BOOK REVIEW: JUNIPER AND THORNE BY AVA REID

9/11/2022

Reid has a superb way of building atmosphere, where you can feel the cold and the creep of industrialisation affecting these complex characters.

Juniper and Thorne by Ava Reid

A Horror Book Review by David Watkins

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

I’m not sure what I was expecting going into this gothic retelling of the Grimm’s The Juniper Tree. I’m not familiar with the original story, so you may get more (or less!) out of this if you are. I’ll cut to the chase: regardless of my ignorance of the source material, I adored this book and couldn’t get enough of it.

The story itself concerns Marlinchen, the youngest of the last three witches living with their wizard father in the city of Oblya. There is an eastern European feel to the place, and the world-building is superb. Industrialisation has crept into this part of the world and removed the magic, leaving behind poverty, cramped living conditions and desperation.

Marlinchen and her sisters still have customers who come to them when new medicine and doctors fail them, which means their once grand existence is crumbling even though people treat them with a mixture of wonder and fear.

Their father, cursed long ago by a witch to always be tired and hungry, is an overbearing thug of a man, using his magic to keep his daughters locked away. They find ways to escape into the city, however, and it is on one of these jaunts that the plot of the novel kicks in. Marlinchen goes to the ballet and is immediately captivated by the young principal dancer, Sevas.

Things soon unravel for the family from there, but you’ll have to read the novel to discover how. There is a monster loose in the city, forbidden love in both expected and unexpected places, lots of magic and wonderful set-pieces. An early stand out is when Marlinchen has to leave home to heal a previously hypochondriac customer. Her father goes with her to chaperone and things don’t go to plan. Not only does this section further the plot, it highlights the world Reid has built.

The pace slows in the middle of the book, but the prose is so wonderfully evocative that you keep reading anyway. Reid has a superb way of building atmosphere, where you can feel the cold and the creep of industrialisation affecting these complex characters.

A final word of caution however: there are many triggers in this book. We have eating disorders, abuse – both sexual and physical, violence (sparing, but graphic when it comes), paedophilia, alcoholism, etc, etc. This is a dark, grim world and Reid doesn’t shy away from any of the ugliness within it. Furthermore, it’s a gothic tale, so if you like your horror blood spattered or extreme, stay away. For everyone else, dig in and I hope you enjoy this outstanding novel as much as I did.

JUNIPER & THORN
BY AVA REID

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.