Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass

Adan Jerreat-Poole (Goodreads Author)

2.67 · Rating details · 204 ratings · 184 reviews

Even teenage assassins have dreams.

Eli isn’t just a teenage girl — she’s a made-thing the witches created to hunt down ghosts in the human world. Trained to kill with her seven magical blades, Eli is a flawless machine, a deadly assassin. But when an assignment goes wrong, Eli starts to question everything she was taught about both worlds, the Coven, and her tyrannical wit ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 320 pages

Expected publication: October 6th 2020 by Dundurn

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

2020 Queer Sci-Fi Fantasy

130 books — 148 voters

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

The Thing About Alice by Jean-Luke Swanepoel

2020 LGBTQIA+ Releases

51 books — 46 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 2.67 ·

Rating details

· 204 ratings · 184 reviews

Sort order

Start your review of The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass

Mar 16, 2020 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it it was ok

Nope. Sorry. The fantasy book I was hoping to read cannot be found at this moment. Please try again later. Bippp!

I pushed myself too hard to like this book but it was exhausting and tormenting experience. I was so hopeful after seeing the fantastic artsy, beautiful cover and promising plot about teenage assassin chasing the ghosts in the human world. But… yes… I try to be soft grader when it comes to debut novels. I tried to be patient that at some part, the story will turn into something meani ...more

flag 62 likes · Like · see review

Feb 06, 2020 NAT.orious reads ☽ added it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, cover-porn

2 STARS at best ★★✩✩✩

This book is for you if… you fall in love first and foremost with the characters. It wasn't for me but I feel this might be exactly what some readers might need.

⤐ Overall.
Ugh. What is going ONNNNah.

You know when you didn't enjoy a book and don't care although you feel like you should? Well, I didn't really enjoy this book but am honestly livid that I don't. I had high hopes, fueled by the cover and the powerful preface Adan gave their readers.

I really, really, reall ...more

flag 37 likes · Like · see review

Mar 27, 2020 Melanie (mells_view) rated it liked it

Magic is meant to be chaos. Chaos is beautiful!

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole caught my eye with that simple yet beautiful cover, and reeled me in with the promise of an intriguing Frankenstein’s monster-esqe teenage assassin main character, and the busting down the Coven’s tyrannical reign over the City of Ghosts and the City of Eyes plot line. I feel like this author has a very lyrical writing style mixed with a young vibe. The City of Eyes gave me a Labyrinth type visual ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2020 Miranda rated it it was ok

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole immediately caught my eye because of its cover. However, it is also described as a book fans of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert would enjoy, so I was drawn to it even more. I went in only knowing that the book was set in a fantasy world with witches and assassins.

The novel follows Eli, a teenaged assassin that was created by witches in the City of Eyes to hunt ghosts. She acc I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole immediately caught my eye because of its cover. However, it is also described as a book fans of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert would enjoy, so I was drawn to it even more. I went in only knowing that the book was set in a fantasy world with witches and assassins.

The novel follows Eli, a teenaged assassin that was created by witches in the City of Eyes to hunt ghosts. She accepts her fate as a “made-thing” and obediently does as she is told. She becomes a machine, traveling to and from the City of Ghosts, or the human world, using her trusted blades to do the bidding of others. However, Eli begins to question herself and her duties when a mission goes wrong.

While in the human world, Eli meets and later befriends Cam and Tav. They introduce her to humans and witch renegades who are working against the powerful witch Coven. They plan to harness magic to help save the Earth by stealing the Heart of the Coven. For Eli, this serves as a way to find answers and her own freedom.

I really liked Eli’s character, and I found myself even more intrigued to see how she changed as she developed a closer relationship to Cam and Tav. I appreciated that all three helped each other grow, so I became invested in their stories. I also thought it was great that the author incorporated a lot of representation and LGBTQ+ characters - Eli seems to be queer, Cam is gay, and Tav is non-binary.

