Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Magical words, Urban Fantasy, dislocated souls, 3 wishes, and kidnapping? HELL YES.
Between Two Thorns is a strange and pretty awesome story. On one hand we have the modern mundane world ie. London in our times and on the other we have Fae lands and a little inbetween. Cathy one of our main characters is dating a cute boy, watching sci fi movies, running away from her family, and studying at uni until it all comes crashing down when her family traces her after a run in with a Fae lord.
Having run away from the Nether, which is a neither here nor there space between the Mundane world and Fae world, she’s hauled back to an abusive family and a society living 300 years behind the times, she has no rights, strapped into a corset and being used to further her families place in society by marrying whomever they choose instead of being valued or recognised for her personal worth or intelligence. She’s told to shut up and be polite or face the consequences.
TW: There is parental and family abuse, this isn’t a YA our protagonist is 20 and although she’s had a privileged life in regards to a roof over her head and money she grew up with a physically abusive father and emotionally abusive Mother.
I really loved the mirrored worlds and thought they were explained fantastically and simply! A simple magic explanation that makes sense is all I’m asking for when it comes to mirrored worlds, things can get fucky with to many elements. The nether interested me the most, a place in freeze frame, no wind, no weather, no sun, no stars, just gray sky and high society being semi controlled by a Fae overlord for each high standing family.
Asides from Cathy’s story we see from an Arbitors POV. An Arbitor’s job is to police the Nether for the mundane world.
Max witnesses a fellow officer acting dodgy and investigates why he’s whole chapter (detective/police squad) is suddenly non responsive. Arbitors are the law enforces between Fae and Mundanes, keeping fae from catching mundanes and making them slaves and being sure there aren’t any charms used for harm in the human world. To do this one has to be immune to magic to achieve this Max’s soul is detached and kept in a chain/necklace that’s usually anchored to his neck. Unfortunately something happened when he was giving his report via statue and now he has a sass gargoyle, his soul fusing with the statue and become an awesome sass stone that bugs him and helps him solve the corruption that’s happening around.
I loved the mix of Old society in the nether and modern mundane world, I adored Cathy even though I know a lot of people saw her as naive and a bit dull I liked that she was true to her upbringing. She wasn’t epic-ally strong or particular baddass but she had a strong mind and a kind heart. Also her family fucking sucks and needs to be set on fire repeatedly. I admired her will power and strength when it came to the abuse she has been put through her whole life.
We also have Will, the handsome guy Cathy is arranged to marry. I was meh on Will but we’re supposed to be. He’s Cathy’s chosen match and while he has an okay heart he’s swimming in the sexism that is expected from a guy 300 years behind and Cathy isn’t ready to put up with that shit.
There is also a talking sass gargoyle I mentioned before and if anyone doesn’t love how ridiculously awesome that is I don’t even know xD
“I assume the gargoyle does not require refreshments?”
“I don’t think so. Should it?”
“I imagine not, sir, being of a stone constitution, but I find it best to never assume anything when it comes to matters of unnatural animation.”
Overall I really enjoyed the world building and mix of weird, the dislocated souls and everything having great reasoning behind them.
THAT ending though
Between Two Thorns is a strange and pretty awesome story. On one hand we have the modern mundane world ie. London in our times and on the other we have Fae lands and a little inbetween. Cathy one of our main characters is dating a cute boy, watching sci fi movies, running away from her family, and studying at uni until it all comes crashing down when her family traces her after a run in with a Fae lord.
Having run away from the Nether, which is a neither here nor there space between the Mundane world and Fae world, she’s hauled back to an abusive family and a society living 300 years behind the times, she has no rights, strapped into a corset and being used to further her families place in society by marrying whomever they choose instead of being valued or recognised for her personal worth or intelligence. She’s told to shut up and be polite or face the consequences.
TW: There is parental and family abuse, this isn’t a YA our protagonist is 20 and although she’s had a privileged life in regards to a roof over her head and money she grew up with a physically abusive father and emotionally abusive Mother.
