Let me first start out by saying that I will read anything that T. Kingfisher writes. She is an unbelievably talented storyteller, and her tales never fail to captivate me. Frequently, my top book of the year that I’ve read is by Kingfisher (including my favorite book of 2022, WHAT MOVES THE DEAD, a creepy retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher). Here in THORNHEDGE, Kingfisher brings us a topsy-turvy retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
I love this line from the blurb of this book: “There's a princess trapped in a tower. This isn't her story.” Instead, we get to revel in Toadling, who is such an endearing character with whom I instantly fell in love. Toadling was stolen from her human family on the day of her birth and lovingly raised among aquatic monsters in faerieland. The fae request a favor of the newly-adult Toadling. They ask her to return to the mortal world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Sweet Toadling accidentally fumbles her task and spends centuries in the human world trying to atone for it.
Along comes a satisfyingly atypical knight, who doesn’t like to fight in tourneys or hurt others in battle. In fact, what he likes to do is read and satisfy his curiosity about things he’s read about. This knight has read there is a curse amidst a towering wall of brambles, and he wonders if Toadling might be in need of rescue. The gentle knight is enchanting, and despite Toadling’s desperation to keep her secrets safe, Toadling and the knight end up questing side by side through the thick brambles and the magic within.
I don’t want to give away too much of the premise, because part of the enjoyment of the tale lies in the slow unraveling of the upending of typical expectations for a fairytale. Suffice it to say that T. Kingfisher brings a jewel of a novella to life with THORNHEDGE, a fairytale retelling that delectably subverts all your expectations.
From USA Today bestselling author T. Kingfisher, Thornhedge is an original, subversive fairytale about a kind-hearted, toad-shaped heroine, a gentle knight, and a mission gone completely sideways.
There's a princess trapped in a tower. This isn't her story.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
If only.
Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He's heard there's a curse here that needs breaking, but it's a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold...
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