While I enjoyed some aspects, this book did not completely work for me. It seemed like a very unique story at first, but it lacked proper world-building. I wished for more detail about the City of Eyes and its magic. Plus, the writing style and language were not my favorite at times. I also felt like there was a lot happening, but some of it did not seem purposeful. The plot branches off in so many directions, but in this case, less is more. A few things seemed distracting or irrelevant because of everything else that was happening, so I felt as though the book was not following a central idea or story anymore.

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass is entertaining, and I can see why people would enjoy it. Adan Jerreat-Poole creates an intriguing story with wonderful characters, but it did not quite live up to my expectations. However, I would still be tempted to check out this book’s sequel solely because of the characters.

Thank you to the publisher, Dundurn, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel before its release. ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2020 Angela Staudt rated it did not like it

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

1.5 stars.

I don’t really know what I just read. So many aspects didn’t make sense, and the story was just kind of all over the place. From the synopsis I thought this was going to be an incredible story about this assassin who was made by witches to go into the human world and kill ghosts. It wasn’t really that, but I couldn’t tell you what it was either.

I love fantasy books because of the world building and descriptions. This b ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Feb 16, 2020 Patty (IheartYA) rated it it was ok

Shelves: won-net-galley

The cover art and premise are amazing, but unfortunately the story itself fell short due to lack of substance and heart. It felt like the plot was having an identity crisis, trifled by misdirection and confusion. For the most part the writing style was interesting and original. Character development and world building were very close to being finely polished. Due to the storyline having an excruciating flawed execution, I had to give this 2 stars.

Thank you to netgalley for providing a copy for r ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2020 Kelly rated it did not like it

1.5 stars

I'm sorry. I wanted to like this book but while this book has a great cover and a lot of LGBTQ+ representation, sadly, it failed to deliver a good fantasy plot (in my opinion). The world-building was lacking if non-existent. The idea of having a world of witches above our own with a vortex to go from one to the other was interesting but it wasn't enough for me. I needed to know more and things happened but it felt weird and not a lot were explained.

About the characters : Eli is a girl ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Mar 15, 2020 Courtney rated it it was ok

Shelves: advanced-reader-copy

On the struggle bus with this one.

I feel like this reading this book was like eating a half baked cake. The ingredients are there but the author did not stir the batter long enough and lumpy bits were left throughout. I liked the premise of the two worlds but time was not taken in the development of the City of Eyes World. At times, I was left thoroughly confused. Additionally, characters seemed to appear one minute and are gone the next. Overall, I felt like some more ironing out was needed.

AR ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

May 12, 2020 Alexia | Right Writing Words rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2020, arc, disappointing, debut, gorgeous-cover, netgalley, fantasy

The description of this book made me so excited for it, not to mention that the cover is beautiful.

One of the strangest things about this book for me is the fact that the title is literal. There is literally a girl made partly of hawthorn and glass. The girl was literally built by using things such as hawthorn, glass, and other stuff. So, this is the first time I’ve read a book where the title is literal.

This story and world have the potential to be amazing. It’s weird, it’s different, it’s fant ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2020 Aly rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley, 2020, romance, fantasy, ya, lgbtqa, march-2020

Huge shout out to this book for having great LGBTQ representation! Non-binary, gay, and queer main characters really added to the story and made me personally happy.
The plot has a lot of potential and I like the idea of it. A girl made out of objects and brought to life by a witch's magic to be an assassin is a cool concept. I felt like the story stayed on the surface and things went by so quickly. I would love to see this dive deeper into the City of Eyes, the Coven, and the Children. Get more ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2020 Taylor Knight rated it it was ok

I was so excited for this book, I wanted to like it, I gave it so many chances. But this book, in my opinion, is not even close to be ready to be published. This reads like a first draft. I like the overall concept, which is why I gave it two stars, but everything else needs work. The plot is confusing, not completely thought out, lacks any kind of direction. Even after finishing this book, I don't know what actually happened. I couldn’t explain the storyline at all.
I really appreciated the non ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

May 14, 2020 Julia rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-releases, netgalley

I received The Girl of Hawthorn a Glass as an eARC, so thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review it.

