Random Book Of Randomness

Babbling about Books: The Hawthorn Throne

If you like: Retellings of King Arthur legends, medieval fantasies, diversity in fiction, you will probably LOVE this book.

I just finished reading today, and by the time this chapter goes to you, the book will probably be paid. If so, sad for you, coz I read it for free! (August 11 2020 is the last day to read it for free)

Everyone in Cornwall thinks Riona is a witch. At the night of the Beltane, a stranger appears on their doorstep, bleeding through the gut. Riona uses her knowledge of herbs, and maybe a little bit of magic from the stranger, to help him. 

Soon after meeting the stranger, known as Aidan,  Riona's world collapses. Her village is attacked, and Aidan helps her escape, only for them to find more danger. Druids are chasing her, her past haunts her, and oh MY GOD I LOVE THIS BOOK.

The characters are good, the plot grips you, and the romance was perfect! Let me just tell you though, that if you like happy endings, this is probably not the book for you. The last chapter did break my heart a little.

Some things I loved: 

The romance: Shippers will go crazy.

 The mystery: Even though both narrators are very reliable, the mystery gripped me. The foreshadowing was on point, and the ending really connected all the dots.

The diversity of characters; I mean, Aidan isn't even human! He's a druid... Okay, okay, there are lots of people of color, and lots of gender identities, so if you are tired of whitewashed characters.... here's your book.

 ....and THE FIGHT SCENES. I'm telling you, if you like sword-fights coming to life, you better read it. She describes pain and gore brilliantly, I felt like someone cut MY arm! And I LOVED IT! ( not a masochist, but you get the point)

Relevy's descriptions are on point and you literally see the world she created. 

The pacing is just right, and very few scenes were boring to me ( some include the ride to Londinium, the plague chapter). 

Some stuff I didn't love: No book is perfect, and even though I loved the book, there were certain elements I didn't like. 

I guess Riona could have been a tad more flawed in terms of appearance? Riona was very pretty, great with herbs, but she was quite defenseless in terms of fights. But I quite liked her. Now, she has pale skin and reddish hair, but it didn't bother me too much since she had grey eyes, not green. 

My favorite character was Aidan, and yours probably will be too. They are also gorgeous in terms of appearance, but even if they weren't,  I would have loved them. They were so flawed, but I felt like they really did redeem themself by the end. Some other characters I loved: Ibrahim, Gwenivar, Ava.

*Oh, btw, Aidan is non-binary, and is referred to by singular 'they'. I would have preferred 'it', but I kind of got used to it. I think Relevy didn't use 'it' because then Aidan would sound more like an inanimate thing or animal. (I may have called them 'he' by mistake in the book ( for some reason, I do that) so please feel free to correct me.)

Characters I hated: Okay, I didn't really hate any of the characters. So I guess that's one thing I didn't like? I mean, some of the villains literally tried to kill Riona and I just could not hate them.

NOW here's my rant on the Paid Stories Program:

I hate this thing so much. 

Any book you want to read, you have to pay for. I miss the days when Wattpad was a place for GREAT, FREE stories. They COULD have monetized by ads or something, I wouldn't have minded. 

Let me be honest here. If I could have my story PAID, I would probably join the Paid Stories Program. I just wish WATTY AWARD WINNERS did not join the paid stories, you know? 

But at the same time, it does SUPPORT writers. So yeah, conflicted feelings. (Lemme know your opinion on Paid Stories!)

Have you read the Hawthorn Throne? What did you think of it? Let me know your favorite characters and moments!