This story was amazing. I did slightly enjoy this authors debut a little more but her writing never disappoints me! I can’t wait for a physical copy!

Irinya comes from a long lineage of flower hunters. Her best friend finds a rare and priceless flower and swears Irinya to secrecy, scared that the flower will fall into the wrong hands. Irinya, being a naive and young girl, gets conned by an attractive imposter and sings like a canary about the flower. She sets out on a journey alone to retrieve the flower from this stranger but it turns out he isn’t who he said he was. This flower could save not only herself, her caravan and maybe even the continent.

The term “flower hunter” sounds a lot more interesting than it actually turned out to be. Because of overharvesting and overconsumption, the land is yielding less flowers then it used to. Each flower has its own magical properties and can provide its user with certain magical properties (i.e. jasmine to heal, or hibiscus to make someone talk). The flower magic could have used some more oomph. I was more interested in the political dealings of the kingdom than I was the magic. It seemed less important to everyone than it did Irinya.

It took me a really long time to make my way through this one. Irinya is not an easier character to like. She’s naive. She makes really dumb decisions from the start and just continues throughout the book. Why did she tell a complete stranger about the flower? Why in the world would she think leaving by herself to get it back was a great idea? She thinks first and acts later and never really learns her lesson. She just gets lucky time and time again. The romance felt like an afterthought, like he was chosen because there was no other character available.

On the young adult book scale this felt like it geared more towards a middle grade territory then it did a new adult territory.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Seventeen year old Irinya has knowledge of magical flowers, and uses this to help her caravan survive in the harsh desert. A silver spider lily is their chance for a better life, but Irinya is tricked by an attractive impostor. To recover the priceless flower and fix her mistake, Irinya goes on a dangerous journey that she might not survive.

Irinya is part of a nomadic tribe roaming the Rann, a deadly place with salt flats and poisonous plants, some of which have magical properties. The flowers are purchased by intermediaries, as her people are in debt to them, and the flowers are then sold further up the chain to the sultans, who are trying to fight off the Portuguese from invading the Indian subcontinent. She doesn't know about the impostor until much later, and only knows that the silver spider lily is worth more than the debts of her people, and she needs to get it back to save them from further debt and terrorization. This leads her away from everything she has ever known, wandering into the cities and the politics of the ruling class.

The idea of myths, personal history and the flowers of the Rann are all interwoven. Irinya is used to being considered less than due to her status, but she has a sense of honor as well. She wants to do what's right for her people, but that soon encompasses all of India fighting back against the Portuguese. Those who are selfish and would use the gifts of the Rann for their own gain suffer the consequences of it, and Irinya does her best to do the right thing. She makes mistakes along the way and is caught up in a world much bigger than what she had known, but it's a fascinating story and one that kept me hooked until the very last page.

I was excited to read Flower and Thorn because I loved the author's previous book Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much and I found myself wishing I was instead reading the sequel to Night of the Raven.

Flower and Thorn has great component parts, but I was left unsatisfied wanting more. There is a beautiful magic system and vivid world building. The book shined when MC Irinya teamed up with Fardan or other friends from the kul. On the contrary I didn't enjoy the portion when Irinya was off on her journey alone or when things too often seemed to miraculously fall into place for her (despite dangerous situations and poor decision making). I had to be intentional about picking up the book to complete it, and but for having an ARC I wanted to review, probably wouldn't have finished. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was never fully invested in the story. I liked but didn't love it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved the story’s setting. It’s set in India at a time when the country is besieged by the Portuguese. The characters hope to use magic flowers as a weapon in the war, and hope to keep their existence secret from the invaders, though it isn’t clear if they can.

The story has some commentary on markets and unfair systems, particularly those that marginalize nomad communities. I thought the commentary on that was thoughtful and well-integrated into the story. Irinya hopes to help her people find a way to sell the magic flowers for a fair price, as opposed to the current system, in which a few powerful, wealthy individuals control the system.

I really liked Irinya’s character. She’s stubborn, willful, and deeply loyal to her people. She’s fierce and brave. Definitely my kind of heroine.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

First of all the cover of this book is stunning! It immediately drew me in, and after loving Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove I was excited to read this. Unfortunately I did not love this.

