I have mixed emotions for The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass. I love the premise, love the representation, and that cover is just beautiful. But the plot was a bit underdeveloped, in my opinion. It felt a bit rushed. I wouldn't have minded a longer book just to really flesh out the characters and plot. The things I enjoyed about the book I did REALLY enjoy, so I would try another from the author. I can't give half stars but I would give 2.5 if I could.

This book is very hmmm lyrical. Half of it is set on earth but because the PoV character comes from a world of magic and dreams, even earth itself doesn't feel quite real. I dig it.

Eli is a made thing, created to serve the witches as a killer. One of her mission goes slightly askew, and suddenly the fate of both worlds is in her hands. Typical YA fare, one might say. What makes this book stand out is 1) having an NB character as a love interest and 2) the prose. As I said, Eli comes from a world where words have power and faith is as strong as a blade, so everything is just a little...strange.

The worldbuilding, although it took me a bit to really get into it, was interesting and unique. And the plot, while predictable, had enough twists and turns to keep you reading.

I would recommend this for anyone who wants to escape into a novel that's more poetry than prose.

What a fever dream of a book! Reading this was like reading something Maggie Stiefvater and Lewis Carroll had written when they were high.

I'll admit, there were beautiful, fantastical, moments that made me stop and ponder. Adan has a certain ability to make the reader stop and really examine the words they had written. But then the next line came, and that magic and beauty of the moment was lost. I had a really hard time traveling from one moment to the next, trying to understand exactly what Eli, Cam and Tav, were truly after and why.

This was a very character-driven novel with a particular vein for the dark, weird, and creepy things in fantasy. It sure did have its moments, but I found halfway through I just couldn't follow along anymore and was turning pages just to try and figure out where this was going and when it would end.

2/5 stars

The premise was interesting, and the cover art is beautiful, but I struggled to get through this. The plot was confusing at the best of times, and I think needed to be fleshed out a bit more. It lacked clarity. It felt like reading an early draft. The writing style was promising, so I am eager to see what Adan Jerreat-Poole does in the future after they hone their craft a bit.

I feel awful for saying this, but I just couldn't do it. This book is my second ever DNF.

I was so excited for The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass for several reasons: that gorgeous cover, the LGBTQ+ representation, the premise (obviously), the tease of very cool world-building, and although it's completely arbitrary the release date is also my birthday.

The writing style felt like I was reading the diary of a young girl, and although I understand the age bracket this book is aimed for, I also feel like there are many YA novels out there where the writing still engages older audiences. Maybe the author didn't want that though, maybe they're strictly reaching out to that much-younger audience and that's okay.

I love the idea of this book and what I believe the author was trying to do with it. I just think it might be a good idea for this one to go back for another draft.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm have really mixed feelings about The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass. In some ways I loved it in others in was disappointed.

I liked the Characters but there was so much going on it was hard to keep up with all the different stories and reasons. I loved that it was centred around so many LGBT characters and I enjoyed reading different pronouns etc for my first time in YA literature. The worlds fascinated me as did the idea of a created assassin, a tool of the witches to go after ghosts but not the type of ghosts that I have come across in so many other stories. It was all very intriguing.

My only problem was that I didn't get the buzz from reading this book that made me want to rush through it and find out what happened. I actually put it down and forgot about it for a week. Although I did slip straight back into it when I picked it up again.

After seeing the beautiful cover and reading the intriguing plot, I had very high hopes for this one. Witches and assassins vs humans and ghosts?! I mean, count me in. However, this story never managed to get me invested in it, mainly because the storyline was a bit confusing to me.
Every character had their own quest and together they embarked on one big quest without really knowing what their endgame was going to be. They also didn’t seem to have a lot of motives to actually do the things that they are doing in this book. On top of that, the reader is presented with quite a few flashbacks, but to me it wasn’t always clear what was the present and what was in the past.

