(Heart of Thorns #1)
by Bree Barton
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Publication Date: July 31st
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 438
ISBN: 9780062447685
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy
Source: Review Copy/Finished Copy
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In the ancient river kingdom, touch is a battlefield, bodies the instruments of war. Seventeen-year-old Mia Rose has pledged her life to hunting Gwyrach: women who can manipulate flesh, bones, breath, and blood.
Not women. Demons. The same demons who killed her mother without a single scratch.
But when Mia's father suddenly announces her marriage to the prince, she is forced to trade in her knives and trousers for a sumptuous silk gown. Only after the wedding goes disastrously wrong does she discover she has dark, forbidden magic—the very magic she has sworn to destroy. (Goodreads)
Like always, the first thing that drew me to Heart of Thorns by Bree Barton was its absolutely gorgeous cover. (If you know me at all, you know I seriously can’t resist a book with a pretty cover!) And not only that, but the summary for the book sounded really interesting as well, so of course I was super excited to read this book, and I worked it onto my TBR to read as soon as I possibly could.
To be honest, despite reading the summary, I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading this book. Having now read it, there are some things I did like, and some things I didn’t. I do like that this book was all about girl power, which was awesome, and I really enjoyed the diversity throughout the story as well. The storyline was one that has been done over and over again, yet also felt pretty unique as well. There were some really interesting characters throughout the story as well, including quite a few that I really wanted to know more about.
The storyline for the book was a little confusing, as I thought that it was going to go in one direction, and it then it seemed to get a little off track as the story went along. It also felt a little rushed as well, including when the main character discovers and comes to terms with the fact that she is a Gwyrach, the one thing she hates the most in the world and wants to kill at all costs. I don’t know why, but I had a hard time buying it, and I felt much the same way about the relationship with the love interest in the story as well. I’m not sure why I couldn’t connect with these things, so I may have to try reading the book again. *shrug*
I also want to add that there’s an interesting twist at the very end of the book, one that will leave you absolutely hanging, and because of that, I do believe that I am curious enough to check out the next book just to see what’s going to happen next.
Overall; while it may seem like I didn’t love this book, I did find Heart of Thorns to be an interesting read, and I’m most definitely going to check out the next book in the series to see what’s going to happen next. Do check out this book for yourself to see what you think!
