Book: Girl, Serpent, Thorn

Author: Melissa Bashardoust

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Length: 336 pages

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is an intriguing tale based on Persian mythology, featuring a f/f romance that is quite lovely to read. The book focuses on our heroine Soraya, a princess cursed from birth to be poisonous to the touch. Forced to stay hidden away in the castle, she has lived her entire life feeling like an outcast, unable to freely roam her city or make connections with her family. As Soraya gets older, she begins to deeply resent this – which leads to an exciting adventure about self-discovery, love, and redemption.

Bashardoust’s writing is easy to read and immersive, with magical elements really lending themselves to the overall fairytale-like feeling of the novel. After the first few chapters, I was a bit worried that the plot would be really predictable, as some of it seemed pretty cliche. However, while I expected some of the reveals, Girl, Serpent, Thorn had some great twists and turns during the second half of the book. The overall pacing is solid and the world building definitely enjoyable to read.

Another wonderful element to this book is that we have a bisexual lead! Although I wish there had been a little more substance to the main relationship, I thought it progressed meaningfully and the interactions between the two were realistic. Although the moments they had felt real and special, at the end of the novel I was left wanting a bit more. This is a standalone novel, so perhaps that feeling is just me craving a sequel.

So while this book isn’t perfect, it’s a very beautiful story with a great underlying message, and representation as well. If you enjoy YA fantasy and are interested in an original fairytale-esque story with a modern, feminist perspective, then this book is a great pickup.