I was excited at the concept of the story - a girl who wasn’t totally human, created by her witch ‘mother’ from granite and blood and hawthorn and glass and human bones, as a weapon essentially, an assassin who can travel between worlds, and also between the creases in each world. Along the way she finds a soul and a conscience and makes some human (or maybe ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2020 Fanna marked it as definitive-tbr · review of another edition

Shelves: hauled-in-2020, 2020-releases

March 12, 2020: It is being called perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood and I did like that book so looking forward to reading this one. Especially since it offers non-binary characters in a queer romance, AND a group of misfits, witches, and ghosts saving the world. Thank you, Dundurn Press for the digital review copy via Netgalley! ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2020 Francisca Pinto rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalleyarcs

I recieved this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is really amazing! I really like it buuuuut... that end it feels like just ok.
Eli is a pet witch who was created to be a ghost assasin, she can't think, talk without permisson or even think in a independent life, she is only an "object". But one day everything change when she failed in one of her missions and then she can't return, or she is going to be dissarmed.

The first 50% of the book was awesome! I really love El ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2020 Adrianne rated it did not like it

Shelves: netgalley

What a shame, I really wanted to enjoy this story, but if anyone asked me what this was about I would have nothing to say! The story was chaotic and I could not get into it at all. The only thing I liked was the fact there were non-binary characters within the story, which was a first for me. The premise was quite exciting, and the reason why I picked it up in the first place.
However, at some point I found myself confused to the point that I did not know if I was reading about something from th ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 19, 2020 Vignesh Kumar rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, lgbtq, young-adult

I got this e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh. My. God! This book dragged me so bloody much. I really really wanted to like this book but couldn't get myself enough to like it. What caught my eye initially was that gorgeous cover and word witches but alas, what they say is true. Do NOT judge a book by its cover.

Our main character is made by a witch as an assassin to hunt down things and ghosts but when an assignment goes wrong, she questions everything around her. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 28, 2020 Milena Nová rated it did not like it

Shelves: never-more, meh

Every time I review books I truly wish that I'll like them. However, this was not this case at all.
This book has a lot of mistakes. Most of the characters are dull. Though I appreciate that there are a lot of lgbt+ characters, it doesn't change the fact that the main character's personality is blank, so the only one I actually liked was Tav.

The pacing of this book is really slow and it doesn't help that the plot is short and most of the time about nothing. Which means that I was so bored when I ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 11, 2020 Ariel rated it liked it

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass
Adan Jerreat-Poole
3.5/5 Stars

I got an ARC of this book for an honest review so here it is! This book had an amazing beginning, I was instantly hooked by the characters, what our protagonist Eli had just done, and who she was. I was very pleased with the beginning of what could be a great story.

Before I address the issues I have with this book, I would like to say that I love the cover and how it can stand out in a crowd of other books. I love the colour palette us The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass
Adan Jerreat-Poole
3.5/5 Stars

I got an ARC of this book for an honest review so here it is! This book had an amazing beginning, I was instantly hooked by the characters, what our protagonist Eli had just done, and who she was. I was very pleased with the beginning of what could be a great story.

Before I address the issues I have with this book, I would like to say that I love the cover and how it can stand out in a crowd of other books. I love the colour palette used and I would definitely commit cover-buy for this book!

Secondly, I love how he brings what normally would be considered as ugly and disgusting into art and beauty. The descriptions of slugs, burnt maple, glass, dried bark- etc, it makes us see the beauty in things that we don't normally consider as beautiful, and that really is amazing. Another thing I love in this book was how it discussed (although only briefly) queer discrimination. I am a sucker for books that address issues that pop up in our society because this way, people will come to read it and become more aware of it.

