Garden of Thorns and Light

by Shylah Addante

What the Critics are Saying about GARDEN OF THORNS AND LIGHT:

"This is a refreshing and engrossing fantasy novel, a cut above the rest." —ALA Booklist starred review

"This supernatural page-turner with twists will leave readers wishing they had fairy wings." —Kirkus Reviews

-------------------------

Synopsis:

When Amethyst Faye was six years old, she was almost stolen by a monster in the woods on the same night her mother mysteriously disappeared. Ten years, a half dozen psychiatrists, and a slew of diagnoses haven’t made things any better; she is still plagued by nightmares, ridiculed at school, and misunderstood by everyone from her teachers to her counselor to her father. And lately she’s been sprouting thick green thorns out of her skin.

When the paranoia doesn’t end, and the treatment options run out, she’s faced with a choice between inpatient treatment or spending the summer with a grandmother she hasn’t heard from in a decade.

Summer at Gran’s in Morgan Springs wins out, just barely, and only because a backwater town sounds marginally more interesting than a mental institution. Amethyst draws the attention of Ben, the boy of her dreams, and Absynth, the creature from her nightmares. Although neither of them is what she expected, Amethyst realizes both Ben and Absynth are exactly what she needs to heal her heart and harness the fairy magic she’s inherited.

Unfortunately for Amethyst, trying to walk both paths could get her killed, but having to choose between them is far worse.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Romance, Young Adult, Paranormal, Magic, Fae

270 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2020

About the author

Shylah Addante is an author and screenwriter who adores reading/watching/writing stories about magic and young love.

She has worked with Mainstay Productions on several shorts as well as the feature-length film The Christmas Dragon.

On the bookish-side of things, she is currently represented by Stacey Kondla of The Rights Factory and her debut novel, GARDEN OF THORNS AND LIGHT, will be published by Month9Books in the fall of 2020.

Outside of writing, Shylah enjoys baking, playing Pokémon Go, drinking too much Diet Coke, and not wearing pants. She has worked in higher education for a decade, and is currently a doctoral candidate in the field of Educational Leadership. She lives in Albany, New York, with her husband, David, her two daughters, Hazel and Holly, and her dog, Andy.

Reviews

[Kathryn S (Metaphors and Miscellanea)]

1. Interesting premise. I hope the mental health rep is handled well...
2. Seriously WHY IS [BLANK] OF [BLANK] AND [BLANK] STILL A THING?????
3. Amethyst Faye is such a manic pixie dream girl name. That is neither good nor bad; it simply is.

[EJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Genuinely how do these people be falling in love with someone they've known for a week TOPS. Enough to be like, oh yeah for sure I'll sacrifice everything up to and including my life, no problem. Not to mention the fact that Amethyst (yep, actual name) has been terrified of this 'monster in the woods' for TEN YEARS and then she meets her and immediately is ready to take her word over literally anyone else's in her life. (Side note: not super fond of the word monster being thrown around with as much poignancy as it is in this very short book)
It was an intriguing concept, fairies that have actual downsides to their appearance instead of just being inhumanly beautiful, but starting at about the halfway mark, very quickly started to devolve into 'story I told my kid going to sleep one time and then decided would be a cool book'.

[Jinghay (these.blank.pages) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well now :/ insta love I can somewhat overlook but a rushed ending and cliffhanger? No.

Rating: 1.5 or 2/5 stars

[Isa Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe how unknown this book was to me and am so happy I stumbled upon it in the library. The amount of times I was laughing out loud and smiling at the pages as I read was a wonderful occurrence that doesn’t usually happen when I read. I definitely got mad at Amethyst a few times and then my heart broke for her at other times. I can’t even, I just love this book and the ending had me crushed in a good but sad way 🥺🥹

[Ms. Nigeria Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

First book for 2022. This book was definitely a slow paced book. I would say this is a great audiobook while cleaning. It's just long storyline for no reason. (in my opinion) Fairies,bushes, and just a merge of different books in one.

[Caseyann Michalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating from Chapter One!

Loved the characters and the suspense! An excellent read for pre-teens all the way to adults. I will be recommending it to all of my friends!

