I really wanted to love this book because this was a fairytale sett in Russia. The writing is very beautiful and filled with lush descriptions. However, there were many dark and graphic that really made uncomfortable. Still, I recommend this for fans of fairytales!

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid has been one of my favourite books of the year! I really adored her book previous book The Wolf & The Woodsman, but Juniper & Thorn blew me away. It encapsulates the darkness of the Grimm fairytale that it is based of off so well. The Juniper Tree is one the more disturbing fairytales and it was so beautifully re-told by Reid.

The story is horrifying and the storytelling is breathtaking. I know I will return again and again to this book.

This is excellent for fans of The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden.

Quotes
“If there was power in keeping a secret, surely there was power in revealing it too.”

Quick thoughts
This is a gothic horror retelling of the Juniper Tree. I have not read that fairytale so this was all new to me. After loving The Wolf and the Woodsman by this author I knew I had to read this as well. This book is character driven and is a bit of a slower read. However, the story is so atmospheric and the setting is so well done that I found no problem being sucked into the story and forgetting that I was reading. In true fairytale fashion this was gruesome and uncomfortable to read at times. I would recommend checking CW/TW before picking this book up but if you enjoy retellings with darker elements definitely look into this.

Ava Reid's sophomore title is a gothic horror dripping with spine-tingling intrigue and gut-wrenching angst. It beautifully explores the trauma of its characters with unflinching honesty and submerges you into the anguish of the experience by prioritizing authenticity over comfort. The prose are direct but beautiful, with every word being intentional to push the story and emotional arc forward while reminding you at every turn that gothic horror can take many forms, and the most monstrous things out there not always monsters on sight.

Juniper and Thorn is a Bluebeard retelling following his three daughters but most specifically, Marlinchen. The three daughters who also happen to be witches leave their father behind in secret to visit the ballet where Marlinchen meets a ballet dancer who she falls in love with. At the same time their father forbids them from leaving his estate and she must protect her ballet dancer from trying to find her.

It’s chock full of fairytale mystique and touches on several Slavic fairytales but still has a mentions of modern life. I absolutely loved the world the author has created. It’s dark but also with bits of light and happiness thrown in. Marlinchen’s character arc is beautifully done as she figures out her place in the world and the strength she has in her own body. Her love story with her ballet dancer is also well paced and it’s never assumed that she’s going to be kissed and turned into a beautiful princess like the stories she grew up with and it’s shown that that is okay.

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to someone who enjoys dark fairy tales!

Ava Reid does it again! If you were like me, you loved The Wolf and the Woodsman then get ready to love Juniper & Thorn too. This is has cemented Ava Reid as one of my favorite authors.

I was a big fan of The Wolf and the Woodsman, so I am bummed to say that this book and I just did not get along as well.

I actually genuinely enjoyed the story and I felt that the characters were really well done, but the writing bogged this book down for me and made it tough to get through. I am sure there are readers who will love the style, but in my very humble and I promise well-meaning opinion- this book was very overwritten. Simile after metaphor after simile after metaphor. They definitely contribute *vibes* and some of them were really cool comparisons, but there were just SO MANY- one after the other after the other. I think this book needed a stronger edit.

I still stan Ava Reid and love what they're doing for the industry, and I will most likely read whatever they put out next- but Juniper & Thorn was just too much for me!

Thanks so much for the review copy.

Unfortunately, when I requested this book, I had more time but some things changed, and I have not had the chance to read this book, and will unfortunately have to skip reviewing it.

Really good dark retelling/inspired by the juniper tree. The monster in this reminded me of foul lady fortune but still felt really original. This follows Marlinchen and her two siblings who live with an abusive father. They take her with them one night into the city and she sneaks back out to see a dancer which gets them all in trouble. I really liked the romance in this book and the setting! Marlinchen can be a bit frustrating at first but it's beautiful to watch her eventually grow and free herself. TW for eating disorder, gore, murder, abuse.

Sister stories always get to me. And Juniper & Thorn is no exception. The relationship Marlinchen has with hers is complex, difficult, and full of resentment. There are moments of care and love interspersed, but it's largely an element that merely explores the themes of family. Because for Marlinchen, what she wants versus what her family expects of her is one of the central themes. To figure out who she is apart from them. If she were to stand alone, is explored within Juniper & Thorn and one of the main reasons I loved it.

Another theme that resonated with me, is this idea of monstrous girls. Of the insidious ways girls are seen as monstrous. When they don't conform to what society wants from them, or what men want from them. Or when they disobey their family, follow their dreams with abandon. All the way to Marlinchen and what it means to be a magical girl and how 'monstrous' she is. Don't worry Juniper & Thorn explores it all. And that's why for me, all of a sudden while reading, it just sort of clicked.

Juniper and Thorn follows Marlinchen as she discovers secrets about her family, her city, and herself. Marlinchen and her sister are witches and their father is a wizard, but he is very strict and controlling. After Marlinchen and her sisters sneak out one night, Marlinchen falls in love with a ballet dancer. She has to find a way to have a happy ending with him and stand up to her father.

