Welcome to Litsy!

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/fQcSbKZRV7I

Enjoy!

Fairytales will never get old and I‘ll never be too old for a beautiful fairytale. 👧🏾 🐍 🥀

The price of humanity is vulnerability.

I read this because it was one of the books picked for the September #RainbowCrate. It was a fun read. I absolutely loved the fairytale feel of this story about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and enjoyed all of the various twists and transformations throughout. It was also a ton of fun reading about the author's Persian inspiration in the back of the book. I wish that had been at the front! #LGBTQ #Fairytale

I wanted more. 😭 Great concept, but it took entirely too long to get there. It wasn‘t for me, unfortunately.

So far I'm enjoying this book. It's a little predictable but it's a nice passive listen.

📚 To anyone else, they aren‘t organized, but for me they are. It‘s a chaotic organization 😂
📚 Everywhere- bookshelf, nightstand, kitchen table, hall closet, wherever there‘s room! 😅
📚 ALLLLL THE BOOKS!! I don‘t discriminate! 😁

#ThoughtfulThursday

This book....I don't know how I feel about it yet. Part of me liked it and part of me hated it. It took me longer than expected to read. It didn't kept me interested enough. It felt more like a chore to read it than anything. It had its good parts, and I enjoyed the character growth but i don't know what is it about it, it was simply meh for me

loosely based on an old Persian myth, Soraya is the princess and she may also be the monster. her skin is poisonous to the touch and she‘s been hidden away her whole life because of it. until someone shows her the way out. but why do they want her powers gone? and once they are, why does she feel empty without the poison in her veins? honestly the ending left some to be desired, just wrapped up too quickly but this was throughly entertaining

This story is Loosely associated with Zoroastrian, Persian epic. I did enjoy the story, with all its deceptions. Better duology. Soraya could‘ve done more, I felt, if she had more time to grow. Her development didn‘t feel true to herself. I wanted more of her growing with her poison. I was stuck on the morally ambiguous questions; so many lies. Good story overall

This was the moment that had me hooked. Soraya cannot be touched, her skin is poison. She grew up being hidden away from the world, and here‘s this Div (demon) telling her the opposite.

I don‘t read much fantasy but this one, which is based on a Persian fairy tale, kept my attention. The tag line on the cover “sometimes the princess is the monster” grabbed my attention! I‘d read more of this author.

I checked this book out last year and had to let it go back before I could finish. I was reminded of it today and checked it out again. Libby‘s estimate on my finish date makes me LOL.

#NewYearWhoDis from @Clare-Dragonfly list
A world where demons exists closely with humans. I think what didn‘t sit well with me is the main character had shades of frozen‘s Elsa and there were a few beauty and the beast references. I adore those stories! But wanted a bit more originality I guess 😕 although I was surprised at the villain reveal. It was ok! Maybe just not as memorable for me.

This is definitely not my normal genre. Fantasy normally doesn‘t capture my interest, but I‘m glad I read this one. It has a really interesting storyline that in some ways made me think of a modern fairy tale. I liked the strong female main character and the way the story came together in the end. Kept my interest all the way through.

Is it possible for a book to have the feeling of a cheesy high school romance novel, without cheese, or a high school in it? It was good. Not great. But good. Meh. 🤔

#NewYearWhoDis list by @Clare-Dragonfly !!
I‘ve already read(and adored!) Red White and Royal blue… so I‘ll start with Girl, Serpent, Thorn! ♥️ And try out Piranesi which seems to be on a lot of peoples‘ fave list. Also I must‘ve looked up winterkeep a million times. Every time I see the cover it reminds me I need to stop borrowing Graceling from the library and actually read it. Maybe it‘ll happen this year 😇

I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new - don‘t judge me I have a lot of books.
Join the fun if you want. This is day 243.
#bookstoread
#tbrpile
#bookstagram

This was sort of between a Pick and So-so for me… I didn‘t like it as well as the author‘s first book. I did like that the characters were all sort of morally ambiguous and I liked the idea of a poisonous girl - definitely a reference to Rappaccini‘s Daughter. But there was never a point where I felt fully invested in the story.

This is between a pick and a so-so. I think the story was fresh, I just had heard such amazing things about the story and was underwhelmed. It wasn‘t bad just not what I was expecting. I may revisit later on and try to appreciate it more. Has some queer rep which was awesome! #bookspinbingo

This book is a series of 'liar revealed' tropes. It was a very easy read but unfortunately you could tell what was going to happen as it came up. Biggest issue are the characters of the royal family, honestly.
I rated it 3/5 cause it was ok, just nothing intense. I do love the concept of a poisonous girl.
Wish it had been longer to develop characters and plot more.

#bookspinbingo achieved with both my #bookspin and my #doublespin read! 🙌🏻 I knocked a lot of books off my list this month… that includes 2 DNFs, but getting them off the list is the main thing, right @TheAromaofBooks ? 😂

#PennyPerPage: $11.60

YES… I LOVED this book!!! So many amazing twists, and such a strong, relatable, powerful main character. I loved and understood her anger and her loyalty. I appreciated the complexity of the characters around her, especially her mother and Parvaneh. And this might be my favorite depiction of a bisexual main character in all of YA fantasy!

“But tonight she had learned… how much effort it took to be good. To be small. They were the same thing for her, weren‘t they?”

I am loving this book! So glad @AbigailJaneBlog put it on her #newyearwhodis list.

