A review by epsyphus
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.5

I really wanted to like this book, espcially because everything I heard or read about it made it sound like something right up my alley (I love gothic horror with a good amount of gore in there) but I just didn't. The writing was good and atmospheric, the characters were pretty interesting, and I even went in with knowledge about the trigger warnings and somehow I still felt like nothing really happened. I felt bored. And certain things felt out of place like her bulimia. Like it felt like that was just thrown in there for more trauma and I didn't get it. It was never really addressed and didn't seem relevant. I don't think it was a bad book, it just wasn't what I was expecting and not the book for me. 

Update: I’ve been seeing a lot of  criticism of gothic horror and this book in particular and I just want to be very clear: the sanitization of horror is a problem and this book not being for me is not me saying that this sort of book shouldn’t exist. Nobody writing media with this sort of content is condoning the behavior but that doesn’t mean people can’t write about it. Grow up, you’re missing the point. 

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