This is a spoiler-free review! Trial of Thorns is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.
Throwing myself back into fantasy land since I have been settled down in dark romance town for nearly a month. I am basically a walking advertisement for Stuff Your Kindle Day at this rate, with the past nine books hailing from my favorite ebook sale. The description of Trial of Thorns caught my eye due to its similarities to Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, and I have been in desperate need to revisit an assassin-esque series.
Caelynn is unapologetically stubborn on the outside, and her characterization is one for the books. The exterior seen by Rev compared to her inner thoughts and development is a great example of her duality of vulnerability and power. As the story goes on, we learn so much more about her and what she has been through, and I gained a great appreciation for her character. I really have to echo my original statement of the resemblance to Throne of Glass, with the main characters having such strong self confidence and authority.
The prince has arm tattoos... I was a goner not even twenty pages in. And not even 20% into the book and I became completely enamored with the idea of a perfect enemies-to-lovers arc for Caelynn and Rev -- it was handed to readers on a silver platter and I ate it right up. I truly have not encountered an enemies-to-lovers scenario that I have loved this much since reading The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
Rev has such a hardened view and deep hatred of Caelynn from the start, for obvious reasons, and as he learns more about her and the strategy she has going into the Trials, he begins to let his guard down. That being said, he continues to hold a strong distain towards her for the majority of the book, and their complex dynamic really has a fantastic groundwork laid out. They both are battling their own demons, and the more they discover about themselves and each other, the more they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they think.
The trials in this book were so interesting to read, and it was refreshing to see a number of creatures being included in the lore. The author utilized the side characters so well throughout this book, and it was such a strong choice to have them play major roles while not overshadowing the leads. Especially seeing them from Caelynn versus Rev's perspective -- she has her allies, and he has his, making their understanding of everyone involved in the trials even more complex.
I loved the complexity of the trials they competed in -- they did not resemble the typical trials seen in a number of fantasy series, and had an originality to them that made the story even more inviting to explore. Romance is definitely on the back burner for this first installment, but I loved the subtleness of it and how it did not overpower the story as a whole. There is certainly time for it in the rest of the series, and this book needed to focus on world building and character dynamics as a priority. I am so excited to continue on with this series and see where it takes these characters!
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