Before I lay out my thoughts on "The Path of Thorns," I'll say that this is a book intended to be read alongside a crackling fire on a stormy October evening with a hot mug of coffee in hand...not on a cruise ship passing through the Caribbean in the heart of a summer heat wave like I did. Nonetheless, I felt very present reading this and still found it very middle-of-the-road.
Asher Todd has come to the Morwood Estate to act as governess to the three Morwood children.
With her, Asher brings a trunk full of witchcraft and a past full of secrets she'll do anything to keep hidden. Amidst the imposing, sprawling grounds of Morwood is a mysterious cast of characters--ranging from the well-intentioned house staff to the openly-hostile Mr. Morwood--that give the story a layer of murkiness that I never seemed to be able to clearly see through.
"The Path of Thorns" is deeply-atmospheric and beautifully written, and yet, it fell flat for me for two reasons. One, it was a steady slow burn bored me to yawns multiple times throughout, and two, there were some random, out-of-place moments of strangeness in the plot that totally threw the pacing and development off-balance.
Had this read more like a true gothic fantasy and less like a hybrid between that and a dark-in-a-strange-way fairytale, I probably would have enjoyed it more. By the end, I realized I found every character--Asher included--completely unlikeable and lacking the air of mystery that the story itself seemed to hold.
Rating: 3 Stars
Publication Details: Out Now, Titan Books
Huge thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing my review copy!
