Book Review: ‘Thornhedge’, a Sleeping Beauty Retelling like You’ve Never Read Before
This story is precious. That’s it. That’s the review. Just kidding, I definitely have more to say, but if you haven’t picked up Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, and you love dark fairytale retellings, make this one a priority. It’s a short novella (to be honest, I wish it was longer). And after reading this and Nettle & Bone, I will read any fairytale retelling T. Kingfisher writes. She has an old soul style of writing, that’s reminiscent of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King. It’s simple and complex in equal measure, but above all, this story will make you feel something. If you want to experience a tragic version of Sleeping Beauty like you never have before, pick this one up.
Things to Know:
Sleeping Beauty Retelling
Loveable MC + a Knight
Dark and tragic
Short Novella
Thornhedge follows Toadling, a princess who was replaced by a changeling and grows up in Faerie. Time moves differently there, so while she’s adopted and raised by river monsters for years, it’s only been a few days in our world. And she’s charged with going back to the human world to stop the baby changeling from doing evil. What unfolds is a beautifully tragic fairytale. Of a princess who’s not quite human anymore, desperate to find and fulfill her purpose over the course of hundreds of years.
"It has been too long. I have forgotten how to make words do what I wish.”
While the story switches between the past and the present, Toadling becomes an even more endearing main character. At times I wanted to shake her, and at other times just give her the biggest hug. We also meet a knight, who’s frankly, not a very good one. But he’s so wholesome, and he stole my heart as well.
“Her skin sang with the water’s touch, because skin was foolish and did not always know when it should be afraid.”
If I could give one critique, I’d say it did wrap up rather quickly, and I could have done with a little more fleshed out ending. The confrontation was over so fast. But perhaps that’s also because I didn’t want the story to end. This is the perfect read between those long fantasy reads to give you a little palette cleanser read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Many thanks to Tor for sending a review copy.
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