Thirdly, I love the world-building in this book so much! It made me fall in love with earth all over again as Tav showed Eli around. I love the City of Eyes and how mysterious time works in that world. I love the Children's Lair and how it was a place of sanctuary (sort of) for witches. I also love the Labyrinth and how Eli and Kite came across it. Everything about the Witches world was amazing, The world is dark, luscious and makes me want to drown in it.

Now, this story has so much potential but I feel like it wasn't fleshed out enough to be a page-turning phenomenon. Some parts of the book just made me feel like it was filler and dragged on so much, and maybe that was why it took me so long to read it. The world-building was amazing and the relationships between characters were also so realistic but just the way the plot carried itself was not ideal. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and loved my time in Eli's world but in the end, it didn't make me crave the next book or feel like I needed to know what happened next. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2020 Hannah | Katarama Reads rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, ya-fiction, reviewed, 2-stars

“Even teenage assassins have dreams.

Eli isn’t just a teenage girl — she’s a made-thing the witches created to hunt down ghosts in the human world. Trained to kill with her seven living blades, Eli is a flawless machine, a deadly assassin. But when an assignment goes wrong, Eli starts to question everything she was taught about both worlds, the Coven, and her tyrannical witch-mother.

Terrified that she’ll be unmade for her mistake, Eli seeks refuge with a group of human and witch renegades. With t ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2020 Charlie Marie is currently reading it

Shelves: arc-to-review, october-2020-release

me: does an awkwardly enthusiastic dance! I got an arc!!

Also, there are teen assassins and witch renegades! Also also, look at the cover! Sooo good!

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2020 Ruth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: publisher-netgalley

Thank you to Dundurn and NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I should also note that I have a personal connection with the author.

I really enjoyed The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass and flew through it in less than 24 hours. (I even read it standing on the subway!) I found Jerreat-Poole’s writing unique in the way they captivated my senses with their use of rich smells, colours and elemental ‘ingredients’ like the hawthorn and glass, obs ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2020 Brittany Smith rated it did not like it

Shelves: dnf

dnf-ed at 79%.
I wanted DESPERATELY to like this book but I just.... didn’t, at all. I wanted to stop reading at 30% but decided to keep giving it a chance. It let me down.
Good things: pretty much all of the characters are LGBT+ and it WAS a fairly unique fantasy idea. That’s basically (unfortunately) it.
I had zero feelings about the characters, I was not invested in the plot, the plot/conflict was murky AT BEST, the characters had no clear personalities, everything that happened was just like “o ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 18, 2020 Claire Tacon rated it it was amazing

Highly recommend! Eli, a witch's assassin, is such a compelling character that I had trouble putting the book down. The stakes are high right from the start, the world building is super-imaginative and the setting is richly described ("The Vortex shifted, the core growing darker, as black as dead eyes and the hole in the head of a needle. The darkness threaded Eli through the fabric between the human city and the witch city.").

This is a wonderful novel that walks the line between fantasy and ho ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 29, 2020 Tamera rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, lgbtq, paranormal, netgalley, arc, magic, cover-porn, series, queer-representation, 2020-read

I was incredibly excited to be selected to receive an ARC of The Girl of Hawthorne and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole- queer inclusive fantasy with a strong female lead and lots of magic? Yes,. please. Sign me up! And this book certainly did not disappoint when it comes to inclusivity, gayness, strong women, or magic. Those boxes were all checked and wrapped in some of the best prose I have read in quite some time.

While I really enjoyed the book and storytelling as a whole, there were times when I I was incredibly excited to be selected to receive an ARC of The Girl of Hawthorne and Glass by Adan Jerreat-Poole- queer inclusive fantasy with a strong female lead and lots of magic? Yes,. please. Sign me up! And this book certainly did not disappoint when it comes to inclusivity, gayness, strong women, or magic. Those boxes were all checked and wrapped in some of the best prose I have read in quite some time.

