I really liked The Secret World of Briar Rose, but I also finished it feeling like I wanted more. The concept is probably my favorite part of the book. I loved the idea of taking Sleeping Beauty and using the whole idea of sleep and a dream world to explore depression, grief, escapism, and what it feels like when hiding from reality seems easier than facing it. There are some really emotional moments in this book, and it is definitely much darker than the beautiful cover makes it look.

I also really liked the dream world. It was strange, magical, creepy, and beautiful all at the same time. But after a while, some of those sections started to feel repetitive. There were moments in the middle where I felt like the characters were going through similar situations over and over again, and I found myself wanting the story to move forward a little faster. The biggest thing missing for me was more development with the characters and their relationships. I liked Corin and Amelia, but I never completely connected with their relationship the way I think I was supposed to. I wanted more time with the two of them together so I could really feel that connection growing. Honestly, there were times when I thought Corin had more chemistry with Malicine than she did with Amelia.

And Malicine may have been my favorite character. I found myself wanting more of them and more of their story. I also wanted more of the world outside the dream. We learn about what happened to Gylden and how everything from the past has affected Corin’s present, but I kept wanting to know more about that world and how it got to where it was. That probably sums up most of my feelings about this book: I wanted more. More worldbuilding. More character development. More time for the relationships to grow. More explanation in some places and maybe a little less wandering through the dream world in others.

But I still really enjoyed what Cindy Pham was trying to do here. I especially appreciated that the characters are allowed to be messy, selfish, scared, angry, and sometimes completely wrong. They aren’t perfect fairy-tale heroes, and I think that made the story more interesting. There are also some really thoughtful moments about depression, grief, and the difference between escaping your pain and actually dealing with it that stayed with me after I finished.

Overall, I think this was a really ambitious debut. It didn’t completely hit everything I wanted it to, but there was enough here that I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kokila for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

#TheSecretWorldofBriarRose #NetGalley