Tuesday, July 19, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

 



Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on July 26, 2022 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.     


Violet Made of Thorns is a new dark YA fantasy novel from debut author Gina Chen.  It's the type of story that very much feels like it should be one I've read before: commoner girl born with magical powers (foresight) saves life of Prince as a child, then years later has an antagonistic relationship with him that hides what really is hot attraction.  Well that's a classic set of tropes for a reason, dealing not just with romance, but themes of class as well, and so I went into this story pretty interested and optimistic.  

And that optimism was rewarded with a story that very much is not like the usual one I've read before - which takes that romantic setup in some very different ways, and changes the political and character background to ones that are a lot more interesting.  This is a story that isn't just dealing with romance and class conflict, but also with issues of Empire, Greed, Foresight/Destiny, and powers of Storytelling...especially storytelling with the right combination of Lies and Truth.  I really liked this one, and look forward to its eventual sequel.  

---------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------
Violet came from nothing....until her ability to see the future led her to save the life of the kingdom's crown prince Cyrus.  Now years later, she's the Kingdom of Auveny's prized seer, trusted innately by the King.....especially to make prophecies up at times to serve the King's purpose.  The King hopes that Violet will use her prophecies to get Cyrus to choose a useful bride - one who will fulfill the last Seer's prophecy that Cyrus' choice of bride may save the entire Kingdom.  And of course so that the King can use her prophecies to justify his schemes to annex and conquer the neighboring kingdoms.  

There's only one problem:  Cyrus, the boy she once saved, knows of her falsehoods and can't stand her for it - especially how she allows the King to use her to manipulate others for the Kingdom....whereas Cyrus dreams of a just kingdom under his honest rule.  

But things are going very wrong in the Kingdom - strange monster beasts are attacking people on the Kingdom's borders and Violet starts to see visions and hear words seemingly from the Fates....demanding that Cyrus die as he should have once before he was saved all those years ago.  And as Violet begins to contemplate giving in to the Fate's demands she starts to run into a problem: her mutual attraction for Cyrus, one that might doom not just Violet, but the very Kingdom itself.....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I said above the jump, you expect certain things from a setup like Violet Made of Thorns - you expect the protagonist Violet to be good hearted and in love with the Prince Cyrus, who you expect to be a grim person on the surface who she'd openly seem to dislike (mutually)...and would turn out to have a secret heart of gold.  You expect the prophecies that Violet sees to be ones that turn out to mean something other than she'd think, so that they come true in ways that avert the catastrophes they portend.  And you expect Violet and Cyrus to eventually come together to save the kingdom.  

These things are for a different book, and a far less interesting one honestly.  Take Violet - Violet is good hearted at her core sure, but at the same time she's more cynical and self-interested than you would expect: afraid of ever being returned to the commoner life she started in, she's willing to lie for the King (and for herself) about prophecies to try to stay in his good graces.  And that latter remains the case even though the King is well....an utter ass, if not utterly evil: a man more interested in conquering the continent and expanding his Empire than serving those in his own populace, who cares more for his own power than anything.  And even as Violet recognizes this, she pretty much never is willing to go against the King and risk being cast off....to the great frustration of Cyrus.  

Similarly, Cyrus isn't the bitter openly cruel or dark prince you'd expect here with a hidden heart of gold - he's an actual GOOD prince whose good heart is worn openly on his sleeve.  He hates Violet's lying prophecies and what it seems to have turned her into - a bitter cynical girl instead of the one he originally fell in love with.  The problem is of course that this is not some hopeful world, but one in which his father is a cruel conqueror, and where Cyrus' future servants are not willing to just fall in line and not make plays for power themselves, so his goodhearted nature, as well as his unwilling to just take an arranged marriage, means that he puts himself in danger of getting killed or taken out of play from his actions, ruining any chance of him doing good.  

I could go on and on about other minor characters, but the result is more than a simple fantasy romance between commoner and prince, but one dealing strongly with colonization, imperialism, and fate, and a lot of really interesting themes - like how the Kingdom uses drugs to lure fairies to cast illusions; and how the Kingdom's people burn down the fairywood that other countries hold sacred out of a lack of understanding and caring - there's a lot here dealing with a colonizing/imperial main country, and it's very well done.  And Violet's cynical approach to life, and her inability to let herself try to do what's right if it might put her in jeopardy, adds to that as things get more and more out of control - due to the King's ambitions, a powerful magical foe's attacks, and her attraction to Cyrus - and helps this plot always draw you in, and makes it really work up until a really surprising ending.  

It's an ending that's a hell of a cliffhanger that should lead into a strong second book, and I really can't wait honestly.  This is a real winner and is highly recommended.

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)