[Florence Migga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've found myself back in the world of faeries with Garden of Thorns and Light. The interesting thing about faeries is seeing the different interpretations and iterations. The fae in this story were unlike any I had encountered before, and so it was interesting to learn their lore. Introducing much of the backstory through the book Amethyst got from Gran instead of a big info dump at the beginning of the story was also a good idea. It took a little bit to get to what felt like the magical heart of the story, but once we were there, the story took off. I wanted to scream at Amethyst way too much for the decisions she made, even though I understood why she made them. I found myself flying through the last few chapters of the book as I eagerly hoped everything would work out.

I would have loved ...

Read the full review on Book Nerds Across America:http://www.booknerdsacrossamerica.com...

[Miranda Beuerlein · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her debut novel, Shylah Addante weaves a page turning story of a young part human-part fairy girl, Amethyst, who finds out where she belongs in the world and who she belongs with. Garden of Thorns and Light is a perfect blend of adventure and YA romance as Amethyst comes face to face with the monster from her nightmares while being courted by the local outcast. The author immerses readers in family history and fairy lore while keeping things relevant with a plethora of pop culture references. As the world of the Fae unfolds, the book becomes harder to put down and ends with the reader wanting more.

[Beth Dettman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot! I liked the characters, the story, the writing.... I just didn't like the cliffhanger at the end. And I can't tell if she is going to write any more. :( The story was really unique, I thought. I also hate the trope where the adults keep things from the kids and, because of that, the kids make stupid, uninformed decisions. But, I do like that the mc owned those decisions and didn't blame the adults. I hope she writes more!

[Kait · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected the whimsy and magic, but I was unprepared for the delicious creepiness in this novel! Full review TK.

[Micah Henson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The ending pissed me off. I’m so mad that I read this book. Don’t bother.

[Jade Linett Lovelace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did enjoy this book alot. I love the dark and twisted fae story and this author did it really well.
It was very small and I feel as if I would have enjoyed it with more characters and world but it was cute and quick for a standalone with a tragic but excellent ending.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had this one sitting on my audible TBR shelf for a few months and finally decided to give it a go. I’ve seen that there is a book 2 in progress, and all I have to say is that there better be! She legit cannot just end it the way she did without there being a book 2.

A little synopsis: Ever since Amethyst was “almost stolen” when she was six, things haven’t been easy for her. Her mother went missing, presumed dead, at the same time as Amethyst’s “almost” disappearance and for the last ten years has been raised by a father who doesn’t know what to do with her perceived instability. So, she has a choice this summer - go to a residential treatment center or spend the summer with her estranged grandmother in the small rural town of Morgan Springs, Pennsylvania. She picks granny. Well, things continue to get stranger for Amethyst as she physically begins to have signs that she is not quite right.

Amethyst just wants to understand what is happening without people thinking she’s crazier than they already do. Her father already wants to send her to a treatment center. The heart of this story is a tale of acceptance, belonging, self-discovery, the pain of secrets and ultimately family. These thematic ideals are woven together from page one.

However, when Absynth comes into her life, Amethyst is so desperate for these things, that it’s not hard to understand why she believes what she’s told. Absynth is the first person to tell her anything, to help her with what she is going through! There is a predictability there that as a reader you can see right through all of it, so even though Amethyst was at times annoying, her behavior makes sense.

Will I read the sequel when it eventually comes out? Probably, I’m not a fan of cliffhangers, but they are successful as I do want to figure out what is happening with everything that went down. It’s a great little dark fantasy with fae that are more made from nightmares than Disney. If you have Audible, this is a free download. Go ahead and add it to your TBR.


Full Review: https://open.substack.com/pub/thebook...

[Gabi Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend Garden of Thorns and Light to any fantasy reader who likes interesting fairy worlds. It's a young adult story that can be enjoyed by all. I enjoyed the hidden world within the modern world element. Don't tread too deep into the forest. Addante has created an interesting cast of characters that have depth and strength. This may be a series because although it raps up nicely, the story does not end and I want to read more.

[Heather Kimball · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a hot mess. The main character was the equivalent of an original Disney princess. "I have cool powers and I just met this boy. I must be in love! Hi, the random person I have never met before saying they are my aunt. I am going to trust you 100%. I will do anything you say and not question any of it." Amethyst is so basic and woefully stupid that the book was hard to slog through. The ending was unsatisfying and honestly, rushed. It felt like the author ran out of stuff to talk about and just ended it.

