Prince of Thorns

I heard there's a lot of controversy around this book but I guess the people talking about it read only fairy tales. Seriously, there are so many other grittier series. Even A Song of Ice & Fire has more violence in 100 pages than this one in 300.

The main character is a 14 year old boy filled with anger on a path for revenge. The age was my biggest problem. He doesn't think or act as he should. It would've been more believable if he was at least 16 and even then I'd have a problem comprehending why his brotherhood follows him. So what if he's a psychopath? He's in his early teens!

The writing gets better and better and by the end of the book it's... good. The story feels rushed but at the same time drags way too much in some places. The lack of description makes it sometimes difficult to understand and imagine the scenes.

The world setting is interesting though I really don't understand how could society return to medieval ways so much. Also, what the hell is with this “Jesu” and “fecking” thing? Seriously, does Lawrence really think people would distort those words into these forms while still reading Plato without any problems?!

All in all it's a book with great potential that wasn't achieved. But it's also authors first book and by the end of it you can see he has improved. I hope the King of Thorns will be better. The reviews suggest it will... but sadly we're living in a world where crap like Twilight and Shades of grey rule the selling charts.

Horrible main character, poor writing, poor storyline, and poor twist of events. When I first read the premise I thought “Sounds interesting and different”. Nope. All just trying to shock you so that it stands out amongst the crowd. Completely unrealistic. Grown men practically worshiping a teenage brat? HA. Keep dreaming.

I think I've figured out a plot twist that comes later in the series. That is quite disappointing, so I hope it twists again.

The story felt very bare and minimalist. I am baring in mind this is a debut so the next books will only get better. I don't feel any attachment to Jorg but in all fairness the audio for this book really emphasised how young and angst he sounds to that may be part of the problem.

I know the other books in the trilogy get longer, so I hope that they are packed with more world building and character work so I can enjoy the series more.