While I really enjoyed the book and storytelling as a whole, there were times when I felt like I was missing something and had to back pedal a few pages to make sure I hadn't glazed over an important detail. Sometimes the story was very clear and precise, making sure you picked up what it put down, though usually with minor character details (like hair)... but other times it was just vague enough to be frustrating. I wanted the world to be built out more, particularly The City of Eyes. I wanted to understand better, have a clear picture. I sat on writing this review for nearly a week for that reason- I couldn't decide on a rating. I just wanted more. But my rating ultimately is in place because I enjoyed the book, I enjoyed the characters (I just want to understand the motivation behind everyone except the main). It's not perfect, but it was enjoyable. And it was weird.I like weird.

Eli is a made thing, a witch's daughter, a witch's creation. She was made with a purpose, to serve the Coven without question. She is their assassin, and the Coven expects perfection from their assassin. Creations that don't serve their purpose are unmade, and while Eli may have been created of hawthorn and glass (and a few other things), she is very much alive and would rather keep it that way. I love the thought behind the character creation, not just for Eli, but for all the characters. They're unique and colorful and.... alive.

The witches and their Coven reside in a magic realm that is entered through seams between our human world and theirs. These are the seams Eli uses to travel and carry out the assassinations entrusted to her by the Coven. She kills ghosts. Not the bed sheet kind, not ghosts like we may think of them. Threats. Ghosts that consume life. But when one of her missions is very much not what she expected it to be, Eli finds out that she cannot simply return to the Coven. Failure is not an option.

Enter Cam and Tav, bringing some wonderful diversity and a whole lot of much needed queerness into the world of fantasy reading. I really loved both of these characters but I want to understand more about what drives them. Because they're interesting, they play off each other in a wonderful way, and I want to see where their stories go. Cam is a gay boy with a deep appreciation for quality coffee, a quality that I can really get behind. And Tav is a non-binary person of color with spiked purple hair that rides a motorcycle that gave me some character-crush moments. They interested me. Especially as their story played out.

Eli, Cam, and Tav's become entangled in multiple ways that lead them on an adventure through the magical world that tests hearts, motivations, and the bonds they're forming. The City of Eyes and the realm in which it dwells could not be farther from the pastel and glitter coated fairy realms of popular fantasy. Danger lies everywhere, in every object, in every stone of this living and breathing world and the witches? Well, they're not exactly Glenda the Good.

I am looking forward to seeing where this story goes. I really WANT this book to succeed. The writing is beautifully done and our fantasy worlds need to be filled with more than just white, conventionally attractive, able bodied, straight characters.

Side note: The Children and the maze were awesome and I need to know everything about them.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because of a truly original story and unique characters.

Major thanks to Dundurn, Adan Jerreat-Poole, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. My opinions (as always) are my own. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 19, 2020 Brandy {The Review Booth} rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: LGBTQ, witches, low fantasy, young adult

Recommended to Brandy by: NetGalley

Shelves: netgalley, 2020-goodreads-challenge

As a witch-made teenage assassin Eli was born to hunt down and dispose of the ghosts that plague the human plane. She armed only with her wits, seven enchanted blades and a glamour of a normal human teenager. Her recent mission has unintended and surprising consequences causing Eli to begin questioning the rhetoric she'd consumed about both worlds from her oppressive witch-mother and the Coven itself.

With the possibility of being unmade looming over her for her transgression, Eli lets her guard As a witch-made teenage assassin Eli was born to hunt down and dispose of the ghosts that plague the human plane. She armed only with her wits, seven enchanted blades and a glamour of a normal human teenager. Her recent mission has unintended and surprising consequences causing Eli to begin questioning the rhetoric she'd consumed about both worlds from her oppressive witch-mother and the Coven itself.