🌻 Yes but I‘m extremely picky with them. I find YA has way too many series and I just refuse to invest my time in a series unless it‘s really amazing. So usually I make sure it‘s standalone.

🌻 Girl, Serpent, Thorn was absolutely perfect. One of the best books I‘ve read in a while.

🌻 Teen or under drinking age characters with plots that never get *too* dark. Some toe the line but few cross it.

@ozma.of.oz

#SundayFunday

Book haul!

“If you touch me, you‘ll die...am I still your favorite story now?”
“You‘re better than any story.”

🌻I loved ‘Girl, Serpent, Thorn‘ so much. I‘m still in a book hangover from it 🥴

🌻I‘m not a big outdoors person, so I would say inside.

🌻Just #BookSpin and the ongoing #Booked2021

Thanks for the tag @hannah-leeloo

@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Moonprismpower have you done this yet?

Wow to say I loved this is a massive understatement. This truly felt like a brand new fairytale but one that doesn‘t blame the princess for trusting the wrong people, but instead places the blame on those who broke their trust. I loved Soraya and her quest to free herself from feeling like a monster. Also I love the queer romance but have to say as a Bi woman I felt totally seen. I loved that it normalized her attraction to a man and a woman. ⬇️⬇️

My results for the #20in4 readathon. My goal was to finish 2 books. I finished 3 and got a solid chunk of the way through a 4th so even though I didn‘t get the full 20 hours in, I would say this was successful!

Thank you @Andrew65 for hosting!!

Give me a bright cover with flowers add a snake and I‘m buying it 🤣 also a few authors I love said they loved this so I had to get it.
I‘m trying to reacquaint myself with my TBR while on a book buying ban for the month.
#marchinthetitle21 #animalinthetitle

Continuing #20in4 with my #BookSpin

Y‘all this is one of the most beautiful covers 😍

1) Treasures of the Twelve by Cindy Lin • Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust • An Echo in Bone by Diana Gabaldon

2) Aurora‘s End by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

3) uhhh too many 😂 — Lore, Six of Crows, and The Ex-Talk are a few

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

It's a YA fantasy, set in a world inspired by Persian folklore, about a girl whose touch is poison. And y'all, it is brilliant -- I loved the author's games with fairy tales and her thoughts on storytelling and truth-telling and the stories we owe one another (and ourselves). I hope author Bashardoust has more stories planned for this world because I will buy them.

(Amigurumi by my nephew who also is brilliant.)

A fantasy, YA, LGBT and romance too! Soraya is a princess but if she touches anyone she would kill them as she is cursed with poison. On her twin brother's wedding she finds out a demon is in the dungeon who might know how to rid her of this curse. So starts a journey that will change everything. I didn't love this book, but it is an enjoyable read! #books

So I realized I never put my review in the book so here it is @CareBear I give the book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

@CareBear can you please and thank you email me your address apparently my phone decided to delete it. My email is JessiNoel21@gmail.com.

An atmospheric retelling of tales from Persian culture. Girl, Serpent, Thorn begins as many retellings do, with a neglected princess hidden away from the world. But the fact that Soraya‘s skin is poisonous to the touch gives the story a unique twist. As the princess begins to see her condition not as a curse but as a source of power, the story really becomes interesting.

Demons & a neglectful god; (cont. in comments)

I am NOT a fantasy person, but I LOVED this book! It‘s definitely got that YA feel, but it was unlike anything I‘ve ever read and I flew through it in two days.

Soraya struggles with decisions and with self-acceptance. While the plot was good, I quickly grew tired of Soraya's internal self-deprecation and her fight for her place amongst her family. I wanted her to embrace her power! I also got The Darkling vibes from Azad and was disappointed (yet again) by the lack of romance between them. I wouldn't recommend this or read it again, but it wasn't bad.

⭐⭐⭐

Sharing some Valentine's book recs over on Book Riot today

https://bookriot.com/queer-romances/

Stories always begin the same way: There was and there was not.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

01/22/2021
Soraya had an agreement with the div where it asked for a Simorgh's feather and was hesitant to follow, but she was too late to go back. She finds herself in a temple that reminded her about a priest who knew about her curse and told her horrible things, like her belonging in a place with monsters, although he's one of the two people that knows where the feather is. She wonders where he is, and if he can help her to find the feather.

#LMPBC #GroupF @Alfrazier21 it arrived today can't wait to start it. @suvata @CareBear @CaraTK

Bread baking and reading kind of day ❤️

I bailed on this book after I made it about halfway. It‘s not my cup of tea and it reminds me of other books that I‘ve read. So I couldn‘t do it.

This book was so unexpected and fun. I really enjoyed this Persian inspired fantasy. This was a great pick for #LMPBC

@Endowarrior21 I got this in the mail for you yesterday!!

@suvata @CareBear

I loved this book, and gained more appreciation of it after hearing the Author‘s Note about Persian mythology and lore. If you like Sabaa Tahir, you‘ll love this book. Thanks for choosing this gem @CareBear @Endowarrior21 @Alfrazier21 #GroupF #LMPBC

11/19-11/20
The author uses terms that are descriptive, but detailed, although when the author describes a certain scenario. It's like you can feel and see through the words, like this part“the scalloped waves along her chin and jaw, whorls on her cheeks, stripes along her forehead, like a moth‘s wings were laid out over her skin.“and “the div‘s eyes were too bright, too piercing.“ You can portray the character's facial features and their actions.