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Juniper & Thorn
By Ava Reid
Quote:
Let her eat black plums and never taste the poison. Let her bathe naked in a stream without ever drawing a hunter’s wanton eye. Let all the bears she meets be friendly and pliant, and never men in disguise. Let her never fall prey to the banality of the world.
Let her never fall in love.
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This was an intensely gripping read. Drawing inspiration from The Juniper Tree by the Brothers Grimm, Ava Reid weaves a hauntingly beautiful fairytale exploring themes of narcissistic abuse and greed, love and isolation, family commitment and reputation, refugees, and freedom.
Our FMC, Marlinchen, lives with her two sisters and her father, the last wizard in the realm. Under his care, the sisters are isolated to a crumbling house with a yard full of magical creatures — a faun, a goblin, a tiny scaly monster, a fire-snake, and more.
If I had to name this book in vibes, it feels like I Capture The Castle, James and the Giant Peach, and, of course, the Grimm fairytale The Juniper Tree all meshed into one deeply enchanting, disturbing adult read, combined with a fictional Ukrainian-inspired setting.
With some pretty major themes of cannibalism, this book is not for everyone. In fact, upon reading it I actually started to wonder why anyone was surprised by Innamorata (remember the Innamorata cannibalism controversy?*) when it absolutely feels like the natural progression in Ava’s writing career. The two books have a lot of similarities, as though Ava ruminated so much on this story that she had to expand off of it and create a new realm and characters exploring similar, and possibly darker, themes.
Sorry. Sidetracked.
After sneaking out with her sisters, Marlinchen falls in love with a dancer at the ballet and so begins our tale. He shows her a whole new side of the world as she begins to question the things she’s always taken for granted — indcluding her strange lapses in memory.
I read this book in two days, and the chokehold it has on me is unreal. I loved the symbolism of the snake and the forbidden tree in the garden, the sad and absurd ancient faun god, and Marlinchen’s incredibly relatable rude awakening. As with all of Ava’s books, the longer you look, the more deep messages you will find.
I recommend this book if you like Grimm fairytales, and a little controversy. But be warned, it’ll creep into your mind and never leave.
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*Innamorata, published in March 2026, was marketed in error as a romantasy. I didn’t personally see this marketing and I’m unable to verify this claim, but it does explain the HUGELY controversial reactions to the themes in the book — a grimdark fantasy slash political gothic romance (please note I said gothic romance, so no guaranteed happily ever after.) Readers started attacking the author and the publisher alike, though Ava never intended to market the book as a romantasy. Ultimately, it got a lot of hate because it contains infant cannibalism and a lot of darkness and gore. It’s not a book for everyone, but it may be my favourite book of all time. You can read my review here.
