Thornhedge - a book review

-

 Thornhedge is a twisted fae tale, where the princess in the tower is evil and the fae creature is in the right to put her to sleep. This is a twist on sleeping beauty by T. Kingfisher. Let's get into it. 



This book, a 4 hour audio experience, is so deep and wonderful, while still being dark. This twist on the sleeping beauty story plays with dark fae lore and the idea that we heard the original story incorrectly, that the tower was originally meant to protect us from a changling. 

Review

Our story begins with Toadling, a woman who is and isn't fae. Read it and you'll understand. She is the original daughter that the changling replaced. She's half-fae because she was raised by fae and changed to become fae. I know, it's confusing. She was sent back to make sure the changling child "did no harm to those around her", which was a tall order to say the least. 

After a while, 200 years in fact, a knight comes by and doesn't leave until he knows the secrets of the tower. He bonds with a lonely, anxious Toadling and she eventually comes to like him and tell him the truth of the story. They go into the tower and are forced to do the only thing that will protect the world; they accidentally kill the changling and it turns out that is the original mission. 

The emotional depth of this story was staggering. Toadling is convinced she failed everyone around her and constantly asking "why me?" and saying someone else should have been sent. I think I can relate. She also tried kindness first and love first, saying her love should have been enough to chang the changling and make her behave. But we all know that people can't change unless they want to. Her self-esteem is also in the dirt, but as the knight says, he's not overly handsome either. They are both calling themselves failures. I relate hard to Toadling. That line about "my love should have been enough" hit me like a brick through a glass window. 

Conclusion


Five stars. It was a one-day read for me and I was so emotional afterward. Oh my gosh, I expected whimsy and got a dark fae tale with emotional depth. Read it. Buy it. It's worth your money. 

***********************************************************************************

 
Morrow is released! This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship? 

Sign up for my newsletter at this link to get a free first chapter. All you need to plug in is your email. You'll also get a free first chapter of Wrenville, my first novel. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Laurel and Hardy - a brief history

-
Image
 Laurel and Hardy are a pair of comedians I grew up watching, despite the fact they were popular in the 1930s. My dad loves their work and that era of film. Today let's look at their history. You might learn something new. I know I did. Courtesy of Fanpop Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy didn't start out working together. Stan was more of a writer than an actor and Oliver was working as primarily an actor.  Stan Laurel (Stan Jefferson) was the understudy to Charlie Chaplin in 1910. While working in Vaudeville he changed his last name to Laurel. He found success in 1920 while doing comedy, then went more into writing and directing. Hal Roach Studios signed him in 1925 and he was supposed to be more behind the camera than in front.  Oliver Hardy (Norvell Hardy) took the name Oliver in tribute to his late father. He managed a movie theatre in 1913 and said "why not" to acting. He was in 200 short films for various studios. Hal Roach signed him in 1926.  They began working t...
Read more

eye contact

-
Image
If you know me personally you know I'm not one to make a lot of eye contact. It's an intimate thing, even between friends. Let's talk about eye contact and what it really means to get eye contact.  Courtesy of Glam Some people have issues with eye contact not being made. For those people, I'd say that you've not had much experience with introverts. (Don't say shy to an introvert, by the way.) Please don't label people who make less eye contact with flirting either (cough cough, elementary school). Maybe they just don't want the intimacy of making long periods of eye contact. It isn't an easy answer. While some people won't make eye contact while lying, others can look you straight in the eye and lie to you. It depends entirely on who you are talking to and their personality.  Personality aside, eye contact means a lot. It can mean sexual attraction, hatred, lying, shame, and lots of other emotions that the body language attached will clarify. Add...
Read more

Cleaning My Shelves

-
Image
 I'm a book dragon. I need help. I am now going through all the bookshelves to get the unwanted out and make space for new books. I only have so much space. This was overdue.  Courtesy of Lithub.com Today you're reading what'll be a lot of work. I went through all the shelves one by one. I took out what I had doubts about and put it in two categories. One stack of books is the donate pile (which I did all at once). The other stack was what I gave a second chance to.  The second chance pile will be addressed later in this post and given a star (1-5) review. Whatever stays will prove itself. The rest of it goes in the donation stack. Some shelves did not change and won't change because they are my Nancy Drew collection or didn't have any books leave the shelf.  The Process This took some time. I started with my bedroom bookshelves, then made my way into the living room bookshelves. Many of these shelves won't change much. I'm working from the most chaotic to t...
Read more