The plot is very unique with the concept of the magical flowers each providing some sort of magic to the user. They grow in unlikely places and skilled flower hunters must risk their lives to find the precious flowers to sell them to help their people survive. Our main character Irinya is very skilled at flower hunting as is her best friend Fardan. Fardan finds one of the most precious flowers, that might be the key to saving the kingdom from invaders if it gets to the right hands. If the flower falls to the wrong hands the consequences could be devastating not only to Irinya and her tribe but everyone in the country.

This book just wasn't for me. I found the pacing too slow and the main character to be too irrational when it came to making decisions. I am all for a strong, independent female main character, but Irinya tented to act first and think later. She made alot of decisions that didn't go well for her and doesn't learn from her mistakes throughout the book. Everyone forgives her poor choices easily and lets her continue on her journey. Understandably she was the one who had to be the hero, but from the beginning she didn't rely on anyone to help her. I tend to enjoy plotlines where the main character has a good support system to rely on and support them. There are a few twists within the plot, but like the flower hunters wandering around until they find a treasure, I felt as the plot did the same. It kind of meanders until there is a twist or an action scene.

Overall, I'm really sad that this didn't work for me. The worldbuilding was great and the magic system was very unique, but the lack of character development and slow pacing left me disappointed. I do think that YA readers are really going to love this. It does have a very sweet friends to romance element, and while it didn't work for me I think there is an audience that is very much going to love it.

You know how you feel after a really good meal? That feeling of satisfaction? Everything was perfect, or near to. Yeah, that’s how I felt after reading Rati Mehrotra’s new YA novel, Flower and Thorn.

Now in order to understand the depth of that reaction, it’s also important to know I’m a really hard-to-please reader. I’m forever questioning research, analyzing character, world and plot development. In other words, I find it hard to shut off the editor. Mehrotra silenced that editor almost from the outset.

So, what is Flower and Thorn about? The marketing blurb runs thus:

A young flower hunter gets embroiled in the succession politics of the Sultanate when she must retrieve the rarest and most powerful magical flower after giving it to the wrong hands.

Irinya has wanted to be a flower hunter ever since her mother disappeared into the mysterious mist of the Rann salt flats one night. Now seventeen, Irinya uses her knowledge of magical flowers to help her caravan survive in the harsh desert. When her handsome hunting partner and childhood friend finds a priceless silver spider lily―said to be able to tear down kingdoms and defeat entire armies―Irinya knows this is their chance for a better life.

Until Irinya is tricked by an attractive impostor.

Irinya’s fight to recover the priceless flower and fix what she’s done takes her on a dangerous journey, one she’s not sure she’ll survive. She has no choice but to endure it if she hopes to return home and mend the broken heart of the boy she’s left behind.

I do have to say that marketing blurb would not have won me over. The novel sounds more like a YA romance, and I feel about romance of any kind the way I feel about skydiving. A big hard no.

But while Mehrotra does unfold a romance, it’s really a backstory to the very compelling political and economic narrative she creates in a credible India under Portuguese conquest and control during the 16th century. The environmental descriptions are deftly entwined in character viewpoint, and the characters developed so vividly they are real and whisper in your waking moments to return to their world and walk their journey. Woven into that very rich history and environment, Mehrotra drops in rare, magical flowers which can only be found in the salt marsh/desert of the Rann, an area of 26,000 kilometres in the Gujarati region of northwest India.

And as with so many human stories, the flower-hunters of the Rann are essentially indentured slaves to the wholesalers who have a monopoly on their trade, wholesalers who reap all the profits. I was very much minded of the 18th century fishing outports of Newfoundland.

There is also Mehrotra’s handling of magic, in that it’s not easy, and it is rare. Everything has a cost. That appeals to me personally, because the caveats and difficulties around magic render the story more compelling. If you have to work hard for something, and then once you have it you’re aware this thing may cost your life, or the life or well-being of someone you love, that literary device then adds another layer of crisis to the plot and world-building. It creates a tension that’s strung to a high pitch throughout the story and keeps you reading.

