Violet is the kingdoms seer and a liar. She can see threads of people's past and future. She does what she can to survive, even when the prince wants to cast her away when he becomes king, even when her heart is tugged in his direction when it shouldn't be.

I absolutely loved this book, it has a beautiful cover, an interesting main character and a romance I absolutely love to see in a book. I adored all of the characters, loved that there was representation in the book as well.

The tension between Violet and Prince Cyrus is sizzling hot and I loved every scene between them. The author writes tension well. I'm eager to see where else their story takes them, to see if they can defy odds and the fates. What do the fates truly want and are they good or evil or something in between?

The magic the author wove into this book is incredible, not only Violet's magic, which she discovers is a little more than she thought, but the fairies magic as well. I'm sure there is going to be more magic to be found in the next book too! Highly recommend if you love magic, romance and political royal intrigue!

Thank you net galley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

omg i loved everything about this book from the setting to the plot to the characters!! i read it in one sitting and couldn’t put it down! i can’t wait to read more from this author!!

Violet Made of Thorns is EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED SINCE THE CRUEL PRINCE. A wonderful and incredibly rich fantasy novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

*Thank you so much to Delacore Press, Gina Chen, and Netgalley for providing me with a E-ARC of "Violet Made of Thorns" in exchange for an honest review *
I really loved this, especially because I feel like we need more characters like Violet who are ruthless while also being human, flaws and all. I loved how unexpected and fresh this was.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing a review copy for me to read!

Starting with the very little things I wish this book did -
1. There were a couple parts where we are told what happened instead of going through it with the characters and those scenes were interesting enough to have been enjoyable to experience.
2. That’s it, other than that this book was *chef’s kiss* amazing.

Violet Made of Thorns is a new adult fantasy following Violet, a Seer for the King of Auveny. As a Seer, she can read peoples pasts, see different futures, and hear prophesies from the Fates. She lies for the king and hates the prince so much she might actually love him. While reading this I got vibes of The Cruel Prince, Cinderella, Maleficent, and Beauty and the Beast but I’m sure there are more snippets of other stories woven in this story that I just didn’t catch. It all came together beautifully to craft a story of an orphan girl living on the streets with a rare ability who saves the prince’s life as a child, goes to work for the king and have a huge, damning prophesy thrown in her path that only she can figure out how to get everyone through, and if she can’t figure out how to get to that future, she will sacrifice anyone she needs to make it out alive herself.

I love a liar as the protagonist. And Violet is one of the best liars and protagonists I’ve read this year. Despite her own reputation as a liar among the court, she is probably the most reliable of all the characters.

This is a unique and compelling story that has all the elements of a grownup fairy tale. I highly recommend for anyone in need of a little fantasy and a little enemies to lovers goodness.

I don't think I ever finished a book fast enough! Violet is not quite the protagonist we are all used to, but that makes this story so fun! Everything character makes you feel something and the whole story is a super fun read! This book hooked me right from the beginning and nothing about the plot felt rushed. The magic system is great and the writing is top-notch! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys female protagonists with baddie energy and high fantasy!

Violet, the lone Seer in Auveny, the Sun Capital, lies. Born to hardness and desperation, she fought her way to the palace using her Seer abilities. Having defied the Fates by saving the life of the cursed Prince Cyrus, earning her right to money and power, Violet will do anything to stay in her position of Seer to the King. It is at the behest of King Emilius that she lies about her visions and it is her hardness of heart that feels no guilt. When beasts, blood and thorns show up in Violet’s visions, Violet must choose between saving herself or once again saving the Prince.

Filled with secrets, lies, magic and court intrigue Violet Made of Thorns will take the reader on gut wrenching voyage of lies, love and loss. In Violet, Chen creates a strong and unapologetic heroine that you may not like but will root for anyway. Pick it up for its beautiful cover. Read it for total immersion in a fantastical new world that, hopefully, Gina Chen will continue to build. Read. Enjoy. Share.

