Book written by Gina Chen, published 2022.
A dark prophecy looms over the kingdom of Auveny—or more specifically, its prince. Prince Cyrus Lidine’s foretold bride will either make or break the kingdom, damning them to or saving them from the Fairywood. Cyrus just wants to marry for love, a sentiment that, while endearing and swoon-worthy to the young ladies of the Sun Capital, is seen as politically weak by all those at court. Now, with disturbing omens foreshadowing Auveny’s demise, all eyes turn to Violet, the royal family’s Seer.
Violet grew up on the streets of the Moon District as a penniless orphan. She saved Cyrus’ life when they were children, earning her a place in the royal court. Ever the opportunist, Violet uses her power of divination to guide the people of Auveny to a desired future, further securing her place at the palace. It is her duty to quell the concerns of the people and convince Cyrus of an acceptable marriage. But Violet has her own secrets, her own concerns about not only Auveny’s future but Cyrus’ as well. Who can she truly be loyal to? The king that’s been the only father she’s ever known, the Fates that show her the future, or the prince she struggles to get along with?
Overall, I thought this book was decent. The plot has its own unique take on fairytales, and I will never say no to witty banter between romantic interests. I hear tell of a sequel, and I will be reading it when it comes out. I’m really curious to see where Chen is going with this.
I do have a few quibbles though. Let’s do the minor one first: There’s a map of the Sun Capital at the front of the book showing the location of all the different districts. This is fun, and it gives a great visual of Violet’s tower, but there are grand politics at play in this story. There’s more important stuff going on outside the Sun Capital, and even though Violet (the narrator) never leaves the city, I think it would have been more helpful to have a map of Auveny and the surrounding countries. It would have given me a greater understanding and a better visual of the political arguments that some of the characters make. Besides, out of seven districts, I’m pretty sure the story only visited/mentioned three, so the map of the Sun Capital seems a little superfluous.
Okay, moving on to the bigger quibble. But, before I really get into this one, let me first say this: Profanity is not my personal preference. However, as someone who lives in the world and has studied storytelling, I can concede that profanity is a stylistic choice, and I can understand why some authors use it. Profanity doesn’t stylistically work with the overall tone of Violet Made of Thorns, and that is my primary issue here. Auveny is a made-up, fantasy setting. Violet uses made-up swears to convey her frustration (mostly the phrase “toady he**”), which fits the vibe of the story. So, when she drops other swear words, like f-bombs, it stands out too much. Granted, I think I understand why Chen did this. If Chen used another made-up swear instead, we as readers may not comprehend the depth of the emotion behind that swear word, and that part of Violet’s character would be lost on us. Using words we’re already familiar with brings that meaning to light. But it overdid it. The profanity is too sharp, it’s jarring, and it disconnects the characters from the setting for me.
Other than the profanity, this book also contains many scenes that are very intimate. A definite read for adults.
Stay tuned for a more in-depth discussion for Violet Made of Thorns! Hope to see you there! Spoilers ahead!
"We're not all princesses or plucky orphans or, stars forbid, plucky orphan princesses, with grand destinies to fulfill."
Let the venting begin.
Not going to lie, I was very confused by the ending. Cyrus became a vampire—excuse me, “beast”—and he needs Violet’s blood to keep up a human appearance. More than that, Cyrus loves her and wants her to stay in Auveny. I understand that half of the story. I don’t quite understand Violet’s motivations. I’m pretty sure that she and Cyrus got married (that’s what “The Briar King’s Bride” would indicate), but . . . why? Did Violet do it because she loves Cyrus or because she wants to stay in Auveny? Does she want to protect him and the kingdom from what’s coming? Has she seen what’s coming and didn’t tell us? Or, did Violet do it because she wants to be queen (for power’s sake, not love)? Obviously, she cares for Cyrus at least a little bit, or she wouldn’t have saved his life, but she doesn’t seem as convinced. Maybe all of this will be resolved in the second book and these are the questions Chen wants readers to have, but I don’t feel comfortable with what I don’t know because I’m not sure I feel comfortable with what I do know.
For example, why did Violet “kill” Cyrus if she was just going to turn around and rescue him later? I know, we all experience moments of instant regret, but this just seemed like unnecessary drama. If Violet was just going to protect Cyrus from the Witch anyway, she shouldn’t have felt the need to end him in the first place. Again, I know. Violet felt Cyrus betrayed her, and she’s just looking out for herself, but that would indicate a complete lack of character development. It would have been one thing if she hadn’t resolved her mistake so quickly, like if that had been saved for the next installment. Then she maybe would have spent some more time with those consequences and truly learned who she really is and what she really wants. But if she’s just going to turn around and undo what she just did, that says she didn’t really want to do it in the first place. But she did . . . It’s things like this that mean I have to keep reading. I need to know what was going on inside her head!
Violet and Cyrus are really just too stubborn to get out of their own way, which is another thing I waffle back and forth on. On the one hand, it’s really frustrating! If they could just accept their own truths, this story wouldn’t have felt so melodramatic. On the other hand, I totally get it. Violet and Cyrus have lived their lives submitting to the manipulations of the king. Violet grew up to be a professional liar and that makes her untrustworthy. And she doesn’t want to change because she’s scared of what might happen. Cyrus feels the pressure of the prophecy and no one really cares what he wants, so he feels pretty attacked and finds it pretty difficult to trust others. But if they think they like each other that much, you’d think they’d make more of an effort for each other than they do. Their relationship comes across as an affair of lust instead of a potential happily ever after, and that felt disappointing to me. But, again, this is why I have to read the next book! I have to see how this relationship changes.
I invite you guys to use your own powers of divination; what predictions do you have regarding the second book? What do you expect to see?
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