As to Mehrotra’s writing style, it’s very approachable, very much in the voice of a storyteller, with evocative description, tight character point of view, and great tension. There is no exposition in her work. Every phrase, every paragraph fits together in a very skillfully-crafted package.

All things considered, I’d have to say Mehrotra’s Flower and Thorn is an excellent, escapist read, not unlike Naomi Novik’s many immersive stories. Rati Mehrotra has won me over. I’ll be looking for more of her work.

I cannot stop thinking about this story, these characters, their situations, their dialogues, and I am recommending this book to every fellow reader. With all my heart. Unreservedly.

The plot was done well, it was a solid and unique story. I loved the magical flowers and the magic system. It was well written.

Thank you to Wednesday books and Goodreads for a physical copy of the Advance Reader book (giveaways are fun!).

This is the 2nd book from Rati Mehorta and this was very well done. I loved Irinya and the rest of her kul (nomadic group). The book leans heavily into the history of India and features several real people from the 1600's which is when this takes place, with a couple of minor tweaks about the magical flowers and the Rann (wasn't formed until after an earthquake in the 1800's). The Rann and the Banni come to life and I can picture the salt marsh and the grasslands. I was fascinated with the lore and meanings behind the different magical flowers.

The story is a little slower paced than I normally read, but the world and character development are fantastic. Romance is almost non-existent and is not a plot line that Rati takes.

4 out of 5 stars, fantastic for historical fiction with a dash of fantasy lovers.

great book and loved the mystery through out the book. I loved the characters and how they grew through all of their adventures. I enjoyed this book and this author and will check them out again add them to my reading pile.

This book is in no way your next great fall read, because it’s simply too full of blooming life and arid heat to be a fall book, but I’ll tell you what–I promise you it’s a fantastic YA romantasy. I absolutely adored every page of this epic historical fantasy that takes place in India during the 16th century (when the Portuguese came to colonize India).

Magical flowers grow on the Rann of India, which is located in West India just south of the border of Pakistan. In real life the Rann is full of salt flats during the arid part of the year and that salt is mined by nomadic tribes moving through the area. During monsoon season most of the area fills up with water and some of it becomes swamp. The nomadic tribes remain at their ancestral home during the monsoon season and then move back out when monsoon season passes so their livestock can graze. In Flower and Thorn, our protagonist, Irinyah, belongs to a tribe that not only deals in livestock but also in the hunting and selling of the Rann’s magical flowers. Each flower has a different power to it, along with a scarcity level. As it goes with all magic, they each also have a price. It’s too bad most people looking for easy fixes and power don’t really care about what it’s going to cost them.

Irinya is a rare female flower hunter. It’s usually a job reserved for males (like most jobs outside the home), but her mother was a flower hunter and ever since her mother disappeared when she was a child Irinyah has taken up her mantle. She inoculates herself against the poison in the thorns by pricking herself a little bit repetitively, like one would build tolerance against venom. She also shapes the poisonous flower thorns into little darts for the blow pipe that once belonged to her mother.

This whole book is about broken promises, broken families, pride, the importance of home, oppression, misogyny, and colonization. These themes are all things I love reading about and will almost always love reading about. There’s also a little bit about conservation and sustainability, but that theme isn’t explored as fully as the others (likely because it would’ve taken the plot off onto a tangent that couldn’t have been threaded back in smoothly).

The book has some points to make about war and women leaders and whether or not they’re fit to rule or be taken seriously as a ruler. While I appreciate a great feminist narrative, this book does take this book to some extremes with men and women: the women in this book all seem to lack genuine duplicity or violence and the men in power are all portrayed as lecherous and violent in nature. I don’t buy this as an entirely realistic portrayal, but seeing as this is a tried-and-true YA romantasy that has a serious point to make I think it’s probably for the best the waters here didn’t get very muddied with grey morality. It’s pure escapism here, us getting whisked away to the Indian subcontinent to a time when war is on the doorstep and it’s an opportunity for the colonization of India to be stopped. I think it’s okay to just let it be that.

It’s a lovely fantasy read with a cool magic system and great world building. The romantic dynamic is complicated and sweet. I highly recommend it.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Epic Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantasy/Historical Fantasy/Standalone Novel/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy/YA Fiction

A beautiful cover to go with a beautiful story! I was fully immersed in the world, the rich history and the magic system, which was a magic system based on rare magical flowers.

