human or were they something else since one could see ghosts? Humans weren’t allowed to go into the City of Eyes but they made it look easy. The author forced Eli, Tav and Cam to travel through the junkyard where they ended up (for some reason) which could have easily been avoided, this whole part of the journey was unnecessary and just put a more confusing spin on the supernatural world. I would have preferred to focus more on the actual city rather than the wastelands.

One thing that continuously frustrated me was an explanation as to why Eli was locked out of her home world and where was her awesome assassin abilities that everyone was vouching for? Because honestly, I didn’t see it. Just her touching her blades over and over again isn’t enough to call your main protagonist an assassin. Let alone the best assassin. Every attempt she made of, well, doing anything, just ended with her failing and humans saving her.
Anyway… I’m sorry to say, the book really wasn’t for me. It needed further development, backstory and purpose. The characters all knew they wanted to steal from the City of Eyes but they didn’t really know why until the end which was weird.