A Hunger of Thorns

I found ‘A Hunger of Thorns’ a very interesting read, the narrator was really good and easy to listen to and follow. I would recommend reading it and look forward to reading more from Lili Wilkinson.

Rating 4 Stars

"Be a wild thing once more, the ancient forest whispers to me now"

I am obsessed with the vibe of this book. When I tell you nothing quite speaks to me like a haunting witchy tale of wild young girls, this is the book I'm describing. The prose is gorgeous, the magical descriptions are utterly dreamy, and the worldbuilding is beyond intriguing. Most importantly, as my bold feminist heart requires, the feminine power and feminine rage are potently executed.

"Rage doesn't have to destroy. It can create things too. Great things. Rage can be a fire that inspires."

Maude was once a wild little thing, showing off her magic to her best friend Odette, the girl she longs for and obsesses over impressing. They spent their days weaving stories of heroic girls saving princes from evil dragons and monsters. That is until Maude lost her magic when puberty began, and her best friend dropped her.

From then on Maude was trying to be a good little girl. She did as she was told, she stayed small and unassuming and kept her head down. Odette on the other hand has always had a deep desire for magic, a dark jealousy of the power Maude possessed, and absolutely no plans to be a good little girl. Now her wild ways have led her down a dangerous path. She's missing, assumed dead, and Maude is the only one trying to find her.

She discovers that an abandoned (and oddly forgotten by everyone) power plant called Sicklehurst may be much more than just a place they played as kids. It was built on the remains of an ancient magical forest, and in fact, it may be hiding something much darker.

"I cry out for every girl who was told to comb her hair and wash the mud from her face. To keep herself contained. To be ashamed of her voice, her hair, her flesh. To be quiet and good and nice. Girls are not nice. Girls are wild and fierce and powerful, and I will not let anyone take that away. Not ever again."

I have to note that I listened to this as an audiobook, and my god, the narration adds a whole other level of entrancing dark fairytale vibes. There could not have been a better voice to fit this lush story, and I am so grateful to have heard the story performed so beautifully. There are some books that I just recommend having read to you, and this is that book, like a haunting bedtime story.

A huge thanks to Netgalley, Bolinda Audio and Lili Wilkinson for providing me with this audio arc and the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read it before publishing!!

Bolinda as always has one of the best narrators and voice actors! Every time I listen to any books by bolinda I know I would enjoy the narration.

Now to the book …..
It was quite disappointing, the book had loads of promise but I don’t think the writing style is for me. I enjoyed the magic system, and the modern-esk setting of the story.
The main character was the most annoying out of all the characters. I think this was the reason why I did not enjoy the book so much. The main character wanted to be the feminist hero, she did all the talk but no action …
It felt like the character just wanted to rock all the feminist and inclusion boxes as fast as possible instead of allowing them to show up more organically ….
I’m sure loads of people will enjoy the book, however it was not for me.