Melissa Bashardoust Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Melissa Bashardoust
Melissa Bashardoust is a fantasy and young adult author best known for her debut novel Girls Made of Snow and Glass. Bashardoust went to the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with an English degree. While in the university, this talented author remembered her love for fairy tales, creative writing, and children’s literature. This explains her choice of genre in her writing. Currently, Bashardoust resides in Southern California. She lives with her cat, Alice, and a huge collection of Jane Eyre works.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn
Girl, Serpent, Thorn tells the story about a girl with a bizarre condition. Because of the poisonous blood running through her, Soraya can kill anyone who touches her. This only meant that she lived an isolated life, hidden away from everyone but her family. However, with her brother’s wedding fast approaching, this young girl thinks it is time to come out of the shadows finally. It turns out that there is a demon who knows how to get what Soraya craves. There is also a young man who doesn’t seem afraid of her. Could it be that he saw the person beneath the poison?

This young man stirs something in Soraya that starts to dissolve her emptiness. The once sad girl is replaced by a determined one who knows what she wants. As the story progresses, we get to see Soraya wrestle with her moral code. Despite her contradicting heart desires, it is sweet that she chooses to do the right thing. The romance between Soraya and Parvaney is sweet, and it is admirable how in the midst of chaos, they both found something comforting in each other. There is a twist somewhere in the middle of the story that will come as a surprise and steer the tale in a completely different direction. However, the novel remains captivating to the last page.

While Soraya always thought that she had her life figured out, she soon begins to question the person she was becoming. She had always thought that her condition put her at a disadvantage since she could not interact with people. However, the older she grows, the more it becomes clear that her blood also made her powerful and unstoppable. This discovery is exhilarating, and Soraya cannot help but be excited about all the possibilities. Will she be a princess using her powers for good or a monster? This story borrows from Persian mythology and gives it an exhilarating twist. The magical elements help complete that fairy tale feel.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn is a captivating story about a girl born with a curse that she later turns into a blessing. After years of isolation, Soraya realizes that she could enjoy a more fulfilling life with a slight shift in thinking. Follow this girl as she goes through her evolution. You will see her make mistakes, determine what she wants, and finally forge her own path. The worldbuilding is outstanding, and the magical touch and cultural elements add a lot of depth to the story. If you are a fairy tale fan, you will find this book exciting. All characters are easy to connect with, and it is amazing that the story ends on such a happy note. The good feminist vibes are also hard to miss.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass
Girls Made of Snow and Glass is an outstanding Snow-White retelling. We are first introduced to sixteen-year-old Mina. This young lady is motherless, and her vicious father, who is also a magician, doesn’t make life any easier. From a young age, Mina’s heart had never loved anyone. Actually, her heart had never beaten at all, and she always thought this was normal. She would never have imagined that her father had removed her heart and replaced it with one made out of glass. When she gets a chance to visit the Whitespring Castle, Mina has only one wish, win the king with her beauty so she can become queen. The only downside with this sort of arrangement is that she would also become a stepmother.

Lynet, the princess, has a striking resemblance to her mother. When she turns fifteen, she discovers that the reason she looked so much like her late mother was because her father had ordered a magician to mold her out of snow and in her mother’s image. While Lynet loved her mother, she finds herself wishing that she would be like her fierce stepmother, Mina. When the king makes Lynet queen after displacing Mina, this young lady finally gets her wish. However, while she previously loved her stepmother, she starts to look at her with hatred. After some time, she discovers that she had a hard choice to make. Defeat her stepmother or work to win the only mother she had ever known back.

The author has done great in entwining Mina and Lynet’s stories in the present and the past. Through flashbacks, we get to see that the relationship between these two women was doomed from the start. Unless they found a way of reshaping themselves, only one could win, which only meant that the other lost everything. One of the exciting things you will find in this book is the queer retelling with an f/f romance. The princess and the stepmother also do not just hate one other. Theirs is a complex relationship that is mostly rocky but also filled with love. The magic people, one with a glass heart and the other made of snow, also add an exciting twist to this story.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass stands out and is a fascinating read. It is outstanding how the author has incorporated the Snow-White story while introducing unexpected and exciting twists. The cast also features many grand women who are not out to hurt each other. It is great hearing the story from Lynet and Mina’s perspectives. Both are remarkable characters, and it is amazing how much they had in common. The themes of family and friendship take center stage in this book, and the complex relationship between mother and daughter is quite realistic.