The only redeeming quality of this book is Ben. He deserves so much more than this fever dream. Why is it that the secondary characters are so much more interesting than the main character? That is the mark of a terrible book. I said what I said.

[Taylor Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

...wow.

The FMC annoyed the hell out of me. Ben, the love interest, was nothing but good to her the entire book. Here's how the romance went:

Ben: I like you
Her: I like you back
Her: but we can't be together
Ben: I'll be patient, I really like you.
Her: okay, but I don't think this is a good idea
Ben: let's hang out, I adore you
Her: okay, I adore you too
Her: but we can't do this, really. I'm secretly a fairy.
Him: I love you, go on a date with me
Her: okay, I love you back
Her: BUT RAWR, I'M A MONSTER
Her: I'd give my life for you, be a fairy with me??
Ben: what?? Okay, I'll do it.

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 no.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

**** SPOILER ALERT ****






* Amethyst is a girl with a tragic past, who doesn't fit into her own world. After losing her mother at a young age, being haunted by monsters from that very night and hiding an unbelievable secret; her childhood and relationship with her father is irreparably damaged. When her psychiatrist and father give her an ultimatum: inpatient psychiatric treatment or a summer at her long-last grandmothers, she chooses summer in a small town with the lesser of what she sees as two evils. Her arrival to her grandmother's house greets her with more questions regarding her complicated past and she decides to dig deeper to find the truth of what happened to her mother. When the monster from her dreams finds her and finally captures her, she learns a lot about herself and her past that she never understood. Feeling like she finally has the answers to her very existence, she is faced with an impossible choice: give up her humanity and everything she knows to embrace an uncertain but promising, magical future or live unfulfilled until death quickly finds her. Little does she know, she is being manipulated and the person she finally thought she could trust tricked her into hurting the one person who cared about her unconditionally.

There are a few problems with the plot and characters:

The beginning, the entire premise for the book, the introduction, the background - it makes no sense - Why out of no where did Gran decide to help Amethyst after having no part of her life for 10 years? (this is touched on at the end of the book, but if her grandfather was actually alive and they actually wanted to help her, why wouldn't they have done something sooner?) What happened that made her father and psychiatrist decide to give her the ultimatum for treatment? Did the father and grandmother have contact and just not tell Amethyst? Did he know the truth about her family and the truth about her and had hoped that sending her to her grandmothers would save her from the same fate as her mother? She admits that she and her father have no relationship and he basically pretends she does not exist, so why does he care if she goes to Holbrooke or to Gran's?

Amethyst falls in love with Ben and trusts Absynthe to easily. The girl has lived her entire life without trust, she doesn't fit in with her peers, she is haunted by monsters, she has no relationship with her father and has been forced into multiple psychiatric therapies that never cured a problem that never had a thing to do with mental health. She spent her entire childhood terrified of the monster that kidnapped her and believed killed her mother, yet she believes every word she says when she finally brings her into the woods and "explains" everything. She struggles to form a relationship with her grandmother based on these same trust issues and is terrified of a friendship with Ben until she magically falls in love with him. I do think that can be explained by her having received a sudden reason for her existence and the strong desire to belong, but I just feel like the connection is never created in the book and therefore it seems as though Amethyst goes from untrusting to gullible in the span of one night. I also think that the love between Ben and Amethyst forms too quickly and without any real basis, Ben chases Amethyst when she arrives in town even after she rejects him multiple times, but there is no reason for why he would keep trying to why they would fall in love, she does not open up to him and she hurts him again and again, so for them to have this love where they would sacrifice themselves for each other makes no sense. The book has a good idea behind it, I love faerie tales and the concept that faeries are not kind creatures, I also love the idea of them falling love with humans and giving up their immortality for that love, however the plot and characters weren't solid and the ending was too vague.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this fantasy book for young adults. I hated the beginning. It dances around mental illness and cutting, but never truly addresses the seriousness of these conditions. Instead, Amethyst treats her father and counselor's concern as uncalled-for interference. Then, the ending is rushed and hangs; I guess to make room for another book in a series. However, in this case it makes no sense. How is Amethyst on her own when she just had a breakthrough in her relationship with her grandmother and grandfather?