I did like the diversity of the characters (both human and non-human). I also enjoyed the two worlds (The City of Eyes and the City of Ghosts) and all the different, magical places that our main characters get to visit. The magic in this book was also great, however it wasn’t explained all that much because magic didn’t seem to be the main focus.

Finally, this book contains a massive instalove and I’m just not here for it. The fact that Tav is always described as being awesome, mysterious, captivating an beautiful just didn’t do anything for the story. And the word “boi” was used a couple of times for no apparent reason and with no explanation whatsoever, which just added to my confusing.

So, I really hoped I would like this a lot more, but this one was just not for me.

Huge shout out to this book for having great LGBTQ representation! Non-binary, gay, and queer main characters really added to the story and made me personally happy.
The plot has a lot of potential and I like the idea of it. A girl made out of objects and brought to life by a witch's magic to be an assassin is a cool concept. I felt like the story stayed on the surface and things went by so quickly. I would love to see this dive deeper into the City of Eyes, the Coven, and the Children. Get more world building and some deeper emotions.
Cam is my favorite character, he's funny and sweet and isn't deterred by a scary assassin girl lol. Tav was a great non binary lead and I'd love to know more about them. Of course Eli is badass and the most complex character in the story. She's been through a lot and is capable of more than she knows.

I was surprised at the ending. I guess it's a cliffhanger but the stakes feel low. There wasn't a lot of buildup, so I'm not sure how the next book will play out. Hopefully we'll explore everything a bit deeper and develop Cam and Tav more. I did enjoy this and it reads really quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn for the advanced copy. These opinions are honest and completely my own.

I really did try with this book. The cover and the synopsis were amazing and I was very excited when I got the arc for reviewing.
I like the concept of the book and the plot definitely had potential. I felt that the main character fell a little flat and even annoying sometimes. The idea that she is a tool to the witch and does not comprehend humans and the human world was something that had a lot of potential.
If the characters could be modified to connect more with the readers, the book would be so much better.

*Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Although the premise was excellent, the story fell short. Many of the points didn’t connect well or at all, and plot twists lingered and fizzled out instead of being built up. The writing didn’t flow, and the characters fell flat.

I really enjoyed this book!

Holy moly.. This is not a gene I normally grab, but I am very glad I did! I thought the main character was a complete bada$$!!!! Very refreshing to see a girl kicking butt and taking names, and not being a wimp and depending on someone else to take care of stuff for her.

Loved it! The characters and the writing!!

I was really excited by the premise of this book and liked the unique idea of Eli's life being created and her magical knife belt, but that is were the excitement ended for me. I struggled to connect with any of the characters and found myself skimming through the book waiting for something to happen or draw in my interest. The writing style didn't flow for me and it jumped from ideas without enough development. I do love the cover, which is what drew me into the book in the first place.

On the struggle bus with this one.

I feel like this reading this book was like eating a half baked cake. The ingredients are there but the author did not stir the batter long enough and lumpy bits were left throughout. I liked the premise of the two worlds but time was not taken in the development of the City of Eyes World. At times I was left thoroughly confused. Additionally, characters seemed to appear one minute and are gone the next. Overall, I felt like some more ironing out was needed.

DNF at 20%

I couldn't get myself to read any further as nothing about this book kept my attention.

When I first noticed the cover of 'The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass', I was immediately captured by its beauty! I think the cover is not only appealing and right to the point for its genre, but also captures a bit of mystery that makes me wonder what the story will bring me. The premise of the book sounds amazing and I was ready to begin in this witchy assassin book!

