I was given this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

While the author’s world building is unique and stands out, the rest of the book is decidedly lackluster in comparison, with a barely fleshed out romance, a main character who was hard for me to root for, and an ambling plot that never seemed to know where it was going.


Let’s break it down:

1. The romance: I’m not one for insta-love and find love is a journey, however this story disappointed me. The main character’s love interest is someone who isn’t present for 90% of the book, and it becomes very superficial. While I was glad the main character didn’t go for the obvious choice of who to love, I was disappointed to see it so one-sided for most of the book.

2. The main character: While the main character has many faults and flaws, it was difficult to root for her as she made every bad choice possible. I don’t know how many times I smacked my head or facepalmed while reading. Now, this point is something that I know I don’t have as much patience with as other readers. I don’t expect a Mary Sue-I-Can-Do-Everything-Right, but I do expect some character development that allows the main character to learn and evolve from their mistakes. For me, it felt like she just continuously made worse and worse decisions.

3. Ambling plot: The journey throughout the entire book drags on as if the author just thought up another leg of the trip. There were some interesting twists, but for me it was hard to see the end goal from the halfway mark of the book. I would’ve appreciated if there was more of an end goal shown at that point.


I’m disappointed because the world is so unique and captivated me from the first page, but so many other details brought it down that I could only rate it 2/5.

I would like to start off by thanking the author for letting this be a standalone book. There are so many authors who push books into series when they can just act as a standalone and for that I am appreciative of this author. Another thing about this book is the magic. It was truly wonderful especially when you have characters that capture your attention as well as adventures that keep you on your toes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy

Flower and Thorn
by Rati Mehrotra
Pub Date: 17 Oct 2023

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, in Rati Mehrotra's Flower and Thorn.

One girl. One boy.
A promise broken.
A magic stolen.

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 an entire army--Irinya knows this is their chance for a better life.

Until Irinya is tricked by an attractive imposter.

Irinya's fight to recover the priceless flower and to 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 found it very easy to get swept up in this book. The world building was done extremely well as it produced a very particular picture in my head. I enjoyed how the characters grew and their journey.This book would be great for those who like standalone young adult fantasy.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimers first: the author and I are part of the same writers' forum, and I received a copy via Netgalley for review; the publicist emailed me offering a copy because I had previously reviewed another of the author's books, <i>Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove</i>.

I'll also confess upfront that it took me more than two weeks to read, and I took time out during that period to read several other books, in part because <i>Night of the Raven</i> had turned more tragic than I was prepared for partway through, and this one looked like doing the same. The protagonist is an initially naïve young woman from a nomadic group in medieval India who supplement their herding income by hunting for magical flowers in a salt desert, which they supply to a predatory and exploitative moneylender to service their debt. An attractive young man from outside the community offers her a chance to get her group free from the moneylender, and all she needs to do is break a solemn promise to her best friend and let him have one of the most valuable flowers, in order to save the sultanate from the Portuguese invaders. She makes the first of a series of bad decisions that seemed like a good idea at the time, and we're off.

She does get more canny in the course of the book, and is certainly principled, determined, courageous and resourceful. She is just a little bit of a Chosen One; the magical flowers speak to her and help her out as they don't with anyone else, but she still has to act, and she does so without hesitation. Her decisions (and those of others) do lead to several deaths, which are treated as the tragedies they are, but overall the story is hopeful and positive.

The magic system is relatively simple but fresh, with each type of flower having a special power, and we get to see all of them in action over the course of the book. The powers range from finding things and healing through speaking at a distance to teleporting, being victorious in battle (the mechanism of that one isn't gone into), and even controlling time. Each of them also has a drawback or cost, like all the best magic.

I did feel that the characters sometimes felt more 21st-century than medieval, but that was subtle, and could be easily overlooked. The editing was excellent, apart from the common error of using "may" instead of "might" in past tense narration, and a couple of minor vocab glitches, which will probably be fixed by publication time. All in all, it's a solid fantasy adventure with an innovative magic system, a capable female protagonist, and a strong sense of place.

The highlight of this novel is the revisionist history that imagines how 16th century India could have been different with magic. And I love it! With interesting characters, adventurous travels, and high-stakes missions, this was highly enjoyable and a lot of fun to read.

And I will ALWAYS credit an author who can create a fulfilling standalone. I admire RM for not feeling the need to create a series, but can fully develop a world and satisfyingly wrap up a plot in just one book.

So I am very much looking forward to seeing what RM comes up with next, because I know it won't disappoint!