With the possibility of being unmade looming over her for her transgression, Eli lets her guard down enough to get swept up in a group of renegades - one that includes human and witch members. The leverage the hold against her forces her to agree to the ambitious and deadly task of retrieving the Heart of the Coven. Armed with her seven blades; Eli along with two human rebels and a girl as bottomless as the ocean will attempt the impossible. Possibly with a side effect of freeing Eli of the constant threat of becoming unmade.

The beginning of the story throws you to the wolves without much world building or explanation so it's a little confusing to follow along with the events and characters. The lack of world building where it would be beneficial continues throughout the book with a little more explanation towards the end but in my opinion still not enough. I really wish more time was spent on the City of Eyes, the background of the witches (which we could see more of in The Boi of Feather and Steel). Eli getting roped in with Cam and Tav felt exceedingly rushed and not as well thought out as explained by another character in the book. I could actually go for a prequel to this book - one that explains the background, possibly Circinae or in third person.

Eli referring to Tav as "they" threw me, I thought I'd missed another character and had to go back. It feels out of place for Eli to make an uninformed decision like that regarding Tav after they literally just happen to meet - it feels like to personal of an assumption. The book I read prior to this one also had a character that preferred the use of they/them and it was entirely more successful for one reason - the characters had previous interaction and knew each other prior to them appearing in the book. It made the use of the preferred pronoun more fluid and believable than using it for two characters that just met.

I was interested in Eli's character and development who is the namesake of The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass but I could take or leave Cam and Tav didn't really hold my interest until halfway through. The histories of Cam and Tav are hinted at but not explored which makes them feel a little flat - we know a good portion of Eli's past through current events and flash backs but not much for the others. The character that was more interesting to me than Cam and Tav was mercurial Kite and even though she wasn't a main character - the ever frustrating and mildly terrifying Clytemnestra.

Other than the possibility of getting hung up on the LGBTQ aspect of this book it is fairly PG for everything including the violence. I did enjoy this book even though it felt like it suffered from lack of world building, events and plot being a little choppy but I do believe that it has the potential to become a great series. I would read the second installment in this series to satisfy my curiosity of where this story could lead. I really do like the concept and the world that Adan Jerreat-Poole has built and I hope it obtains the potential that I think it has. I would consider recommending this book to readers who enjoy LGBTQ characters, witches, young adult and low fantasy. I would like to thank to Dundurn Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this interesting YA debut. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 29, 2020 Bex rated it liked it

Shelves: reviews, arc-s

Eli is an assassin, designed at the moment of her making to be able to peel back the veil between the human world and that of the witches who created her. Her primary role, as with any assassin, is to murder her mark but this is tricky since her marks are already dead. When Eli fails to kill a ghost in the human world, she is trapped there by her vicious mother until she is able to complete her task, and almost accidentally seeks refuge with a group of renegades.

The plot is quite broken up, but Eli is an assassin, designed at the moment of her making to be able to peel back the veil between the human world and that of the witches who created her. Her primary role, as with any assassin, is to murder her mark but this is tricky since her marks are already dead. When Eli fails to kill a ghost in the human world, she is trapped there by her vicious mother until she is able to complete her task, and almost accidentally seeks refuge with a group of renegades.

The plot is quite broken up, but should be appreciated more as an exploration of self. Eli has spent almost all of her life following orders, almost blind to the reason for her existence otherwise, and shedding her true form to blend in to the human world. I really loved how the author captured what that feels like - hiding behind a body, whereby a body really has no meaning anymore; Eli comes to take control of who she is and wants to be, taking ownership of herself and re-appropriating that meaning to her body, and I thought that was probably the largest success of this book.

The characters are each quite interesting, with many varying representations throughout; I think the characterisation is really strong overall actually. Diverse representation isn't discussed much, which was great; rather, these preferences just simply "are", without description or explanation. I wish more authors included their diverse characters in this way, without the deliberate intention to be waving a flag to say they've included them; it feels like a box ticking exercise which completely misses the point of seamlessly including diverse representation in the first place. That's not the case here at all, non-binary characters, for example, are not introduced with a label, they just automatically are, "they". This author just gets it.