I was disappointed by this book. The writing was good and the story was just interesting enough to keep me reading, as I wanted to know what was really going on. But the story was way more graphic and sexualized than I expected. There should have been trigger warnings at the beginning, as I may not have read the whole book. It's definitely a gothic horror story and deals with some very heavy topics. It's very dark and I found myself skimming over graphic content several times.

1. I never want to read the word “varenyky” again.

2. This might have been a fair-ish 3⭐️ if it wasn’t such a complete trauma parade. Apparently I missed the author’s content warnings on GR and definitely didn’t see any on NetGalley and this book is beyond awash with every trigger under the sun, one of which really blindsided me in the moment. Please seek these out (or see below) if you need/appreciate trigger or content warnings.

3. Aside from the difficult and often times just gross subject matter, I was fine with the romance unlike many reviews that took issue with the triggering content. I’m not opposed to insta-love on principle, though of course it works better for me some times than others. Throw these two poor trauma babies together, and what do you expect? I think one of Marlinchen’s sisters hits the nail on the head when she says that Marlinchen has never been anywhere or seen anything, of course she falls in love with the first beautiful person she sees. Whatever, good stories are built on less. Sevas was sweet, and I didn’t begrudge them their love or peace, even while not totally liking Marlinchen in general.

4. This is my first Ava Reid and while her prose was overall lovely, the pacing and plot elements were clunky for me, especially with the monster storyline. I felt like Marlinchen’s memory gaps were too obvious and the incidents - especially the bookend ones - were too far apart to aid the flow of the story. Can’t say this makes me want to pick up another one of her books.

CW: pedophilia, sexual abuse, rape, sex trafficking, emotional abuse, gaslighting, disordered eating / bulimia, gore, body horror, cannibalism, antisemitism, racism

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book.

This book was, at times, very difficult to read but in a cathartic way. Brutal and unrelenting. The exploration of abuse and survival are incredible. I'll be thinking about this book and it's characters for a long, long time.

This one felt like a new classic dark fairytale. It pulls on inspiration from The Juniper Tree (a new one for me I was excited to read about) and is constantly utilizing fairytale themes throughout.

JUNIPER & THORN was a great sophomore novel for Ava Reid. I read THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN last year and while I enjoyed the story, I ended up struggling with the pacing. However, J&T was able to better leverage her unique writing style, have masterful pacing, and create a story that was truly haunting. It felt like a crash I couldn't look away from. As some of the more gruesome details started to emerge, I found myself curling away but never quite wanting to stop. Overall, it is hard to accurately review, it was first and foremost an unapologetic, gruesome fairytale. I felt like we were given exactly what was needed to serve that brief. I contemplated if I wanted more depth to the character and their motivations, more setting descriptions, more backstory and if it was a different book I probably would have but for this, it all felt exactly as it should be.

My biggest complaint is that I think this one should have had a content warning page (emotional abuse, sexual assault, eating disorder, cannibalism) before the book started. I was lucky enough to read a review that clearly started how dark some of the themes were so I independently went to look but I think it may be a disservice to the book itself if people go in without that preparation. Also, felt a bit irresponsible of the publisher to not have done this.

💢TW: vomiting, sexual content and abuse, parental and mentor abuse, purity, gore, cannibalism 💢
•
Thank you HCC Frenzy for the eARC! I chose this book for the folktale-y vibe and the cover, and I did not expect the dark and sexual content at all 🤣 I'm not complaining because I love books with all the eerie vibes. Also, Reid's writing style is super awesome and I need more of it. The imagery of the garden is so ethereal and I love all the folktale woven through the story. Not gonna lie, I kept waiting for Sevas to abandon Marlinchen, but he surprised me and I'm happy with how the book ended. Not so happy with the ending of the spine-tailed monster though 😅 I highly recommend this!

4.5/5 Stars

3.5/5

A gothic horror retelling of The Juniper Tree, Juniper & Thorn is darkly atmospheric and gory from the jump. This is the story of three sisters and their terror or a father. The great wizard Zmey Vaschenko had three witches for daughters and guards their innocence with a terrible violence. The family is ensconced in a house and garden full of dark magic and monsters.

Ava Reid's writing is always gorgeous. She pulls me under with her descriptive prose. Unfortunately, the darkness of this book was a bit too much for me. I enjoy body horror but there was something different about the MC's constant longing for some kind of violent harm or self-harm.

Throughout the book there is: gore, body horror, sexual assault of minors, cannibalism, child abuse, xenophobia and racism, bulimia and graphic descriptions of of ED, animal harm and death. All of this felt like a LOT and I usually enjoy dark books. I think I struggled with it because the MC has so little agency throughout the majority of the book.

Though, I don't think it should have been written differently, it was just HARD to read. That doesn't mean it was a bad book, just that I was overwhelmed. So many other readers have and will adore this book!

I think this book as a retelling is done amazingly well. It reads like a fairytale all the way through, the repetition (though by the end I wanted to go back and count just how many time the word "breast(s)" was in the text), the insta-love, the transformation throughout, the monster, the maiden, the wizard, the prince. I think most retellings fall short of managing what this book does.