I really loved the mirrored worlds and thought they were explained fantastically and simply! A simple magic explanation that makes sense is all I’m asking for when it comes to mirrored worlds, things can get fucky with to many elements. The nether interested me the most, a place in freeze frame, no wind, no weather, no sun, no stars, just gray sky and high society being semi controlled by a Fae overlord for each high standing family.
Asides from Cathy’s story we see from an Arbitors POV. An Arbitor’s job is to police the Nether for the mundane world.
Max witnesses a fellow officer acting dodgy and investigates why he’s whole chapter (detective/police squad) is suddenly non responsive. Arbitors are the law enforces between Fae and Mundanes, keeping fae from catching mundanes and making them slaves and being sure there aren’t any charms used for harm in the human world. To do this one has to be immune to magic to achieve this Max’s soul is detached and kept in a chain/necklace that’s usually anchored to his neck. Unfortunately something happened when he was giving his report via statue and now he has a sass gargoyle, his soul fusing with the statue and become an awesome sass stone that bugs him and helps him solve the corruption that’s happening around.
I loved the mix of Old society in the nether and modern mundane world, I adored Cathy even though I know a lot of people saw her as naive and a bit dull I liked that she was true to her upbringing. She wasn’t epic-ally strong or particular baddass but she had a strong mind and a kind heart. Also her family fucking sucks and needs to be set on fire repeatedly. I admired her will power and strength when it came to the abuse she has been put through her whole life.
We also have Will, the handsome guy Cathy is arranged to marry. I was meh on Will but we’re supposed to be. He’s Cathy’s chosen match and while he has an okay heart he’s swimming in the sexism that is expected from a guy 300 years behind and Cathy isn’t ready to put up with that shit.
There is also a talking sass gargoyle I mentioned before and if anyone doesn’t love how ridiculously awesome that is I don’t even know xD
“I assume the gargoyle does not require refreshments?”
“I don’t think so. Should it?”
“I imagine not, sir, being of a stone constitution, but I find it best to never assume anything when it comes to matters of unnatural animation.”
Overall I really enjoyed the world building and mix of weird, the dislocated souls and everything having great reasoning behind them.
THAT ending though
Spoiler
really were going to leave it on Cathy being knocked out by her asshole mother and about to get married!!!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A fun reading. Light and easy to read but with great world building, and enough fantasy and alternate worlds to tick the boxes for me. It is well written, and the characters each have their own individual voice, which helps keep you involved in the story. However, I was left with some questions, all of which are probably answered in later books in the series: why does Poppy want Cathy to paint? Why are the Fae sometimes referred to as patron and sometimes as patroon? Why do the fae-touched have children if they are immortal, and wouldn't that make the Nether rather overcrowded?
I enjoyed this as an easy read, but I'm not sure I'd read the rest of the series.
I enjoyed this as an easy read, but I'm not sure I'd read the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence
Minor: Sexual content
I don't like fantasy books. The last one I'd enjoyed was The Faraway Tree when I was a child. This, however, was great! Realistic characters and a dash of humour. I'm not converted, but will look for more by this author.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Parts of this seemed a bit juvenile (Mundanus, the mundanes, Exilium, the Patroons, etc.), but the story itself wasn't bad. Neither was it great though. I believe I'll still pick up the next one to see if it improves upon its predecessor though.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
CN: familial abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, misogyny, forced/arranged marriage.
A really great piece of urban fantasy writing. Though Emma Newman is not the first to take on the fae/modern world setting, she has done so in a novel and intriguing manner. The interaction between the worlds and the characters in them doesn't feel trite or forced at all. Instead it is a great exploration of how different traditions cultures and indeed states of reality can collide.
The story itself unfolds in unexpected ways and the use of multiple character POVs emphasises the role the different worlds has to play on the story. The characters are well developed, relatable and if not always likeable at least people you want to read about and find out more about.