What didn’t work for me: Was I a fan of Irinya, our main flower hunter? Not really. I found it hard to root for her. Also, the story dragged in some places especially at the end but this was my second book by this author ( I read Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove) and I love her writing and I’m a fan!

I DNFed this book about 20% into it. I just didn’t love it and it felt like it was going to be so predictable.

Flower and Thorn by Rati Mehrotra is such a beautifully told tale of power and greed. I felt fully immersed in this world that differed from mine. The descriptions are vivid and entirely create a sensory experience.


The pacing is medium to fast as Irinya sets out on her dangerous quest to reclaim a potent and rare flower she gave away. This flower could evict the Portuguese from India, maybe not once and for all, but at least for a long while. But if the Portuguese get it, all will be lost.


The magic system is based on flowers and the magic each contains. I found that very interesting and loved the abilities of some of the flowers - the black chrysanthemum in particular. Not all flowers hold magic, just certain ones found in the Rann salt flats, which is a dangerous place for people who do not have specific inherent abilities.


There Is a romance that is a prolonged burn and feels wholly authentic. It’s a case of not seeing what’s been right before you your whole life. I just loved the pair individually and as a couple. Character development was exceptional as I could believe that each character would make the choices that they do. They each hold an element of the hero and the villain.


This is such a beautifully told tale, and the only thing that I wish had been discussed in the afterword or another area is whether it’s based on folklore and historical facts or whether it’s a world made up solely to entertain the reader.

***ARC received from Wednesday Books and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

Flower and Thorn is a new stand alone book by Rati Mehrotra and the synopsis does not fully do justice to what this book is really about. Unique magic system and court intrigue that the writer does so well. How magic can heal and corrupt a country from within while enemies attack from out side.

Irinya is an interesting character, shes very headstrong and tends speak back when she should hold her tongue in situations that should get her in trouble save for being the main characters. Despite that I still really liked her as a main lead. She is trusting and a bit naive we gets her in trouble but she is still incredibly brave to venture outside her small world to protect the people she helped put in harms way. One interaction she had was absolutely perfect and I truly laughed at the moment, I loved it so much. I do wish she had been a little more assertive when it came to her interactions with Fardan, she has no problem pushing back on other characters but for some reason with him she becomes with wishy washy naive girl again despite the growth she should have from what she experienced. I liked having a morally grey villain to play counter to our naive heroine and he was a fascinating character.

I didn’t really root for the romance since I found I hated Fardan most of the time he was on page as the story progressed. Like I didn’t mind him at the beginning but when he shows up again he has no respect for Irinya agency and puts her in a horrible situation. He also feels incredibly juvenile in those moments like its all some game despite the repeated warning Irinya give him. It also doesn’t help that hes gone for long stretches of the book and doesn’t feel like he has much chemistry with her when he is there. Or that Irinya and Imshan’s dynamic is far more interesting that Irinya and Fardan, much more push and pull. Thankfully its not romantic in the slightest but its so fascinating as a pairing to read.

The magic system in this world with the flowers is so unique. I loved how each flower has a main purpose not just on its own but to counter the other flowers. I just wish that the book had explored more about how they are found and used, what makes the lily so powerful, the jasmine a healing flower. There is a price to pay for each one and we see some of it throughout the book but I would have liked to have seen it explored a little more as it was one of the more interesting magic systems I have read about in awhile.

The writing is really good, the plot moves alone really well and there is fun court intrigue sprinkled in. I found it got a little muddled before the final confrontation which was really good. Unfortunately it slipped a little at the very end but overall it was a fun read that I did really enjoy.

3.5

This has one of the most interesting and unique magic systems I've come across in a book. Using flowers and giving them each their own magical ability was really interesting, and I wanted to learn more about each one. I do wish the book had gone more in depth about this, though I can see why the author probably chose not to. Adding more info on the flower magic probably would have required a second book and may have ruined a bit of the myth associated with the flowers, though I think this being a duology also could have worked well with a little reworking of the story.