Somewhere in the middle of this novel, however, there is a lovely romance between the two misfit teens, Amethyst and Ben, as well as the modern version of The Secret Garden. However, there are key aspects of the plot that depend on strange or unrealistic human behavior. For example, spoiler: the grandmother seems to have no love or concern for her daughter Absynth. She is too matter-of-fact about her daughter becoming an evil fairy and killing her other daughter. And if the grandmother is trying to help Amethyst, why is she so closed-mouthed when Amethyst asks questions? Similarly, Amethyst's father is way too absent. We are supposed to believe he has raised a daughter on his own for ten years but is not present in her life. How did a six-year-old eat or have clean clothes? The answer might be that Amethyst is mentally ill and an unreliable narrator, but that does not fit the plot where she did not imagine her attacker. Also, why does Amethyst go from being scared of the lights and fairies to doing everything they say without even blinking? This does not seem to fit the character. And why do the authorities let Ben stay with his mentally ill mother after he is arrested several times?

While it is normal for young adult books to have deficits in the plot because they are from the perspective of a teen, this book takes that concept so far that it is not realistic. Addante is good a creating a fantasy world and romantic teens but needs to work on the components of the real world and how that fits with the fantasy world. This is a shame because I liked her vision of fairies.

I listened to the audiobook which was excellently read by Chelsea Stephens. She helped me get through the less interesting sections.

[Megan Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amethyst Faye suffers from PTSD regarding strange lights and a monster in the woods that led to her mother’s disappearance. Worse when she hit puberty she began to sprout strange green thorns. Refusing to trust the psychiatrist with her problems, she begrudgingly accepts a summer visit with her estranged grandmother in Morgan Springs over confinement at a mental institution. While she is happy the backwater town comes with a handsome gardener named Ben who knows nothing of her past, the nearby woods also seem to contain the monster she has spent her life dreaming about. Romance or the reality of the fae world could help heal the teen, but trying to have both is just a looming disaster.
* * * * *---------* * * * *---------* * * * *
This one starts out as a very angsty entry with potential commentary on self-loathing and cutting behaviors. Fantasy often allows for some distance to familiar topics, and I was sad that it didn’t really embrace the social commentary as things developed. The narrative then introduces a strong insta-love candidate and whispers of conspiracy regarding both their family histories. I thought both having shady pasts would be a great way to bond along with the manual labor of restoring the gardens—but, honestly, Amethyst never really shares her story. They get to have some scooby-doo like investigations, a bit a sneaking around, and some body chemistry as our protagonist and the audience learn about the fae from a storybook and clandestine meetings. Not really my cup of tea, but decently executed. Then the story gets to the end and becomes a bit of a nightmare. Strangely not due to the whining monologues, obvious villainess, or the Romeo and Juliet determination to sacrifice for someone we’ve barely met—this is YA fiction after all. I was most annoyed by the ludicrous self-blame. The side characters have not been portrayed with much depth but her absentee father and lying grandparents did create this mess, blame her for her problems, decide to institutionalize her, and sent her to battle the supernatural on her own. Meanwhile Amethyst spends the final chapters talking about how she is a selfish monster. Then readers get an abrupt stop where we have to fill in our expectations about crossing the veil between realms. Ugh. I finished it. Some of the descriptions are good, some of the ideas had potential, and it had a habit to zig out from where the expected zag was going to be.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am giving this book four stars with the caveat that the last star is entirely for one benjamin taylor, who is utterly precious and deserves every star in the sky.

full disclosure: i know shylah personally; we're fellow members of the hunger games fansite community so we've been friendly for years. given our familiarity, i feel it appropriate for me to summarize my feelings as i finish this book thusly:

SHYLAH. WHAT. 😲

that said, i really did enjoy this book a lot. both amethyst and ben felt like real teenagers, and the conflict between the fairy world and the human world is rife with opportunities-- still plenty of places for it to go; even when it's been done often in this age of fantasy and urban fantasy, i think this is a fresh take on it. and as i suggested earlier, if you don't absolutely fall in love with ben, i don't know what's wrong with you because ben should be everyone's boyfriend.

