ABOUT
Title: Heart of Thorns
Author: Bree Barton
Series: Heart of Thorns #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: July 31st 2018
In the ancient river kingdom, touch is a battlefield, bodies the instruments of war. Seventeen-year-old Mia Rose has pledged her life to hunting Gwyrach: women who can manipulate flesh, bones, breath, and blood.
Not women. Demons. The same demons who killed her mother without a single scratch.
But when Mia's father suddenly announces her marriage to the prince, she is forced to trade in her knives and trousers for a sumptuous silk gown. Only after the wedding goes disastrously wrong does she discover she has dark, forbidden magic—the very magic she has sworn to destroy.
I received an advanced copy of the novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion whatsoever.
Heart of Thorns follows Mia Rose, the daughter of the Captain of Hunters, who track and kill the gwyrach. They are notoriously known as demons who use their magic to enthrall men and kill without injury. All women are suspected of having these powers, which is why they are forced to wear gloves constantly. Mia's mother was killed by a gwyrach and all she wants is to become a part of the Hunters and kill the demon that killed her mother. However, there are other plans in store for her when she is engaged to the crown prince, Quin, and she is abruptly forced out of her ambitions. More surprises head her way as not only is she on track to become the next queen, Mia finds herself with magic. She is a gwyrach. This fantasy novel follows Mia's tangled past and all the things she must learn about both herself and her mother, in order to survive.
This novel is toted as 'fiercely feminist' and I can see where that comes into play. It is only women in this world who hold this magical power that they are demonized and oppressed for. The society of the River kingdom has a specialized task force to eliminate the gywrach accompanied by the king's hall of horrors, displaying a "souvenir" from every gwyrach that is killed. However, as Mia finds out later on, there is more to the powers that they hold than simply for murder and for evil, as she was taught. Perhaps if you think about it enough, the entire book is a giant metaphor.
Ever since her mother was killed, Mia has wanted to join the task squad of hunters to kill the gwyrach so that she can track down the one that killed her mother three years ago. It's very clear that she is filled with a lot of anger and hatred and it was a really great to read as the layers to Mia's past are peeled back and the truth is revealed to her. She gradually learns that everything she knows is wrong and while anyone under her circumstances would resist this, so too does Mia. However, she shows that she really takes these truths to heart later on in the book, which was great.
One of the stand out characters of the book is Quin, the prince. Like Mia, initial impressions of the character are not all that they seem. He comes off to Mia as cold and icy -- a spoiled prince who has been coddled in the castle his entire life as the heir to the throne. However, as they spend more time in each other's presence, that changes and we get to see more of Quin's true personality. I haven't declared a book boyfriend in a long time, y'all. And Quin is very much book boyfriend material. He's sweet and good and pure and in the words of my good friend Mith, 'bisexual af'. He's just a really great dude and Must Be Protected.
Heart of Thorns has a lot of really interesting characters as well as a twist at the end that I did not really expect. However, while it was enjoyable in the moment, the novel is entirely forgettable to me which is not the trait of a good novel for me. Overall, if you're looking for a feminist fantasy novel with some great characters, Heart of Thorns is the book for you.
Happy Reading!
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