GIRL, SERPENT, THORN | Melissa Bashardoust
I think Girl, Serpent, Thorn has been on my TBR for such a long time and I have built it up so much in my head that the reality was bound to be disappointing.
Maybe.
Or maybe it was just… disappointing.
At first glance, it looks perfect. A Persian tale inspired by Sleeping Beauty? Check. Bisexual MC? Check. Monster women? Check, check, check.
The story is beautiful. Soraya, the shah’s sister, is cursed from birth to be poisonous to the touch. She first killed another person when she was three days old. She lives in a palace, far away from her family, and wants nothing more than to be free of her curse. When she finds out there is a way, she grabs hold with both (gloved) hands and lays waste to those who stand in her way.
Well, she does at first. And then she doesn’t, and regrets everything. And then she decides it was the right thing. And then she decides it was the wrong thing. And then she sides with the person who helped her. And then she goes against the person that helped her. And then she sides with the person that helps her again, and then she sides with the other person who helped her. And then she betrays some people, and then she tries to win those people back, and then she betrays them again –
You get the picture.
We do love a conflicted MC. To be a monster, to not be a monster? To become the queen of monsters, to not become the queen of monsters? And truly, I get it. I do! These are big decisions. But c’mon girl, have some conviction! No more of this flip-flopping about. What do you want?
I did say this aloud, more than once.
Now, this next part is something I never thought I would say, but here goes.
This book is billed as a sapphic story – and it is! But the romance between the two women was so rushed and sudden and lukewarm that I was truly taken aback when it happened. Like, where did this come from? The two conversations you have had thus far? To me, the romance felt shoe-horned in. If I hadn’t known to expect it, I wouldn’t have expected it. The relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist is much more heavily developed – not that I wanted Soraya to end up with him, but the romance between Soraya and Parvaneh was like cold tea in comparison.
I just wanted this book to be… more. It was supposed to give, but it did not give what needed to be gave to be highest of giving, and all that. I’m glad I finally read it, but I wouldn’t recommend it, nor would I read it again. It was just a bit too disappointing. I expected to be blown away – especially considering it seems to be on everyone’s sapphic rec lists – but instead I was just… whelmed.
At least the cover is beautiful!
Maybe.
Or maybe it was just… disappointing.
At first glance, it looks perfect. A Persian tale inspired by Sleeping Beauty? Check. Bisexual MC? Check. Monster women? Check, check, check.
The story is beautiful. Soraya, the shah’s sister, is cursed from birth to be poisonous to the touch. She first killed another person when she was three days old. She lives in a palace, far away from her family, and wants nothing more than to be free of her curse. When she finds out there is a way, she grabs hold with both (gloved) hands and lays waste to those who stand in her way.
Well, she does at first. And then she doesn’t, and regrets everything. And then she decides it was the right thing. And then she decides it was the wrong thing. And then she sides with the person who helped her. And then she goes against the person that helped her. And then she sides with the person that helps her again, and then she sides with the other person who helped her. And then she betrays some people, and then she tries to win those people back, and then she betrays them again –
You get the picture.
We do love a conflicted MC. To be a monster, to not be a monster? To become the queen of monsters, to not become the queen of monsters? And truly, I get it. I do! These are big decisions. But c’mon girl, have some conviction! No more of this flip-flopping about. What do you want?
I did say this aloud, more than once.
Now, this next part is something I never thought I would say, but here goes.
This book is billed as a sapphic story – and it is! But the romance between the two women was so rushed and sudden and lukewarm that I was truly taken aback when it happened. Like, where did this come from? The two conversations you have had thus far? To me, the romance felt shoe-horned in. If I hadn’t known to expect it, I wouldn’t have expected it. The relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist is much more heavily developed – not that I wanted Soraya to end up with him, but the romance between Soraya and Parvaneh was like cold tea in comparison.
I just wanted this book to be… more. It was supposed to give, but it did not give what needed to be gave to be highest of giving, and all that. I’m glad I finally read it, but I wouldn’t recommend it, nor would I read it again. It was just a bit too disappointing. I expected to be blown away – especially considering it seems to be on everyone’s sapphic rec lists – but instead I was just… whelmed.
At least the cover is beautiful!
