Rating: ★★★★★
Plot:
A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own.
Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.
When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.
But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.
With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for.
Review:
I have been highly anticipating Thorn ever since I first spotted an announcement of its release somewhere across the bookish internet & I am chuffed to let you all know that the book met (&arguably even exceeded) my high expectations!
While I've been known to love a good fairy tale retelling, it is actually quite rare for me to stumble upon one that not only works within a frame offered by a fairy tale, but actually reads and feels like a fairy tale in and of itself. However,Thorn excels in that respect - from the language, the atmosphere and the whimsy of the story, down to smaller, more specific elements, from the three trials to the talking horses and the kind-hearted princess with a heart of gold who can also do the hard work of the lower classes (and delight and take pride in it), which are recurring of so many of the fairy tales of my childhood. Additionally, there was something about this story that I can't quite pinpoint, be it the main character or tone, that reminded me a lot of Juliet Marillier's writing, specifically her Seventwaters books, which in my book (pun intended) is the highest praise I could give someone.
I became so easily invested in Alyrra's journey and her fate and could not wait to see how she would handle all the things that were being thrown at her. The more the story progressed, the more I found myself eager to keep turning the pages and unable to stop, often to the detriment of my sleeping pattern, but such is life.
With its phenomenal character journey, its mysterious antagonist, its complicated morals, the heartfelt writing and slowest of slow burn romances, this book stole my heart in no time and I am so excited to scream about how great it is to everyone and anyone willing to listen. Don't think there is a confirmed sequel in the works, but I loved these characters' story so much and found myself hopelessly compelled by the world and would love to read something else set in this world!
Thanks for reading,
Gabbie.
While I've been known to love a good fairy tale retelling, it is actually quite rare for me to stumble upon one that not only works within a frame offered by a fairy tale, but actually reads and feels like a fairy tale in and of itself. However,Thorn excels in that respect - from the language, the atmosphere and the whimsy of the story, down to smaller, more specific elements, from the three trials to the talking horses and the kind-hearted princess with a heart of gold who can also do the hard work of the lower classes (and delight and take pride in it), which are recurring of so many of the fairy tales of my childhood. Additionally, there was something about this story that I can't quite pinpoint, be it the main character or tone, that reminded me a lot of Juliet Marillier's writing, specifically her Seventwaters books, which in my book (pun intended) is the highest praise I could give someone.
I became so easily invested in Alyrra's journey and her fate and could not wait to see how she would handle all the things that were being thrown at her. The more the story progressed, the more I found myself eager to keep turning the pages and unable to stop, often to the detriment of my sleeping pattern, but such is life.
With its phenomenal character journey, its mysterious antagonist, its complicated morals, the heartfelt writing and slowest of slow burn romances, this book stole my heart in no time and I am so excited to scream about how great it is to everyone and anyone willing to listen. Don't think there is a confirmed sequel in the works, but I loved these characters' story so much and found myself hopelessly compelled by the world and would love to read something else set in this world!
Thanks for reading,
Gabbie.
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