the lore of the fairy world was interesting and made me want to know more, and i really liked how it weaved down into the dynamics of amethyst's family. i was already super curious about her mother's death as it was, so later twists that involved even more relatives really worked for me, and i liked the way it all came together.

still, it's not a perfect book. i did, at points, feel like amethyst was being a little too credulous about absynth's intentions ("has this girl never watched a horror movie?!" was a common refrain as i read through the book). however, i think considering that she's been treated like a weirdo her entire life, her gullibility is understandable, if not personally relatable. and i did think the climax was a little too quick. i could've used a little less padding in the middle if that meant the ending could be a little more stretched out. BUT! i can forgive that as long as we get a sequel, hint hint nudge nudge. 😉

all in all, though, this is pretty damn good for a first outing. congrats to shylah, and hope to see much more of this universe in the future!

[kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

slow at the beginning. i wish there was a way i could describe how heartfelt this was, especially at the end.

the love connection, slowly building between amethyst and ben was actually adorable. she was so naive. why was she so clumsy in the beginning and then nothing more on it throughout the rest of the book? i get character development but i mean there were like 3 pages on how clumsy she was? and then no more after. okayyyy????

the back and forth and back and forth between ben and amethysts growing connection was driving me crazy. it was almost like there was no real desire to think about making an actual relationship plot for the book so just the bare minimum was done.

meeting gramps…. that was so rushed. way too quick, came out of the freaking blue. hey, let me just take you on a trip, not tell you where we are going or why, just “we are going to see your grandfather” LOL okay??
there should have been more to it than THAT but whatever i didn’t write it.

thennnnn we rush through how to magically grow things, out of nowhere with new found fairy magic and on her second try she gets a whole ass belladonna plant? okay yea go for it. sure thing.

now that i can grow a plant that kills, let’s go murder my aunt in the woods!!!! yayyyy here we go. then with no hesitation or suspicion from the other fairies and here we go! quick gotta fly and drown the lights! oh she’s not dead? how? gasp! fight fight fight!!!! oh no? my mom? she’s there! gotta free her before i’m a fairy light!

basically, the ending was so rushed. i mean, i rushed to read it, i was sobbing because of ben still, and more now that i finished it. tragic. ben and amethyst really just never got their shining moment. we could have at least had the movie date now.

i liked it all in all. it was a good book. i gave it 5 stars, it kept me interested, but ending? too rushed.

[Ella Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect from this novel when I started it, but my gosh, was it a page-turner! Amethyst's initial problems of being a young woman manifesting strange fairy traits are only compounded when she gets packed off to her grandmother's house to spend the summer. Once there, she digs into the mystery of her family and meets Ben, the local boy who steals her heart.

Garden of Thorns and Light was fast paced, full of action and mystery, and I blitzed through it in one day because I couldn't put it down. I just HAD to know what Amethyst was up against, who she should trust, and how she'd end up sorting out her problems. I definitely wasn't expecting the sheer amount of heart-wrenching emotion I found in the novel, especially as I got closer to the end. I'm a sucker for a book with stakes, and this one has plenty of them!

It was a great fantasy book with just enough world-building to draw me in, but not so much that I got overwhelmed. Instead, it relied on beauty in the prose and a slightly different take on old myths that kept me interested and engaged. It had a bit of insta-love going on with Amethyst and Ben, but I'm a little used to that with YA books, so it was easy enough to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the fantasy and mystery aspects of the novel.

[Criizmeow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

This is a very middle of the road book, nothing stands out, but it wasn't really bad either.
I think the story and the writing had potential, I would have liked if the fairy allegory was pushed into a different story, because this could have been a spooky coming of age, using the magic to express the pain of growing up, and the tragedy. But instead, the fairies aren't particularly interesting or creepy, and all of it gets lost in a bunch of characters that act awkwardly and have contrived dialogue to explain the plot away.

Everything set up was pointless at the end as well, since the plot just ends.

I think the worst offender was the romance, I never felt any sort of attachment to the guy on the story, so the entire tragedy never felt real. Also the couple doesn't have any chemistry, nor do I feel they are people that would sacrifice for each other. Therefore, I never cared about the whole plot, or the ending.

