This is a fairytale every girl must read, so there is no misconception that not every heroine of a fairytale book is the Disney princess version. There are cynical girls with tongues as sharp as steel who make you love them for their honesty, wit, and sarcasm.

I was lucky enough to win an arc from Netgalley and I’m already counting down the days to the sequel! So let’s dive right in.

Violet made of Thorns follows our protagonist Violet who was orphaned at a young age and possesses the gift of sight. She uses her gift and her wit to climb her way up the ranks until she becomes important enough to the King himself. She makes herself irreplaceable. It follows her journey as she navigates court and tries to figure out a curse placed on Crown Prince Cyrus… who she happens to hate.

I related to Violet as a protagonist more than I’ve related to any of the Disney Princesses I watched growing up. She was smart and witty and she did what she had to do to survive. It was a breath of fresh air to all the girls who are described to be completely good, and who always toe the line. There’s nothing wrong with a completely good character, it’s just so much more fun to write one who has to school herself into being good. Always more entertaining to teeter on the line of the forbidden. Being bad is far more fun. Or at least it’s more fun to read about

I thought the romance was really well done. It was so obvious that the characters were struggling with their attraction for each other. I love that both characters were flawed. I loved how they worked through it and their problems to try and come to some sort of mutual understanding. I love the lack of inhibitions and the way their story was constructed.

This book made me feel in a way seen.

I do wish I could pick it up when the final installment was out though because the wait might kill me.

So filled with complex and cunning characters, lots of political mystery, fantasy and magic as well as the age-old trope of enemies-to-lovers romance, I am completely sold on this book. Five stars