Garden of Thorns and Light

By: Shylah Addante

Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

When Amethyst Faye was six years old, she was almost stolen by a monster in the woods on the same night her mother mysteriously disappeared. Ten years, a half-dozen psychiatrists, and a slew of diagnoses haven’t made things any better; she is still plagued by nightmares, ridiculed at school, and misunderstood by everyone from her teachers to her counselor to her father. And lately she’s been sprouting thick green thorns out of her skin. 

Summer at Gran’s in Morgan Springs wins out, just barely, and only because a backwater town sounds marginally more interesting than a mental institution. Amethyst draws the attention of Ben, the boy of her dreams, and Absynth, the creature from her nightmares. Although neither of them is what she expected, Amethyst realizes both Ben and Absynth are exactly what she needs to heal her heart and harness the fairy magic she’s inherited. 

Unfortunately for Amethyst, trying to walk both paths could get her killed, but having to choose between them is far worse.

©2020 Shylah Addante (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Oh my god stop crying

I will start with the good.
The narration was great! That I will give this audiobook. I also think that this author has a lot of great potential. They write in an engaging way, and I appreciate the aesthetic of the plot they were going for. I would be willing to give a different series that they wrote a chance, as I am fairly sure this is the first book they’ve ever written.
However, there was a lot about this book that I took issue with.
Firstly, there was pretty much nothing about this book that shocked me in any way. I found a lot of the plot incredibly predictable. It felt like something that I honestly could’ve wrote myself in that it was just very basic, I didn’t really feel shocked by any twists, and a lot of it felt kind of rudimentary when it came to the characterization. What I mean by that last part is simply that the characters felt very unrealistic in the way that they behaved, and especially how they reacted to bad things, surprising things, or the way that they interacted with other people. I don’t wanna give anything away but I just couldn’t fathom some of the interactions that these characters had with each other. It just felt super unrealistic and like their conversations were quite obviously just to push the plot along.
Secondly, this was one young adult romance that I could just not get behind. The main reason for this is the fact that I hate the main character. I always dislike hating on a female MC, because I feel like so many people do it unnecessarily, but literally this girl had nothing redeeming about her. Literally prepare yourself for a novel about a girl who does nothing but cry at every single thing that could possibly happen to her. This girl cries all the time. It’s just infuriating. I understand somebody having trauma, I understand somebody being somewhat emotional, but I would roll my eyes every single time this girl started crying (which let me tell you it’s pretty much the entire thing). She’s got no sense of self-esteem, she really does not undergo any kind of noticeable character growth. She just kind of hates herself and cries all the time and really doesn’t have any great hobbies to speak of, or any kind of redeeming personality trait. The romance that she has with this boy ,while sweet, is very basic and seems like every other kind of romance you might have with a boy in high school. Which is why when they start sacrificing themselves for each other I was like whoa slow down like yeah you have a decent relationship but you guys are in high school don’t start proclaiming your undying love for each other just yet. Also he is clearly in every way too good for her. She blows him off, is all around kind of not a very good girlfriend and for some reason he likes her? Why? Why on earth does he like this girl? I cannot understand it. And then at the very end (spoiler alert )the weird magic roofie drug thing that she does to him is purely unacceptable in my eyes. Like cannot forgive her or see her character as good in anyway after that. Sorry.

not bad

not a bad listen overall. however, even though I myself have struggled to control overly emotional responses Amethyst's constant tears were quite tiresome...also the inner dialog during intense scenes that dragged out said scenes were also annoying.

don't waste your time

the narrator was great , I kept listening even though the bla bla but the end killed the book the most the study end ever like the author gave up on the book and said that is it let's kill everyone done

Could not stop

I loved this book!!! Not sure if that is the end or if there are more to come......

Are you kidding me?!

The narration was great, and I loved the story 98% of the way... HOWEVER, the end was among the worst I've ever read. It wasn't a cliffhanger, or a plot twist I didn't like, nor a character doing something dumb. It was as if the author just gave up on the last page... genuinely one more paragraph would have tied things up. Unsatisfactory doesn't begin to explain it...

It was like a perfect cup of coffee with just the right flavor profile, spilling after the first perfect sip.

It was like having solo time and getting SO close, only to get interrupted. So disappointing.

The story was lovely, but the end was enough to make this author an automatic skip every time in the future.

Not great not bad

This was an okay book. The storyline was very predictable, and the character building could’ve been better. The MC was infuriating. She was selfish and naïve, and seem to not learn from any of her mistakes. I don’t know if this book is going to have a sequel. I do not like open endings unless I know there’s a second book. Overall an OK read if there’s going to be a sequel.

Refreshing

Clean, engaging and simply pulls you in. The main characters are believable drawing at the imagination and seeing the whole picture. Can wait for more from this author.

Young Readers Category NOT Paranormal

It's a fairy story for teenage readers. The teen love story took over quickly along with selfish, dumb teenager decisions and teen angst. Supposedly she is intelligent but doesn't ask questions or do research.., She just goes along with the 'monsters' and is monsterously selfish herself. I've got an hour and a half left and I'm honestly not that interested in the end.

UPDATE: I did listen to the end. it does not end, It finishes with a vague cliffhanger so you have no idea who lives or dies. Waste of time The story had potential but it was lost.

Not impressed

I couldn't finish it. Plot holes the size of Mount Washington, unrealistic relationships, and just an overall underdeveloped story. The narration was good.

but the ending.

I liked this book. It was nice to listen to, and the story was captivating. However, it was very predictable with little character development.
But that ending.. was there supposed to be a book 2? I'm disappointed because it felt like it wasn't over. I kept waiting to find out what actually became of them, and then it just ... ended, and now I'm confused.
If a second book came out, I would definitely still listen. There are just a lot of loose ends.

slow & steady

This was a free book and the quality reflects that. It was OK, very slow until the end but I did liked the ending. I hope it is a stand alone book as its left to the readers imagination as to what happens next. I think I'm a bit of an audio book snob as this narrator sounded like an AI Bot to me.

beautiful story , beautifully told 💜

I really enjoy this book
lovely narrator that I have previously enjoyed
recommend

Great read

but had to listen to the last chapter a couple of times kept thinking I'd missed something hope there's a 2nd.novel

Good but

I enjoyed this book but I thought it was a stand alone book
Sadly the ending just left me confused I hope there is a second book to follow to answer my questions

Is there a book 2?

I’m hoping that ending was a cliffhanger for a book 2! I really liked parts of this book but it did take a little while to get going and then some bits seemed rushed but over all I really liked it, the characters of Amethyst and Ben were so sweet! I wanted a happy ending for them but the ending was a bit strange and unclear, I really hope there’s a book 2 coming to clear things up!

Slow burner

it was.... okay. I expected a little more from the story, however it was very predictable. The ending is very confusing and an anticlimax.