The book doesn't really stand alone as it clearly leads on to the next in the series but rather than feeling dissatisfied with the ending of the book it feels like a natural place to pause with a captivating follow on.
A really great piece of urban fantasy writing. Though Emma Newman is not the first to take on the fae/modern world setting, she has done so in a novel and intriguing manner. The interaction between the worlds and the characters in them doesn't feel trite or forced at all. Instead it is a great exploration of how different traditions cultures and indeed states of reality can collide.
The story itself unfolds in unexpected ways and the use of multiple character POVs emphasises the role the different worlds has to play on the story. The characters are well developed, relatable and if not always likeable at least people you want to read about and find out more about.
The book doesn't really stand alone as it clearly leads on to the next in the series but rather than feeling dissatisfied with the ending of the book it feels like a natural place to pause with a captivating follow on.
I went into this book without expecting to love it anywhere as muchas I did. Urban Fantasy can be such a mixed bag, usually reliant on being a crime drama or secretly a paranormal romance in disguise while skimping on world building because, y'know, it's partly our world so no need, right? Yes, we have a central mystery to solve, yes one main character is a sort of magical cop. Yes, There could technically be a romance coming between peoples of a magical heritage. But it is so muc more than your average crime drama proceedural with added faeries and the snarky "strong" female lead.
Catherine is a revelation as a heroine, somewhere between the modern UF lady and the spunky historical ahead-of-her-time trope because in a sense that's what she is. She inhabits a world of many levels, literally; she, a fae-touched mortal comes from a shadow realm known as the Nether which got society stuck somewhere around the 1800s and never really moved on. She dreams of escaping to our world, Mundanus, with all mod cons of the 2000s (showers, Xboxs, women's rights, that sort of thing). She almost did too, except her family's Fae patron discovers her little ruse and helps her family drag her back to the prospect of an arranged marriage. At the same time, an Arbeiter - a kind of Fae police whose had his soul dislocated to avoid corrupting Fae magic - named Max finds himself caught up in a conspiracy. After narrowly escaping assassination and finding his comrades have been murdered, his only recourse is to seek his ultimate superior, the Sorcerer of Wessex. These two disparate story threads are woven together tighter than they appear, and eventually the collide, sending ripples throughout the magical realms.
No overt romance, no dull as dishwater crime drama procedural, just 4 interwoven POVs that gradually come together in an oh-so-satisfying way. The world building can lean towards the mysterious side, but it's done in such a way that doesn't leave you scratching your head. What you need to know, you get to know. There are no info-dumps so you'll be piecing it all together as you go along in a way that treats you like you've actually got a brain. I loved the crumbs of foreshadowing sprinkled about the place (Elemental Lords anyone?) It makes you want to read more just to get into this fascinating world. Also: alternative Bath, all the Romanised names and ideas, Norman architecture; this felt like a very British fantasy but with little details that made it stand out from the usual Regency/Victoriana competition.
I was a little afraid it would go heavy on the period setting with language off-puttingly florid, but thankfully it's wonderfully readable. Someone described it as being a bit Downton Abbey, and to a certain extent the Nether society could be like that - a toned down, commercially acceptable and easily digestible version of historical high society. The characters are also a lot more believable than said drama, despite the fact it's full of faerie folklore.
I'm not going to say the characters are anything special, but they're fun to watch as the story unfolds. I especially liked taciturn Max and his more lively "soul" interacting. Cathy is your usual headstrong leading lady with Opinions, William the bemused and surly but ultimately good at heart main man, and Sam the Everyman caught up in things way too weird but taking it all in his stride.
There's a lot to love about this promising first in series and I enjoyed the heck out of it. I'm sensing similarities between awesome indie reads such as [b:Snowspelled|34913546|Snowspelled (The Harwood Spellbook, #1)|Stephanie Burgis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499436670l/34913546._SY75_.jpg|56176342] and [b:The Lord of Stariel|41838393|The Lord of Stariel (Stariel, #1)|A.J. Lancaster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537044482l/41838393._SY75_.jpg|65312019]. For fans of Fae meets Victoriana.
Catherine is a revelation as a heroine, somewhere between the modern UF lady and the spunky historical ahead-of-her-time trope because in a sense that's what she is. She inhabits a world of many levels, literally; she, a fae-touched mortal comes from a shadow realm known as the Nether which got society stuck somewhere around the 1800s and never really moved on. She dreams of escaping to our world, Mundanus, with all mod cons of the 2000s (showers, Xboxs, women's rights, that sort of thing). She almost did too, except her family's Fae patron discovers her little ruse and helps her family drag her back to the prospect of an arranged marriage. At the same time, an Arbeiter - a kind of Fae police whose had his soul dislocated to avoid corrupting Fae magic - named Max finds himself caught up in a conspiracy. After narrowly escaping assassination and finding his comrades have been murdered, his only recourse is to seek his ultimate superior, the Sorcerer of Wessex. These two disparate story threads are woven together tighter than they appear, and eventually the collide, sending ripples throughout the magical realms.
No overt romance, no dull as dishwater crime drama procedural, just 4 interwoven POVs that gradually come together in an oh-so-satisfying way. The world building can lean towards the mysterious side, but it's done in such a way that doesn't leave you scratching your head. What you need to know, you get to know. There are no info-dumps so you'll be piecing it all together as you go along in a way that treats you like you've actually got a brain. I loved the crumbs of foreshadowing sprinkled about the place (Elemental Lords anyone?
Spoiler
And that titbit at the end where you realise the Fae don't know who or what they are? Oooh, nice.I was a little afraid it would go heavy on the period setting with language off-puttingly florid, but thankfully it's wonderfully readable. Someone described it as being a bit Downton Abbey, and to a certain extent the Nether society could be like that - a toned down, commercially acceptable and easily digestible version of historical high society. The characters are also a lot more believable than said drama, despite the fact it's full of faerie folklore.
Spoiler
One objection: Will's insistence on rescuing the Albas - unless he turns out to have been charmed in some way, there's no logic why he'd help them knowing they were out to "seduce" him.I'm not going to say the characters are anything special, but they're fun to watch as the story unfolds. I especially liked taciturn Max and his more lively "soul" interacting. Cathy is your usual headstrong leading lady with Opinions, William the bemused and surly but ultimately good at heart main man, and Sam the Everyman caught up in things way too weird but taking it all in his stride.
There's a lot to love about this promising first in series and I enjoyed the heck out of it. I'm sensing similarities between awesome indie reads such as [b:Snowspelled|34913546|Snowspelled (The Harwood Spellbook, #1)|Stephanie Burgis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499436670l/34913546._SY75_.jpg|56176342] and [b:The Lord of Stariel|41838393|The Lord of Stariel (Stariel, #1)|A.J. Lancaster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537044482l/41838393._SY75_.jpg|65312019]. For fans of Fae meets Victoriana.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Some books have suspenseful endings, some leave unanswered questions, some are ambiguous, some are actual cliff-hangers.
This one just stopped. Some of the plot had been resolved, but not nearly enough for it to feel like an entire self-sufficient book. I understand there is a sequel but there is (or should be) a difference between a book with a sequel and a book that the author just stopped writing. This one felt like the latter. It felt like it was the first part of a book, not a book unto itself.
I found it enjoyable and interesting, and I'm intrigued to see where Newman is going with some of these plotlines, but I was irritated at the book's non-ending.
This one just stopped. Some of the plot had been resolved, but not nearly enough for it to feel like an entire self-sufficient book. I understand there is a sequel but there is (or should be) a difference between a book with a sequel and a book that the author just stopped writing. This one felt like the latter. It felt like it was the first part of a book, not a book unto itself.
I found it enjoyable and interesting, and I'm intrigued to see where Newman is going with some of these plotlines, but I was irritated at the book's non-ending.