Book Review: Thornhedge

Thornhedge 

by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is smart!
Some may find it funny that my favourite part of the book wasn’t the actual story; but instead Kingfisher’s explanation of why she felt the Sleeping Beauty story should go more in the direction she took it; than in the conventional beautiful princess kissed by a prince one. I love the twists here, and I don’t know that I’ll ever think of Maleficent and Aurora the same way again. (For the record Maleficent had been one of my fave Disney characters since I was a child. I just wanted magic and the power to turn into a dragon! Lol). 

Our fairy here is a cute little toad. She’s so sweet and endearing. I don’t want to give anything critical away; but just know that the introductory chapter really sets the tone for the innocence of our fairy, there’s not a spec of evil anywhere in her it seems. And yet for me she was a bit too flimsy and the primary reason for my taking a star away.

We then have our reluctant knight. This angle was very smart. Kingfisher approach’s the story in a more realistic way. Let’s face it, likely, It wouldn’t be the top Prince of the land that comes looking for a princess from a long told myth or story. Instead it’s a nobody with no prospects figuring it’s worth a shot.

All the steps in this novella inject realism (ironic for a fairy tale). This is Sleeping Beauty set in a less Disney-esque world and one more grey (like ours). Thus this story is absolutely a way the story could go. Huge props to Kingfisher for being so clever and for knowing exactly why each character does what they do (as explained in the authors note). If more authors considered their characters motivations to do things (instead of forcing the plot forward) there would be an exponential number of much smart books. In the meantime I’ll continue consuming everything I can get my hands on from Kingfisher.

A note on audio:
I did listen to a few chapters in audiobook format. This narrator wasn’t really for me. She wasn’t bad, but just didn’t hold much excitement for me. I found the story more engaging in print format for me to read. That said I’m still getting used to audiobooks so take that with a grain of salt.

Please note: I received an audiobook eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

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