I didn't really enjoy the plot that much. I think there's a really good foundation here for an interesting magic-based world, but I couldn't really connect with it. I think the narrative voice is great, and the author has a dry humour throughout which I really liked, but the concept wasn't really developed enough or big enough for me to become invested in it even though I liked all of the characters.

This did detract from my enjoyment of the book, but I really appreciate some of the things that are within The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass which show so much potential and are things which we don't get to see handled so expertly very often. I will definitely read future work by this author, set in a different world perhaps, to see what they create next!

ARC provided from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

May 15, 2020 Sarah marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: arc

I received a free e-ARC of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you, Dundurn Press!

I hate leaving a book unfinished -- I've only done it to one other novel in the past -- but unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this one and had to stop reading at page 70.

I requested this novel because I love all things witchy, and the premise -- a teenage ghost-hunting assassin made by witches -- sounded so fun! In the first couple of pages, the author includes an insightful, heartfelt mes I received a free e-ARC of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you, Dundurn Press!

I hate leaving a book unfinished -- I've only done it to one other novel in the past -- but unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this one and had to stop reading at page 70.

I requested this novel because I love all things witchy, and the premise -- a teenage ghost-hunting assassin made by witches -- sounded so fun! In the first couple of pages, the author includes an insightful, heartfelt message to the reader, telling them that their anger is acceptable, and that their life and body belong to them. To me, this gave the impression of a book that had a lot of heart behind it, and carried a strong feminist message -- especially given the symbolic nature of witches as feared, powerful women. This becomes relevant as the novel opens and we meet our protagonist, Eli, who, as a made-thing, is in possession of neither her life nor her body. At any moment, her creator, Circinae, could unmake her, and this turns out to be the fate of many made-things.

The strong point of 'The Girl of Hawthorne and Glass' was the chaotic, imaginative world-building and description of certain characters. Our protagonist has sharp teeth and reptilian eyes, another character has eyelashes like an insect's antennae, the glamours the protagonist uses while in the human world are described inventively (there's a part where Eli "unfold[s] the glamour that Circinae had left on the steps" and it gives the impression of being knitted like a woolly jumper or scarf), and names can be stolen or lost -- like all witches, Circinae was "born nameless" and "had to travel to the human world to steal a name". Ghosts bleed iron, smoke, or scales, and our protagonist reflects upon killing a ghost that burst into a cloud of perfume. All of these things had a lot of potential and felt very unique!

However, I found myself unable to get attached to any of the characters or feel truly interested in the plot, which seemed to meander amidst the stilted narrative style, and characters like Eli and Tav felt more like sketches than fully fleshed-out people. Others, like Kite and Clytemnestra, who shows up like a creepy child and explodes a taxidermied vulture in a fun display of "wow, what kind of world is this?" had great potential, but they, too, could have used more development.

This is a debut novel, which means that I fully expect Jerreat-Poole to improve as they continue writing. With more editing to ensure cohesiveness and more realness (for lack of a better word) imbued in the characters, this could be a really interesting book, sure to delight readers with its inclusiveness and fantastical takes on magic. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2020 Bethwyn Badger rated it really liked it

Shelves: review-books

Eli is a girl, but also definitely not a girl. She is a made-thing, an assassin, a witch's tool. She can travel between the City of Eyes, where the witches reside, and the City of Ghosts, where the humans live, because she is of both worlds. And yet, there is change afoot.

This was a ride and a half. I want to make a special point of talking about the magic and the sheer imagination that went into this story - I loved so much of it, and a lot of elements that were added along the way just made me Eli is a girl, but also definitely not a girl. She is a made-thing, an assassin, a witch's tool. She can travel between the City of Eyes, where the witches reside, and the City of Ghosts, where the humans live, because she is of both worlds. And yet, there is change afoot.