[Holly *I have no idea what I’m doing* Abbott · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was nothing wrong with this book. I just never really got into it. It didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. The story and romance was very middle school, and the mystery was too obvious a third of the way through for me to care. When I was younger I probably would have totally gone for this kind of story (loves me some vampire diaries) but after reading Once Upon A Broken Heart, this story never had a chance.

I gave this a try because it was so highly rated on audible.
The heroine wasn’t unlikeable, just not really likable either. The story structure was very old school and the mystery was just worn out, though I did enjoy some unique takes on the “fey”. There just wasn’t enough here for me to really like anything about it (or hate anything in fairness). I would consider giving another story by this author a try but I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t DNF if it had the same feel.

[Clover Ooi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the writing is enjoyable n i finish it in a couple of days so its a quick read. However, i feel like the protagonist is very frustrating because she keeps making obviously dangerous, impulsive n dumb choices. N im not liking the instalove. I also wish it has more worldbuilding. i was wishing for some Holly Black level fae worldbuilding with introduction to other faes n maybe political stuff. But this is more of a family drama scale fae story. Not always a bad thing; it just isnt my cup of tea. The story also ends in a cliffhanger so i guess the author is writing a sequel but i dont think ill stick around for it. But If u want a simple fairy related fantasy romance then this might be for you.

[Sierra Sheffield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imo, Addante doesn’t get enough love and praise in the reviews for the things she did right with this book, and too much criticism for things that make sense for teenage characters. It’s like adults forget what it’s like to meet someone and be instantly smitten beyond reason with them, and the “insta-love” is getting so much more criticism than I think is necessary for a YA book about teenagers.. especially teenagers who are outcasts and are feeling seen for the first time, who clearly both have mental health issues that compound their feelings. The world building was super cool, I love the different take on fae. The beauty and darkness of her fae was such a cool thing, I adored the beautiful descriptions of the different sides of her fae. AND THE WAY FAE GET THEIR POWER?! I was shook, the audible gasp I gusped when that twist hit was.. whew. Shylah, I hope you’ll be back with the sequel soon. I HAVE to know what happens next.

[Kelley Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook, but I must say I enjoyed it. At first I wasn’t sure I would like how young the main characters were in the story, but it truly fit. I understand how some can not believe how quickly they fell in love, but if you’ve ever experienced true love you would understand time is not always a deciding factor. When you know, you know. It was a definite twist regarding fairies, but it was unique and kept me listening. The ending I was practically screaming at Amethyst to HURRY UP!!! I was not expecting the ending and hope this author has an idea for a sequel. I would definitely read if she wrote one.

[Jessica Hooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kinda enjoyed the book. But certainly wasn't great. The names were a little too odd. Amethyst for example. When I let myself think it was over a few months, the relationship worked, but not too quickly. Pushing away from her gran seemed odd, but understandable bit she tried to help. But got help from the monster (faerie aunt) didn't seem the most legitimate, but seemed more understanding. Monsters seemed okay, then read reviews and one said it was too much and in some ways it could've been turned down a little. A think for the ending, I'd have preferred if she had accepted what had happened and sorted it out with acceptance. Rather than accepting death and getting the boy back

[Jessica Betz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 1.5/5 stars. Wow. What an utter waste of time. This was actually the dumbest book that I think I have ever read in my life.
I got this at a sale and went in completely blind, I was intrigued because of the beautiful cover and that it was a YA fantasy. However, I was sorely disappointed.
The best way I can describe this book is that it’s what everyone who doesn’t read fantasy, thinks of whenever we say we’re reading about “fae” and “faeries”. It felt incredibly juvenile, even for YA. I could go into depth about what I didn’t like, but don’t feel like wasting even more of my time. Don’t recommend!

[Linda "Lilybug's Library" · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting insta-love, fairy fantasty. Amethyst wasn't happy to be sent to live with her Gran, but it turns out Gran had the answer to a lot of questions that Amethyst needed answers to. Unfortunately Amethyst doesn't trust her, although it's never really clear why.

She meets a guy named Ben and they instantly fall for each other. But as they are spending time together Amethyst is learning more about herself and her family's history and why her body keeps sprouting thorns.

A decent YA with a bittersweet ending.