This book starts off with a letter to readers saying it is a story celebrating 'unrelatable' characters, which immediately gets my interest because those are the best kinds of characters. And in some ways, Violet is exactly as advertised, she's a girl who grew up alone on the streets thrust into a position of power when she saves the life of the prince, and who learns early that lying is the best way to protect herself. The plot is very much a dark fairy tale, pulling inspiration from many classics to spin an interesting concept. Where things didn't always work for me was in the execution of the plot, it seemed like the forces behind the plot were always second to the romance, and it was disappointing to see such an interesting idea be taken over by romance. For those who like that sort of thing though, they may not even notice, and the end of the book was enough of a hook for me to want to see what happens next.

I really enjoyed what this book set out to do and I think it did accomplish giving me what hooked me and had me add it to my TBR: a true enemies to lovers with some unlikable characters. Violet is unabashedly unlikable. She is self-serving, tactless, and rude and I love that she gets to explore what made her that way. This book does begin to bring up the idea that trauma and life experiences can effect the way we grow into adults. Violet has to look out for herself because life has taught her that she is the only one who will. This is what makes the love story here so lovely, tragic, and fragile. It is difficult to be confronted with the idea that you may be wrong about who cares about you and to admit you are wrong in one thing may cause you to reflect on other choices.

In the effort of fairness I will point out a few other pros before I list a few cons:
- romance was cute and surprisingly spicy
- magic system and world building was interesting
- minor characters were also useful and not just decoration for the leads

cons:
- a lot of this book felt like it was written specifically to be put on merchandise like, big quotes and speeches or thoughts in weird moments. This isn't necessarily awful but sometimes it would happen mid-action and throw off the pacing a bit.
- Act 3 comes up quick and ends quick, so much so that I'm still not sure what happened when and parts felt expositional
- Princey. That was a weird moniker that felt forced instead of like a cute bickering thing which I'm sure was the intent.

Overall this was a good first book in the duology. I am anxiously awaiting the next one and highly recommend this one for fans of unlikable, sharp-tonged leads, and sweet catch-you-off-guard romances

This book was such a good read! I really enjoyed the main characters and the journey they went on. I was never bored while reading this book and could not wait to find out what happens. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All of the opinions given are my own and have been given nothing for my review.

A wonderful blend of morally grey characters and great plot development. I love a book that makes me go through all of my emotions. The magic was perfect for a fantasy novel and well thought out. Also love a good love hate relationship between the characters!

A cynical seer meets her match in a sharp-tongued prince when they become inextricably entwined in a bloody prophecy. Full of intrigue and perfect hate-to-love vibes.

This book really hit a lot of sweet spots for me! Violet is marketed as horrible female protagonist in the best sense of the phrase and she absolutely delivers. Her motives are not always honorable but they make sense and feel real and like the experiences and choices of a real person. Cyrus is frustrating in all the best ways, both the epitome of a perfect fairy tale prince and also somehow the antithesis of it. I can't tell if I love him or hate him and neither can Violet it's so good! Dante and Camilla are wonderful side characters, fleshing out the daily life and worldbuilding of this world and just being so entertaining and interesting! Also Dante is my favorite regardless of certain revelations at the end of this book.

The plot was really well paced, the escalation of stakes worked really well to keep me hooked and interested in peeling back the prophecy and all the other mysteries of the plot. The climax is beautifully frustrating but feels like an accurate escalation of all these pieces coming together. I'm a sucker for a good magic system and the soft magic system here is really well executed, I love the duality of it all.

Also there are some specific lines in the book that truly hit me right in the damn chest, wow absolutely beautiful writing! The specific fairy tale references and reversals were spectacular and really fun to spot too.

Would absolutely recommend for anyone who's a fan of high fantasy and horribly wonderful female protagonists and two people who hate each other but also maybe kind of love each other romances!