* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

Sometimes a pretty cover can be deceiving. That's how I feel about The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass. There was a lot of promise in the synopsis and the cover, but it didn't come to fruition in the read.

This book is all over the place, with a jarring narrative movement and a lack of backstory that left me very confused in several instances. You are thrown into a new world without a lot of explanation. Sometimes this can work for a fantasy if the world is slowly explained through the movement of the plot. In this case, that didn't happen. The world-building is severely lacking, leaving large pieces unexplained and making the story very confusing.

It reads like a slightly dark, magical fever dream. There is no central thread to pull everything together and the narrative moves as a series of disconnected pieces with a lack of smooth transitions and explanations of the how and why. There is magic sprinkled in here and there and a loosely explained goal for the characters to strive for. It's a quest without a solid purpose. Sure, they have a goal and they're attempting to save the world, but it's very lightly described and the intensity just isn't there. I didn't care enough about what they were trying to do.

The characters themselves are the best part of this book. They are diverse and vibrant with good personalities. They are interesting and unique and I did want to know more about them and understand their backstories and their motivations. But they don't move coherently in the narrative and I felt like I was left hanging.

All in all, a very confusing and disappointing read.