#melissa Bashardoust

[irondykegram]

She had read enough stories to know that the princess and the monster were never the same. She had been alone long enough to know which one she was.

[ace-artemis-fanartist]

Recently re-read Girl, Serpent, Thorn so I thought I'd try a mock cover.

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer Fantasy About Monstrousness and/or Villainy

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust (YA) Briar Girls by Rebecca Kim Wells (YA) Malice by Heather Walter Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

[miasbraindump]

I don't think I have a favourite trope...

...girl who hurts everything they touch + love interest who isn't affected/don't care >>>>>>

[lola-theshowgrl]

"Girl, Serpent, Thorn" by Melissa Bashardoust 4/5 stars *

I'll be honest, I burned through this whole book in less than 24 hours - it was so good! The story was gripping, the writing was absolutely sumptuous, and I felt a deep, almost immediate connection to the main character, Soraya.

I think that anyone who has ever been in the world and made to feel "other" will immediately relate to Soraya and the themes of the story. I loved how well her loneliness was handled, shown so deftly in her relationships with the people around her, or lackthereof. I could see her despair in every line of the book, in moments that might have seemed simple or gone unnoticed at first, but culminated into an incredibly complex situation and character. It was very easy reading, but as we know, easy reading is very difficult writing, so I was very drawn in by the author's skill here.

The worldbuilding was beautiful, and again, written so sparingly, but in the most clever of ways. In the scents and sounds described, in Soraya's surroundings and possessions and what characters were wearing, sprinkled in amongst the plot like seasoning. I found it so satisfying.

The romance aspect of the story was probably my only sticking point. I love a sapphic love story, and that was one of the main reasons I picked this book up in the first place. I was, however, a little disappointed that the rapport between Soraya and Azad was much more compelling than between Soraya and Parvaneh. I've given it some thought as to why this might be, and I've come to the conclusion that it's slightly because the former have more time together in the story than the latter, but I suppose largely because I can't agree with the idea that you owe loyalty to your family, even when they've hurt and damaged you beyond recognition of who you might have been. 

Soraya is someone who has grown up shut away, feared, and essentailly punished for something beyond her control. The curse she bears isn't of her making, but she's treated somehow like it is. Parvaneh wants her to keep the curse, to accept "who she is", but the curse was thrust upon her by the actions of others - it isn't "who she is" at all. It's just something she has to live with, and something that's made her miserable and outcast by the people who should have loved her - especially considering how it happened in the first place.

Her family neglects her, she's insulted and scorned, and all of the reasoning behind this at the end seems very woolly to me. Why should Soraya not be angry? Why should she not want to be loved and cared for, rather than held at arms length? Why should she not want the curse to be broken?

What I will say in favour of the romance is that aside from a few subtle remarks from other characters, it’s never made a big deal of that Soraya prefers other women romantically. I think we need more of that in queer literature - I grew up reading and seeing only queer people being treated poorly, abused, hated, murdered for it. Not every LGBTQIA+ story needs to be about how difficult it is to be gay, and it’s my hope that future generations will see themselves reflected in media not as something to be hated and hurt because of who they love, but as a simple fact of life.

Of course, Soraya’s innate “monstrosity” is an allegory for queerness, but it isn’t explicit, and I personally appreciate that. We need more stories where being gay isn’t the story, the story happens to someone who just happens to be gay.

Despite this, it was still an excellent book. The prose is gorgeous, the pace of the story was good, and the main character was very compelling. I just wish the romance had been left out, or given more time to flourish so that there was real chemistry between Soraya and Parvaneh.

As an aside, I really appreciated the glossary at the back of the book, and the list of "further reading" that was included. This has been a lovely introduction for me to Persian mythology and fables, and I'll be adding all of those books to my tbr! 

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fantasy Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries below:

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story. As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison. Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming…human or demon. Princess or monster. Fantasy, young adult, retelling, romance

The Rise of Kyoshi by F. C. Yee

F. C. Yee’s The Rise of Kyoshi delves into the story of Kyoshi, the Earth Kingdom–born Avatar. The longest-living Avatar in this beloved world’s history, Kyoshi established the brave and respected Kyoshi Warriors, but also founded the secretive Dai Li, which led to the corruption, decline, and fall of her own nation. The first of two novels based on Kyoshi, The Rise of Kyoshi maps her journey from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice who is still feared and admired centuries after she became the Avatar. Fantasy, young adult, adventure, epic fantasy

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

[bookcub]

Best Books Read in February 2023

A recap of the best books I read each month of 2023

An Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

I read this because my sister loved it and she's got good taste! This is a book from the perspective of a fig tree about a family over the course of a few decades. It's a multigenerational novel about generational trauma, yet it feels quite mystical. It's emotionally heavy but really beautiful.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

I was assigned this book for class and I'm glad because I wouldn't have read this on my own. It follows a Black teenage boy who was arrested for a murder and is imagining his trial as a movie. I highly recommend it, very emotional and harrowing.

Honorable mentions:

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

A story inspired by Sleeping Beauty and a Persian myth, where the princess is also a monster, so to speak. I'm excited to reread this.

Lost in the Moment and Found Again by Seanan McGuire

Another fascinating installment in The Wayward Children series, proving why this is one of the few series I continue to follow.

[sapphic-book-tournament]

[haveyoureadthismgyabook]

[loverrrworld]

i’m always searching for ‘the smell of meat cooking mingled with everyone’s happy laughter and it felt like home’ and ‘one thing was clear: the pariks were a family’ and ‘if i had grown up in that house i couldn’t have loved it more’ and ‘our people. when had that happened?’ and ‘it was strange to think that…she trusted no one in the world as much as the people in this room.’

lost boy, christina henry / girl, serpent, thorn, melissa bashardoust / the secret history, donna tart / ruin and rising, leigh bardugo / rule of wolves, leigh bardugo

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Girls Made of Snow and Glass

Author: Melissa Bashardoust

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2017

Genres: fiction, fantasy, retelling, LGBT+, romance

Blurb: 16-year-old Mina is motherless, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone...has never beat at all, in fact, but she’d always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king’s heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love...the only catch is that she’ll have to become a stepmother. 15-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day, she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen’s image at her father’s order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories...displacing Mina. Now, Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do - and who to be - to win back the only mother she’s ever known...or else defeat her once and for all.

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Sapphic YA Romantasy

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell Brewed With Love by Shelly Page Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell This Dark Heart by Zeena Gosrani Bonus: Coming in 2026, What You Will by Rachael Lippincott

[the-library-and-the-teashop]

📖 Book-Tea 🍵 Association

Girl, Serpent, Thorn (by Melissa Bashardoust)

Will be magnificently paired with

Iranian-style Darjeeling black tea infused with rose petals and cinnamon.

[lola-theshowgrl]

My favourite reads of 2024 📚 💛 “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke 💛 “Your Silence Will Not Protect You” by Audre Lorde 💛 “To Wield The Darkest Night” by Beau Van Dalen 💛 “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell (not pictured) 💛 “Girl, Serpent, Thorn” by Melissa Bashardoust (not pictured) 💛 “Exquisite Corpse” by Poppy Z Brite 💛 “For The Wolf” by Hannah Whitten 💛 “The Slow Regard of Silent Things” by Patrick Rothfuss 💛 “The Penelopiad” by Margaret Atwood 💛 “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt