I don't even know how to rate or review the story (I'm terrible at reviewing books I loved, I just love them). I have quite literally had this unfinished review sitting open in a tab in Chrome for 3 days while I try to figure out what to say. And I have to say I loved the complex relationship Marlinchen had with her sisters. So many times we read books about siblings being the best of friends, even if that isn’t always what reflects real life. Marlinchen’s relationship with her sisters was messy, was awful, set them apart, showed what they all had to do to themselves and to each other to survive living under their father, regardless if that meant throwing someone else to their father’s rage. I found it fascinating, and horrible, and understandable. Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

A gothic masterpiece. Reid weaves threads of unsettling horror and abuse with astonishing empathy. Kat Dunn, author of Dangerous Remedy thank you netgalley, avon and harper voyager, and ava reid for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! i really enjoyed this book and i can tell that it’s one that will stay on my mind for a long time. it’s dark and gruesome, but also hopeful. In terms of why I felt the descriptors were inapt: for "Gothic," I can understand where the thought came from in terms of the setting, but it really didn't have any of the atmosphere of a Gothic novel (which is most of what makes a novel Gothic to me). There were fear and supernatural elements present, and it had a good focus on the internal life of our protagonist, as one might expect from Gothic; but the fear was mostly that of if people were going to be an asshole, and the supernatural for the vast portion of the book was the (mostly) comfortably familiar, being that the protagonist Marlinchen and her sisters are witches, and their father a wizard. I never felt the claustrophobia or fear due to supernatural that tends to be what I expect from Gothic, or the presence of revenge/murder/scheming or ghosts of the past invading and altering the now.At the same time, I ask that readers, particularly those who do not personally identify with these topics, not pre-judge the book based on content warnings. Nuanced depictions of uncomfortable subject matter have always been crucial to literature - one of the most valuable elements of fiction is its capacity to explore these subjects, shine a light on topics that are traditionally stigmatized, and elevate the voices of those who have been historically silenced.

My complaints with the categorization aside (which is mainly what subjectively made it not work me, in that it wasn't what I wanted or had been led to expect) I don't think Juniper & Thorn is bad. I think it will work well for many people. It's a dark "historical" fantasy romance, set in "not-Eastern-Europe" (somewhere ambiguously Slavic is the most I'd be comfortable saying for certain, though likely a Ukraine/Russia analogue), with a fairy-tale retelling flavour. Dark, in that flavour, as of your unadulterated Grimm brother's tales. It feels familiar and like somewhere we know, in that retelling vein, despite technically being in a secondary world. There's a very nice infusion of culture in the novel, food and names and folklore, mainly for the native Oblyans to which Marlinchen belongs, but equally nice if less frequent for Rodinyans and Yehuli. Comparing between novels, I could see fans of Uprooted being fans of this. I haven't read The Wolf and the Woodsman, so I can't compare the two, but though they're set in the same world, this stands perfectly well alone. I think the only overlap is only in some of the ethnic groups, but they're introduced perfectly well here. Juniper & Thorn is many things, but it is not an easy story told or read. Reid has been upfront about how difficult this was to write and the content warnings therein. But through darkness and abuse, through violence and trauma, there is victory: strength, love, freedom, and light at the end of a long, long tunnel. In this masterful retelling of The Juniper Tree, Reid brings all her talent to bear as we meet Marlinchen, her two sisters, and their cursed, monstrous father living in an otherworldly garden at the heart of a city on the verge of change. And when she meets Sevas and they discover how much of their experiences mirror one another? *chef’s kiss* Marlinchen and Sevas have both been treated in unspeakable ways by the people they should be able to trust and rely on more than any one (common for those who have experienced SA, particularly CSA), and there’s an innate beauty in seeing Marlinchen and Sevas them come together and discover how much power they hold and feed into the other. After the 2021 release of her debut novel “The Wolf and the Woodsman,” Ava Reid has returned with the gothic fantasy-horror standalone “Juniper & Thorn.” Set in the world of “The Wolf and the Woodsman,” “Juniper & Thorn” is a fairytale, but not in the way that Disney has led one to expect. Instead, Reid’s novel expertly crafts a world of monsters and monstrous men to explore the consequences of patriarchy and trauma.One of the biggest things that brings them together is both being survivors of abuse, and I think that’s always a really beautiful idea that I often enjoy seeing executed ( The Mirror Season, Heart’s Blood and Empire of Sand are all examples of this that I’ve liked). In this book. there are a couple really powerful moments of them protecting and supporting each other, but my overall feeling (as with the romance in general) is just that I wish there could have been more of this because I think it could have gone a lot deeper. While, ultimately, I didn't particularly enjoy enjoy Juniper and Thorn myself, I think many here might, and hopefully my review is at least helpful, and may lead some of you to become more excited for it. I even intend to loan my copy to a friend, who I think will in fact very enjoy it. To steal u/improperly_paranoid's rating scheme: When I heard that Ava Reid had written a gothic horror retelling of The Juniper Tree, there was nothing I wouldn't do to read it at the soonest possible chance. Having absolutely worshiped her adult debut, The Wolf and the Woodsman, this novel promised to ruin me without remorse as much as its precursor. True to the fact, Juniper & Thorn is utterly gruesome, vividly capturing a darkness and horror that lingers down dark halls and underneath floorboards waiting for the prime moment to sink in its teeth. Reid is masterful at their craft, seamlessly blending horror and fantasy together in a story completely grotesque and illustrative of a blooming rose clouded among thorny brambles. Every sentence in this novel is striking, with imagery and prose that threatened to devour me whole. In time with the story, lore and fairytales play an important part in the main narrative, intersecting the vein of Marlinchen’s character development and the understanding of her own situation. These sporadic fairytales were definitely some of my favorite parts of the whole book, getting after the core themes and relationships between the main characters. At this point, Reid's capability for writing complex relationships is unquestionable, particularly ones that are nuanced and not simply good or bad, yet those you cannot help but love all the more. Three characters that come to mind are Marlinchen and her sisters Undine and Rose, as they endured years of abuse at the hands of their father, and impacted one another in continuously damaging ways. In turn, Marlinchen’s love interest Sevas was entirely endearing and latched on to my heart as the two attempted to escape their situations. A captivating gothic horror with a brutal design, Juniper & Thorn is imbued with memory, an examination of abuse, and survivorhood in all forms. As we are approximately six months from publication and advance copies are beginning to find their way into readers' hands, I would like to take this moment to provide content warnings for Juniper & Thorn. The last thing I want to do is cause serious psychological harm to readers whose traumatic experiences mirror those depicted in the book. Juniper & Thorn” reimagines the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Juniper Tree,” one of their darkest and most violent fables. Reid leans into Hungarian and Jewish folklore to tell the story of a third daughter trapped in a meagre life by her cursed, tyrannical father, a xenophobic wizard. After slipping away with her sisters to see the ballet, she stumbles across a young man whose deepest desires mirror her own, setting in motion a painful journey toward emancipation. I knew I was reading something special when I found myself scribbling in the margins at 3 a.m., unable to put the book down. I’ve read more than 150 novels in 2022, and nothing comes close to “Juniper & Thorn’s” rich and often vicious imagery. In an era when far too many fantasy novels suffer from unnecessary bloat, this book is the antidote; Reid doesn’t waste a single sentence.