This was a ride and a half. I want to make a special point of talking about the magic and the sheer imagination that went into this story - I loved so much of it, and a lot of elements that were added along the way just made me gasp in sheer delight at the wonderfulness of it all. And also the darkness of it, too. This is definitely my kind of book. The labyrinth in particular is actually something I'd love to know more about, but, to be honest, I feel like this author might be able to make an amazing world out of whatever they write.

Eli is definitely an interesting character to follow - she is so conflicted at times, and curses this as her 'human side', and at other times she curses herself for being a monster. The other characters, Kite, Tav, and Cam specifically, were all fantastic, flawed, real. At least, they felt that way to me. And the representation and diversity was fantastic. (Speaking as someone who identifies as non-binary, I appreciated the little bit of backstory we got for the enbie character, but also that it didn't devolve into a sort of 'torture porn' level of pain. There was more focus on the character stepping forward into who they were, and just being that person. I loved that.)

I have read that other people felt like nothing really happened in this book, and I am not really sure where that is coming from, however - I know that I like slower books sometimes, and I also love this quality that Jerreat-Poole has created throughout the whole book: dreamlike, magical, sort of flowy. One section will sometimes flow into a memory, and then back to 'current time'. Having said that, the last 25% or so was basically all action and I loved it all.

Very interested to see what Adan Jerreat-Poole does next! Someone to watch, methinks.

8/10 thorn, glass, and pearl stars.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2020 Carolina rated it liked it

Shelves: arc

The book is all over the place. It often meanders off and pauses the plot for flashbacks and scenes that add nothing to characterization or world-building. The plot is the basic steal-the-object quest, but it gets side-tracked a lot with obstacles that come out of nowhere and it just feels like padding. The stakes were high, but I wasn’t invested in it in the first place.
The magic in this world thrives on chaos. That makes for a really cool setting, but it also means the author can add random st The book is all over the place. It often meanders off and pauses the plot for flashbacks and scenes that add nothing to characterization or world-building. The plot is the basic steal-the-object quest, but it gets side-tracked a lot with obstacles that come out of nowhere and it just feels like padding. The stakes were high, but I wasn’t invested in it in the first place.
The magic in this world thrives on chaos. That makes for a really cool setting, but it also means the author can add random stuff for plot reasons and it shows. It’s a very strange world, but not as whimsical as it tries to be. It would’ve worked better if it didn’t seem like it was designed around the plot, instead of both mutually influencing each other.
To me, the most important thing in a book is compelling characters. That’s why I keep reading. But these characters were mostly meh.
Eli is an assassin created by a witch, and she lives in terror of being unmade. She’s part monster, made to kill, and part human, so she can travel to their world. She grows a lot by being around the humans, but besides liking coffee, she doesn’t have much of personality and I didn’t connect with her at all.
Like all the witches, Kite has a sort of Orange and Blue Morality, and she’s easily the most interesting character of the lot. She’s a bit of a wild card and it’s never clear which side she’s on. I loved that about her.
Tav is clearly the creator’s pet. Eli is immediately attracted to them upon meeting them and they mysteriously have powers no one else has. Perhaps because of that, I found them underwhelming.
Cam is one of my favorites. An average human in a magic world and way out of his depth, he’s both the comic relief and the not-powered character we can relate and root for. His sense of humor is amazing and he’s the most human and real character of them all.
This book had so much going for it, but it fell flat. The premise sounds awesome but the execution doesn’t deliver.

The queer rep here is really cool: Tav is non-binary, Cam is gay, and I think Eli and Kite are sort of exes.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2020 Kelly rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley, young-adult, fantasy, witches-warlocks-wizards

After seeing the beautiful cover and reading the intriguing plot, I had very high hopes for this one. Witches and assassins vs humans and ghosts?! I mean, count me in. However, this story never managed to get me invested in it, mainly because the storyline was a bit confusing to me.
Every character had their own quest and together they embarked on one big quest without really knowing what their endgame was going to be. They also didn’t seem to have a lot of motives to actually do the things that ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review