Among the Beasts and Briars is a combination fairy tale retelling (I think), but I felt like Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast were the predominant tales. Cerys is a gardener's daughter who has been friends with the prince and princess forever. The royal family is the keeper of the crown that keeps the creepy and dangerous forest, along with its monsters, at bay and protects the kingdom. Cerys was touched by the wood when her mother died, but for some reason the woodcurse did not kill her, but instead gave her magical powers to grow plants. But when the king dies and Anwen is crowned, the forest and its monsters breaks free, and Cerys has to go on a quest to save herself, her friends, and her kingdom by traveling through the forest with her fox companion to try to break the curse. This book was honestly much darker and creepier than I expected from a YA fairy tale retelling. The monsters are pretty unsettling and the forest is intruguing but also harboring all of these dangers. I'm definitely a horror wimp but I really enjoyed this book, and if you want a creepy fall, fairy tale, with a spooky forest, this would be great. I would recommend you allow yourself to suspend your disbelief just a little bit, but if you like animal companions, a pretty cute romance, and an compelling, easy read, you'll probably love Among the Beasts and Briars.

There were definitely things that kinda bugged me. I don't like the unworthiness angst (I'm just a gardener's daughter and so I'm not made for great things) or the fact that both characters would often blame themselves for things that weren't their fault. I get guilt, and dealing with that is absolutely a journey, but this felt like obstinacy and unhealthy, misguided guilt. Cerys was a little annoying because she's a little too polite. I actually can find (too) fiery females annoying, but Cerys felt a little bland, but she did have a LOT of growth. I found the flashbacks a little clunky, but that got better throughout the story. I found a couple things rather implausible for the sake of increasing drama. Also when we're in the kingdom, there's the fairy tale environment vibe, but then the characters drink coffee and grab keys and have trains. I just found it a little jarring, and I wish that it felt it had a little bit more of a purpose in the worldbuilding, but it mostly felt convenient. I felt like the ending left a couple questions hanging, but perhaps I just missed them.

That said, I LOVED Fox. I can't say much without spoilers, so I'm going to put some spoiler tags here. It won't spoil anything very major, but I just have to talk about it.

Spoiler

I LOVED how when Fox became more human, Poston really emphasized his foxiness. I feel like when we have transformations often they go from being an animal to being 100% a person. I love how Fox still tries to stick his tongue out to pant but it doesn't cool him off, etc. Just very good detail

I liked the romance, even if it was a little angsty at times. I found the world pretty intriguing. I wish we'd gotten more about the magic, but the story did good.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed Among the Beasts and Briars. It's a good fun read but with plenty of depth to keep you interested and invested. I've been reading so many heavy books lately, that it was so enjoyable to just speed through this lighter book. 3.5 stars, but I'll round up for Goodreads.

Thanks to Balzer + Bray and Netgalley for the eARC