Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston

Release: October 20th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Harper Collins
Source: The Book Terminal
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N , Indiebound

Cerys is safe in the kingdom of Aloriya.

Here there are no droughts, disease, or famine, and peace is everlasting for the past hundreds of years. This is ever since the first king made a bargain with the Lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. But as Aloriya prospered, the woods grew dark, cursed, and forbidden. Cerys knows this all too well: when she was young, she barely escaped as the woods killed her friends and her mother. Now Cerys carries a small bit of the curse—the magic—in her blood, a reminder of the day she lost everything. The most danger she faces now, as a gardener’s daughter, is the annoying fox who stalks the royal gardens and won’t leave her alone.

With the newly crowned queen, however, things long hidden in the woods descend on the kingdom itself. They force Cerys on the run, her only companions the small fox from the garden, a strange and powerful bear, and the magic in her veins. It’s up to her to find the legendary Lady of the Wilds and beg for a way to save her home. But the road is darker and more dangerous than she knows, and as uncovered secrets from the past come to light amid the teeth and roots of the forest, it’s going to take everything she has just to survive.

About the Author:

Ashley Poston loves dread pirates, moving castles, and starry night skies.
She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BA in English, and went on to work at both Kodansha USA and Bloomsbury Publishing. But the dazzling bright lights of New York City couldn’t keep her away from old country roads, so she moved back home to pursue a full-time writing career.

Her books have been on the Indie Next List multiple times, and have been featured in Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Entertainment Weekly, Hypable, and Buzzfeed, among others. She has also been a Goodreads Choice Finalist in 2017 for Geekerella, and a semi-finalist for The Princess and the Fangirl in 2019. She also has a critically-acclaimed space opera series, the Heart of Iron duology, which was named on 2019’s Rainbow List.
When not writing, she plays Dungeons and Dragons and writing fanfic. She lives in South Carolina with her bossy cat, and they are firm believers that we’re all a bunch of weirdos looking at other weirdos, asking for their username.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Among the Beasts & Briars Review:

I loved this story! It is like a fairy tale mixed with fantasy wrapped in magic and sprinkled in romance. I could not put it down.

To begin with, the author paces the story wonderfully from the first chapter, as Cerys and her father set out to witness a Coronation. What follows is a magical twist of events where Cerys, Fox, and Vala go on a dangerous journey to save the kingdom. There are so many unexpected moments in the story. For instance, I loved the scenes when Seren and Wen show up as deformed creatures and attack the group in the woods. I also loved Fox’s back story and how the visions he has of the past.

Similarly, I just adored the scenes with Fox and Cerys as they get to know each other. Both of them face insecurities and feel they are cowards for running away from the events. The author wrote them in a perfect manner where you fall in love with their friendship. Fox is hilarious with his snarky retorts. Additionally, Vala also stands out as the supporting bear who imparts wisdom to the cast. The villain will shock you too in the climax.

Moreover, apart from friendship, I loved the message of courage in the story. The author beautifully highlights that even if you acted in a cowardly manner in the past, it is never too late to change yourself and be brave in the future. After reading this book, I am eager to check out the author’s previous novels.

Overall, “Among the Beasts & Briars” is one of those books that a reader of any age group would enjoy.