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Juniper & Thorn

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Juniper & Thorn

By: Ava Reid
Narrated by: Stina Neilsen
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the Sunday Times best-selling author of The Wolf and the Woodsman comes a gothic retelling of The Juniper Tree, where a young witch seeks to discover her identity and escape the domination of her abusive wizard father. Perfect for fans of Angela Carter, Catherynne M. Valente and Shirley Jackson

A gruesome curse. A city in upheaval. A monster with unquenchable appetites.

As the last true witches living in a city shifting from magic to industry, Marlinchen and her two sisters are little more than tourist traps as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and trying to placate their tyrannical, xenophobic wizard father, who keeps his daughters sequestered from the outside world. While at night, she and her sisters sneak out to enjoy the city's amenities and revel in its thrills, particularly the recently established ballet theatre, where Marlinchen meets a dancer who quickly captures her heart.

But as Marlinchen's late-night trysts grow more fervent and frequent, so does the threat of her father's rage and magic. And while the city flourishes with culture and bustles with enterprise, a monster lurks in its midst, borne of intolerance and resentment and suffused with old-world power. Caught between history and progress and blood and desire, Marlinchen must draw upon her own magic to keep her city safe and find her place within it.

©2022 Ava Reid (P)2022 Penguin Audio
Dark Fantasy Fantasy Gothic Historical Horror Magic Fiction Scary Magic Users Heartfelt

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All stars
Most relevant
This is the third dark fairy tale I've read this week, and I honestly can't decide which I prefer. This is definitely the darkest, look up trigger warnings, it can be unrelentingly bleak at points, but it has this horror bleakness that I found quite interesting. I adore the characters in this, and how broken they were due to the world they were a part of, and the Father & Doctor were both vile manipulative cretins who were just so awful to see but they were so lifelike in their cruelty.
I will say I was slighly taken aback by the almost Stephen King way of oversharing of how a character felt, but at the same time it made sense for a character so broken, with their perspectives on sex and love warped by the brutality of the world.
Overall a fantastic read

A sumptuously dark fairytale

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Well written fantasy horror about the youngest sister in an abusive household of magic users.

A dark fairytale-like story

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I tried to get through this because I loved the wolf and the woodsman. I’m giving Ava 5 stars because she deserves it, but hopefully Saskia returns to her narration.

This is the same narrator that did the From blood and ash series, and the effect was the same. Luckily, I ordered Jupiter and Thorn in hardbook and so can judge the story. But personally, the voice on this one is a bit painful and I can’t quite put my finger on why but regretful

Please bring back Saskia Maarleveld for narration!

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I chose this as I loved Ava's other books, however, I didn't really enjoy this one. It all just seemed a bit unnecessary and longwinded. I struggled through to the end but as another reviewer commented it was just a bit "meh"

Not really for me

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Nothing to write home about but it wasn’t that bad either. Narrator was on point! Be wary of the triggers.

Meh

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