Highly recommend if you can handle a lot of dark themes!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

Juniper & Thorn is a glorious fever dream of a book. Gilded with hints of well known-tales, but rotten to the core underneath the glamour, Juniper & Thorn grabs you by the throat and pulls you along for the ride. Unlike any fairy tale you’ve heard before, Ava Reid artfully mixes horror and fantasy to deliver a grotesque and aching tale. This is the type of story where you will absolutely not be able to look away as it unfolds and will still be thinking of it after it ends.

I highly recommend Juniper & Thorn! Ava Reid writes very lyrically, with vivid images and sensory details. I would recommend you check content warnings, as there is some very heavy and graphic material. Ava Reid handles it well, intrinsically weaving it into the gruesome tale and not using the material for shock value. This would be a great book for fans of Allison Saft (Down Comes the Night) and Lauren Blackwood (Within These Wicked Walls). But make no mistake, this is an adult fairy tale with plenty of painful lessons along the way and no guarantee of a happy ending. Fans of dark sisterhood, twisted retellings, magic demanding painful prices, and lyrical writing will enjoy Juniper & Thorn!

Juniper & Thorn releases June 21, 2022. Thank you to Ava Reid, Harper Voyager, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, Wordpress blog, and Barnes & Noble etc

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
Did I just read my first gothic horror? And did I give it 5⭐️? Do I want more?
All signs point to —> YES!

Ava Reid just made the Brothers Grimm look like Mother Geese. *cue maniacal laughter*

Juniper & Thorn, a gothic horror retelling of The Juniper Tree (a tale from Brothers Grimm) is about Marlinchen, the youngest of three sisters, and her desperate attempt to squelch the tyranny of her domineering, xenophobic wizard father. One night her sisters pressure her to attend The Royal Ballet, Marlinchen finds herself entranced by the lead dancer, giving her a reason to try break free of the magical bonds that her father has crafted. But first, she must unlock the mysteries behind a monster that may or may not live beyond her family’s gates.

Let me tell you a true story. Not being a synopsis reader and going solely by the gorgeous cover, I totally thought this was a YA fantasy akin to Erin A. Craig. I even recommended it to a friend only a third way in. Cue to my surprised face shortly after that message because y’all, this is DARK. Capital dark with an exclamation point. It’s adult gothic horror. There are trigger warnings. Let me know if you need them.

Here are the reasons why I loved this book so much. I’m a sucker for the word susurration. Ava Reid writes exceptionally beautiful prose. The fairy tale itself felt so immersive—the plot was bingeworthy and there were twists I didn’t see coming. The Russian setting was so eerily atmospheric that even I didn’t want Marlinchen to go outside. Just kidding, I loved traveling through the garden and nearby city…at night.
The relationships between the characters explored grief and trauma in both the negative and positive with dynamic interactions that only added to such a wonderfully told tale. The deliciously visceral scenes made me cringe, shocked me to my core, and gave me all of the emotions.

This book has cast a spell on me in the best way possible. If you are a fan of gothic horror, you should definitely read Juniper & Thorn, but first share your favorites with me. I need more.

Thank you to @harpervoyagerus for the opportunity to read and review this book.

(6/21/2022) 5 stars.

Have been waiting to publish this one for a long time and now that it's release day, HAPPY JUNIPER AND THORN RELEASE DAY! Congratulations to Ava Reid for creating another astonishing novel. She doesn't shy away from delving into dark topics and subject matter and although it sometimes makes continuing on difficult, that doesn't mean it's the quality of the material. It's important going in to understand that there are very mature themes and discussion of difficult and potentially triggering topics like pedophilia, sexual assault etc. But that doesn't take away from the story that Ava Reid has woven. Her prose is as lovely as ever, and I love her stories as they draw from Eastern European fairytales. Her characters are always complex and multi-dimensional. They always feel very real and the relationships are always interesting to navigate. The story is grim, grisly, traumatic. But that is what it is meant to be and meant to portray and Ava Reid has done a wonderful job. She is 2/2 in my opinion for great books.

This book is about human evil and dark magic versus a desire for freedom and love. I was confused by how dark the story was at first and then surprised by how good it was. I read it twice so that I could properly appreciate it.

Once there was a wizard who lived in a house on a relatively small plot of land near a large, bustling city. The wizard had used some dark magic that left him always ravenous. No matter how much he ate, he was never full. His wife, whom he had turned into a bird, was dead. He hated change and hated the bustling, busy city that had grown up near his land.

He had three young daughters that he kept strictly confined on their small property. Each daughter had her own magic - and secrets. He exploited their talents to make money, particularly that of the youngest daughter Marlinchen. Marlinchen's magic required her to touch the patrons, usually men, which she hated.

The two oldest daughters talked their younger sister into sneaking out and going to the city with them, to see a ballet. Marlinchen was captivated by the excitement of the city and more so by the ballet, particularly the principal dancer. She met him outside the opera house before the performance. He is a gorgeous young man who is under the thumb of his mentor while she is similarly controlled by her father. It was wonderful to see her begin to bloom, while she also began to understand the true horror of her home life and the history of her family.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher Avon Books via NetGalley. It was my pleasure to read and review this book. All opinions here are my own.