For me, the story unfortunately did not enchant me as much as I hoped it would. The characters felt a little flat, because I thought there was a bit of a lack of personality development throughout the book. I couldn't really connect with them, even though I really wanted to. And it wasn't like the characters were the only ones not sure which way to aim for, because in my opinion, the plot itself had also a little trouble telling the story in an understandable way. It did get confusing at several points and I wasn't really committed to the story anymore at one point. I feel like the world building could've been so much stronger, due to what the premise would suggest, but the execution was done a bit dissapointing, unfortunately. After (finally) finishing the book I didn't exactly know what I had read or how to feel about it, but it did not feel satisfying at all to be honest...
I did really like the LGBT+ theme and that really earned a star for me, because it also had non-binary characters and I wasn't familiar with those at all. So that gave a really refreshing feeling on the over-all reading experience. I did like Eli, but the other characters were a little meh to me.
The other star is definitely for the mystery in the book. The ending makes me wonder whether or not I still want to know what happens in the second book. And, the concept of the book is fine, but the story needs editing to really emerge as good as it could be.
So, 2 stars for me.

I still want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of the Girl of Hawthorn and Glass.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I will be posting my review on Amazon, Goodreads, Instagram, and B&N.

trigger warning
<spoiler> racism, homophobia, deadnaming, transphobia, manipulating mother </spoiler>

Eli is an assassin, sent to the human world to eliminate a special kind of target - ghosts.
This is why she is puzzled as her current victim dies a very human death, something she never wanted, never was prepared for.

The title refers to Eli's making. She is not human nor witch, but something else entirely, containing both hawthorn and glass. She is stronger than any human, but has to follow certain rules, especially when it comes to her "mother", the manipulating witch who made her.

A main character is Tav. It's not clear, which label Tav prefers, but they use singular they pronouns without anyone making a big deal out of it, and not ignoring how hard it is to be shut out from the non-queer community.

While the first part of this novel felt perfectly paced, the second part felt rushed up to a point at which a scene confused me. Another surprise was the open ending, which left me wondering if this is done on purpose, if this is a standalone or a series.

The execution of this might not have been perfect, but every they made my heart sing.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited for this book, I wanted to like it, I gave it so many chances. But this book, in my opinion, is not even close to be ready to be published. This reads like a first draft. I like the overall concept, which is why I gave it two stars, but everything else needs work. The plot is confusing, not completely thought out, lacks any kind of direction. Even after finishing this book, I don't know what actually happened. I couldn’t explain the storyline at all.
I really appreciated the non-binary characters (overall good LBGTQ+ representation), but none of the characters seemed complete. I couldn’t connect or relate to any of them and they lacked character building. No one seemed to have their own personality.
Overall, I didn't like this one at all. I feel like this book is far from being ready to publish, regardless that I read this as an ARC. With some editing, I think this book could be good.

Thank you to Dundurn and NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I should also note that I have a personal connection with the author.

I really enjoyed The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass and flew through it in less than 24 hours. (I even read it standing on the subway!) I found Jerreat-Poole’s writing unique in the way they captivated my senses with their use of rich smells, colours and elemental ‘ingredients’ like the hawthorn and glass, obsidian and granite.

I found some of the settings really intriguing - the junkyard, the labyrinth and especially the Children’s Lair. Clytemnestra (my favourite character) reminded me of a creepy twin from The Shining or one of the kids from Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

I’ve never read a book with a non-binary character before, so this was an exciting first for me. I feel like a lot of YA authors in particular are invested in and committed to writing diverse characters. I love that because I think it’s important for readers, particularly young people, to see themselves in the stories they’re consuming.

I’m looking forward to getting my physical copy of this book in the mail and can’t wait to read the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have given up on two books in my entire life. Unfortunately "The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass" makes three. I made it 30% into the book and I am completely lost. I don't know what is going on and I don't care about any of the characters. First some good things. The story features binary characters in a real and positive way. I love this. Also the cover is simply beautiful and the general plot synopsis sounds like the book should be fantastic.. However I was completely confused by the plot. Sometimes I didn't know if something was currently happening, happened in the past or maybe was dreamlike imagery that didn't happen at all. Because of this I didn't connect with plot I couldn't connect with the characters. I think this book is going to be split amount ardent fans and readers like me who are just left confused and underwhelmed.