Juniper & Thorn
Ratings51
Average rating3.6
From highly acclaimed, bestselling author Ava Reid comes a gothic horror retelling of The Juniper Tree, set in another time and place within the world of The Wolf and the Woodsman, where a young witch seeks to discover her identity and escape the domination of her abusive wizard father, perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson and Catherynne M. Valente.
A gruesome curse. A city in upheaval. A monster with unquenchable appetites.
Marlinchen and her two sisters live with their wizard father in a city shifting from magic to industry. As Oblya’s last true witches, she and her sisters are little more than a tourist trap as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and trying to placate her tyrannical, xenophobic father, who keeps his daughters sequestered from the outside world. But at night, Marlinchen and her sisters sneak out to enjoy the city’s amenities and revel in its thrills, particularly the recently established ballet theater, where Marlinchen meets a dancer who quickly captures her heart.
As Marlinchen’s late-night trysts grow more fervent and frequent, so does the threat of her father’s rage and magic. And while Oblya flourishes with culture and bustles with enterprise, a monster lurks in its midst, borne of intolerance and resentment and suffused with old-world power. Caught between history and progress and blood and desire, Marlinchen must draw upon her own magic to keep her city safe and find her place within it.
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I have no idea what I just read. It was good but also ... Not so good. Whatever you think this book is about, it isn't. It isn't for the faint of heart and could use a good trigger warning for sexual abuse and general sexual themes.
The constant sexualisation of the characters, both in the narration and the roles in the story bothered me a lot. I do not like reading constantly about nipples and puckering lips and all that shit. I also disliked all the characters, they all had descriptions that did not match up with the way they were written. We are constantly reminded that Marlinchen is dumb and Rose and Undine are so fucking smart. I have not seen them do a single smart thing until the last 30 pages.
I didn't like the ending either. It felt like nothing happened until the last couple of pages. It was no plot but also not really good character arcs or anything. It felt a little like an empty shell. It really threw me into a reading slump.
this is it – this is THE gothic fantasy novel
as a past avid fan of gothics, i was immediately pulled into this story. it had all the classic elements of a gothic novel paired with beautiful prose and storytelling that ava reid simply excels at. and it also has this whole gorgeous “just two kids healing from trauma” part to it that makes this gothic story stand out amongst the rest
additionally, while i predicted the plot twist, i did not completely predict the whole story and that was extremely pleasing, especially as the last 50 pages of the book unfolded. extremely satisfying ending that sweeps up every little crumb left throughout the book well
... now how long do i have to wait until the next ava reid book?