Sister stories always get to me. And Juniper & Thorn is no exception. The relationship Marlinchen has with hers is complex, difficult, and full of resentment. There are moments of care and love interspersed, but it’s largely an element that merely explores the themes of family. Because for Marlinchen, what she wants versus what her family expects of her is one of the central themes. To figure out who she is apart from them. If she were to stand alone, is explored within Juniper & Thorn and one of the main reasons I loved it. This is a dark and bloody tale, full of magic both otherworldly and familiar, and despite its monsters, it reads like comfort. After you read it, you'll start saving space on your shelf for Ava Reid. Kendare Blake, New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns When we're children, we are given a map of this world that teaches us right from wrong. We are taught, often through story and metaphor, who are the heroes and who are the monsters. And it affects our perspective every single day for the rest of our lives. It affects who we trust. It affects our prejudices and our privileges. It affects who we allow to dictate our own experiences. But most importantly, it affects the narratives we tell to ourselves and to others. And for Marlinchen, these stories have affected her more than most. Overall, my biggest issue with this book was how oversexualized it was. I lost count of how many times Marlinchen became hyperfocused on someone’s nipples and if the author had used the words “maidenhead” or “seed” one more time, I probably would have thrown my Kindle across the room. The plot was completely vulgar at points and I put the book down several times, completely nauseated by the content. Nothing about the original fairytale required that level of sexualization. That may be a purely personal preference, but again, I was not prepared for that at all. Juniper & Thorn - set in a fantastical version of Odessa, Ukraine - explores the lengths people will go to in search for a meaning or a larger message in our own tragedies.Juniper and Thorn is technically set in the same world as The Wolf and the Woodsman (and even brilliantly works in a direct reference to its mythology at one point) but where that story wrestled primarily with issues of faith and belonging, this one explores complex issues of family and personal agency. What does it mean to love someone who hurts you? Who you well know is most likely a literal monster? And how can you claim your own power or recognize your own value when those who are supposed to love you best have always told you you don’t have any of those things?

As the story continues, the question ultimately becomes what is Marlinchen will to risk for true freedom. How determined is she to forget her own path? And what is she willing to sacrifice along the way. (The answer, as it turns out, is a lot, and many of our heroine’s choices are of the sort that come with scars that don’t ever quite heal.) From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf and the Woodsman comes a gothic retelling of The Juniper Tree, where a young witch seeks to discover her identity. Utterly astonishing . . . Juniper & Thorn is the dark fairytale brought to perfection: terrible, and true, and full of teeth. The immersive setting of “Juniper & Thorn” is a standout. By setting the novel in Oblya, an Eastern European-inspired city where magic is being pushed out by science and technology, Reid creates a compelling universe populated with witches, wizards, and mythological creatures. The setting of “Juniper & Thorn” makes its horror sequences even more striking, as readers’ vision of a fairytale world is punctured by scenes of violence and death. Book Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Historical, Historical Fiction, Horror, Paranormal, Retellings, Romance, WitchesAnd Sevas, my god, I would die for him. I truly don’t know how Ava is able to write such compelling but noticeably different love interests. I loved Gaspar in TW+TW, but they are not very similar and relationship dynamics were completely different as well. Sevas’ kindness and compassion and understanding to Marlinchen from the very beginning above all. There is something so visceral and unendingly awe-inspiring than a good, old fashioned “I see you. I see all of your flaws. I accept them. I love you.” scene. They make me want to rattle the bars of my sanity cage and scream into my pillow.