I really enjoyed the setting and story for the most part. This takes place in 16th century India, which is not a common period for novels. I liked exploring something new, with the different locations in India, the descriptions of clothes and food and life in that time. The characters were mostly well written, though I did struggle with Irinya for the first half of the book. She is extremely gullible, and the whole reason her village is in the trouble it's in. She at first places all the blame on Deven, and while he definitely shoulders some of it, she is not blameless either. However, she eventually realizes this more and tries to fix it, though some of her choices are still frustrating. I liked many of the side characters and wish a few of them had been more present. The story itself can be rather predictable at times and drags in others, but all in all it is a decent standalone fantasy.

Man, this one was beautiful. The pacing was perfect, the descriptions delicious, and the writing so engaging. I recommend this one to everyone and absolutely loved it!

[ Rounded Up: 4.5 stars ] "Flower and Thorn" is a thrilling YA historical fantasy about a young flower hunter’s life-or-death journey to atone for her mistakes and save her people by recovering a magical flower that could change everything for better or worse.

"Flower and Thorn" takes place during the Portuguese invasion of India during the early 16th century. I felt fully immersed in the setting thanks to the author's vivid descriptions and helpful glossaries. The addition of magical flowers to the world-building blended seamlessly with this historical period.

I love flowers so the idea of magical ones drew me to this story where flowers have special properties and are highly coveted. Currently, magical flowers have become scarcer due to over-harvesting and eliminating pollinators. There are rules (or myths) regarding them, such as that they can’t be used by the person who harvests them. It’s a simple, creative magic system, making for a mesmerizing story.

Irinya, our compassionate and determined main character, wants to be the best flower hunter like her presumed, long-deceased mother despite how dangerous it is. But she does it to help her kul, a nomadic group of families, who have been in debt to the local baniya for generations. When an opportunity that seems too good to be true arises, Irinya sees it as the best way to not only free her kul from debt but also save India from the Portuguese. Something worth breaking a promise to her closest childhood friend, Fardan.

Unfortunately, that misplaced trust/hope in a stranger leads to tragedy. Irinya feels guilty for putting her kul in more danger and debt, betraying Fardan, and being deceived into giving a stranger a very rare and powerful flower that has the power to turn the tides of war. To make things right, Irinya leaves her kul on her own to get back the silver spider lily and the money needed to alleviate the kul’s debt before the season ends.

What I love most about Irinya’s character is that she bravely does what she can to make up for her mistakes. As her hunt takes her farther than she’s ever traveled, she adjusts when new situations/obstacles arise. Whether it’s acclimating to the city, getting mixed up in inter-court battles for the throne, or becoming employed to the power-hungry great-nephew of current, ailing sultan, every selfless action Irinya takes is for the betterment of everyone. I also liked that flowers “speak” to her as it enriched her character and influenced pivotal plot points.

The pacing does drag a little here and there because I really wanted to know what would happen next - that’s how much I was enjoying the story. Some of the longer chapters maybe could’ve been broken up, but the story was still engaging.

"Flower and Thorn" was a great standalone novel full of action and suspense. We got to focus solely on Irinya for the majority of the story, which helped the reader get to her fully and for Irinya to learn more about herself. Everything unfolded in captivating ways. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read.

Thanks again Wednesday Books NetGalley for the e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review!

This was a captivating read. It pulled me in and I let myself get lost in its world. The world building was handled with care and detail. The descriptions of the salt desert were immersive. The magic of the flowers allowed for a unique and interesting magic system.
The characters were memorable. My heart broke for Fardan a couple of times in his tale. Irinya is a strong female lead, although a bit naive. She doesn’t always make the right decision, but she works hard to correct her mistakes. The friends turned to to lovers is very slow-burn, but satisfying by the end. I really liked the antagonist, Imshan Kahn, he definitely fits the bill of a charming morally grey character. And to be honest, you actually go back and forth thinking on where he actually stands - and you keep hoping….
I really enjoyed the revisionist take on 16th century India. The plot was truly well thought out and incorporated history well. I found myself compelled to look more into the history after reading this book.
This is a beautiful read and very well paced to keep those pages turning.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday books) for an e-arc of this book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own