A Curse Most Deadly

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust Review

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.

As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.

Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming...human or demon. Princess or monster.

Suzie's Review (Spoilers!) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Okay, I loved this book! The writing was good, the plot was tight, the world felt real, and, most importantly, the characters were compelling. Also, there was some serious bi rep in this book, which I always appreciate!

We start with Soraya. Cursed from birth with a poisonous touch, she longs to feel someone else’s skin against her own without fearing they will die. She wants to live in a world of sunlight with her family, but is instead left in the shadows to protect her country. And she is willing to stay there. I won’t say that she is happy about it, or even content to stay there, but she knows that it is her lot in life. “Soraya lived in the shadows of Golvahar so that her family would not live in hers.” Or, she did live in the shadows. Isolated and lonely. Until she met a young man, barely more than a boy. Azad.

Now, when Azad first entered the scene, I thought oh, okay. He’s not afraid of her, that’s good. And uhh… he seems like he actually wants to get to know her? Nice. But then, the more he interacted with Soraya, my thoughts turned a little less accepting. I was worried that this would become a book where the helpless maiden was saved by the dashing lad, and I hated the thought of it. The more he spoke, the more it grated my nerves, and I probably would have stopped reading the book entirely if not for the saving grace: Parvaneh.

This is the point where I should tell y’all that I sometimes take notes on books while reading them. I tell you this because about half-way through the book, I stopped taking the time to fully type out Parvaneh’s name and began to simply refer to her as “my wife”. So… yeah, she was by far my favorite character in the entire book. It was when Soraya first met Parvaneh that I realized Azad was not all he appeared to be and that there were greater plans at play. Parvaneh gives Soraya information about her curse/gift, and it changed everything I felt about this book.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn went from a predictable slog of a book to a tomb filled with endless possibilities and complex, interconnected storylines. Azad’s character felt false and overly polished because it was false and overly polished. He was pretending to be something he was not, and the author did such a good job that Azad had me convinced of his storybook prince facade. Unfortunately, it took Soraya a bit too long to realize it.

Annddd that’s as spoilery as I am willing to get until this book is released on May 12. This is a book where things are often not what they seem, filled with old enemies and unlikely allies. It is a book for girls with steel in their hearts and glass in their hands. It is beautiful, it is deadly, and it is one of the best books I’ve read all year.