This was an ARC provided by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Medusa of the Roses is to be released August 13th  2024.

I rated it 3.5. I feel like this story was not meant for me, and the writing style wasn't something that I'd usually go for. I also finished it in a rush while I was sick before it expired on NetGalley. 

The story was interesting and got me hooked at times, but it felt dragged out. I wanted to know more, but was always 'stuck' in a scene that felt irrelevant. Sometimes it became relevant later on, but it still made it hard to read at times. Because of all the stuff that happened throughout, I wasn't sure what the story was anymore. I felt like the plot drowned in all the other sub-plots, and not in a good way. Honestly, I can't even tell if the book was too short or too long. I didn't get what I felt like was promised in the summary, and that disappointed me.

It was easy to read as the language Navid uses isn't too complicated, but the setting of Iran made me search the meaning of a few words here and there. It didn't disturb the flow of the story, as most words were familiar. Navid also used an easier vocabulary, which made it easy to read.

I know the review makes it seem like the book is bad, but it truly wasn't. It just wasn't for me - the writing style and the way the story was told wasn't to my taste. I couldn't put the book down when I hit about 40 percent, so it was obviously good in some regards.
The title of the book is also really clever, but you'll understand more if you read the book.

 If you want a unique book about queerness, it's most definitely for you.