Thornhedge

The thorns have grown up and been covered with brambles, and Toadling, who used to be human but is something else now, raised by greenteeth and able to turn into a toad, has gotten used to being alone. Until one day, a knight appears and she needs to convince him that the princess in the tower isn't what she seems.

This retelling of Sleeping Beauty basically turns the classic fairy tale on its head, questioning whether the common story is really the true one. What if the "princess" were actually a changeling, and she was the villain? Though there are dark moments, it has a cozy tone to it with the funny narration and the friendly conversations between Toading and Halim, the knight. Highly recommended.

As Sleeping Beauty slumbers in her castle, a hideous magical fairy has kept her hidden and captive for a thousand years. One day a handsome knight comes along, seeking adventure, but he stops to listen to the fairy's story and realizes maybe legends are not always what they seem.

A really enjoyable short reverse fairy tale. Toadling is a great main character and I found her story fascinating. I love the imagery of her growing up in a gross swamp raised by creatures we would consider disgusting, who are very loving. They are a great opposition to the more traditional fairies that are attractive but cruel. I've never really understood the logic behind changelings, but swapping out a princess to destabilize a kingdom makes a lot of sense. I show more can't give the book full marks because it was just too short, but I highly recommend it. show less

My obsession with T. Kingfisher began within the first pages of the first of her novels that I picked up (Nettle & Bone), and each subsequent tale she weaves only deepens my interest in her work. In Thornhedge we are treated to a reimagined version of Sleeping Beauty, one that is dark, twisted, and infinitely as intriguing as the rose thorns that grow to encapsulate a tower full of mystery and enchantment. The tale is narrated by a fey creature, a changeling who was raised by the greenteeth, who has been sent back to her former family’s palace in the hope of containing the creature who was left in her stead all those years ago, which instantly sets this story apart from the many retellings of sleeping “princesses” that have come show more before. Kingfisher delves into the darker side of the faerie world in her story, riffing on the magical lore that sits hidden in the back of our minds and comes instantly back to the surface when we are faced with a tale such as this which holds elements of our ingrained genetic survival instincts about the primeval world. As Toadling recalls her happy years amongst the river dwellers and her transformation into the not-quite-human creature that she is now, the story is juxtaposed with her current timeline, which is rife with fear and danger as she encounters a knight who will not be turned back from his quest to discover the mystery of what lies within the tower. The two narratives play wonderfully against each other in surprising ways, as we expect her watery childhood to be filled with horrors and for a rescue attempt to be filled with wonder, but as Toadling reveals to the knight: not all curses should be broken, and the strange beauty of the fey world cannot be fully understood by outsiders. As usual, Kingfisher’s language is lovely as she weaves vivid imagery that brings to life Toadling’s unique story and the world she inhabits, carefully balancing the wonder of the magical world alongside the horrors that may come if her protagonist (and errant knight) cannot find a way to contain the fey changeling creature. The tale is delightfully, deliciously dark, and even while it is a perfect standalone gem I hope that she continues to write other stories in this same realm - the possibilities are just too decadently intriguing not to explore! show less

There's a maiden asleep in a tower, and a great hedge of briars, but it may not be the story you're expecting... Toadling was human once, but that was before she was stolen from her cradle by the Fae and abandoned in Faerie, to be raised by the greenteeth, who sometimes eat abandoned children, but don't eat her. They name her Toadling, and she grows up in the loving arms of monsters, happy and secure -- until the day the Hare Goddess arrives and tells her that her father's house has need of her. Skip ahead a few hundred years: Toadling is guarding what used to be her father's keep, now surrounded by a high hedge of thorns. A knight arrives, and he is kind and courteous, but he's also determined to see what's behind the hedge. He's heard show more an old story, written in an old book, about a princess, and a castle, and a curse -- one that Toadling would do anything to maintain.

I loved it so much. Maybe I mentioned before how I'm a sucker for fairy tale retellings? This does all sorts of interesting things in terms of taking a fairy tale and turning it inside out. Also, for a story with so many dark edges, it's very sweet and comforting. Toadling is a darling and I want to give her a hug, and Halim (the knight) is so funny and nice. Fantasy fans and dark fairy tale lovers, this one is for you. show less

A "Sleeping Beauty" variation, this one from the point of view of the fairy who placed the sleeping curse in the first place. Except it wasn't really a curse, or at least it wasn't meant to be. And Toadling isn't exactly a fairy, though she's not entirely human any more, either.

But whatever was supposed to happen, what has happened is that Toadling has been guarding this abandoned tower surrounded by brambles for a few hundred years now, doing everything in her power to keep some well-intentioned but clueless knight from waking the sleeper. And everything was going just fine until Halim showed up.

I have a soft spot for "from another point of view" retellings -- I think of them as "the literature of parallax" -- and this is a good one. show more The narrative is perhaps fractured into too many flashbacks, but Kingfisher's twists on the original story are clever, providing answers to some of the questions left hanging by the original story. Toadling and Halim are a charming pair, and it's fun to watch the growth of their uneasy friendship. show less

Once upon a time, there was an enchanted sleeping princess. This isn’t that princess, and it isn’t even her story. No, this story belongs to the fairy who gave her her gift, and it’s not the gift you remember from the fairy tales either.

In T. Kingfisher’s (@redwombatstudio) unique twist on the story of Sleeping Beauty (out today from @torbooks), she flips the familiar fairy tale over and creates something new and fresh, this time from the point of view of the fairy, Toadling, who is sent to bestow a gift on the newborn princess, but who inadvertently misspeaks the spell and finds her own life altered forever.

When a knight comes in search of the fabled enchanted princess, Toadling’s story is revealed and everything we thought show more we knew about the sleeping princess is not what we’ve always thought, and the knight begins to question who it is that is actually cursed, the princess, or the fairy?

This is a delicious take on a well known trope and the twist was not what I was expecting at all; leave it to T. Kingfisher to create something wholly original, even in a retelling. There is beauty in this book, but also darkness, as with everything with the fae, and Kingfisher describes both with equal grace; even the most horrifying creatures sound beautiful in her hands.

A huge thank you to @netgalley and @torbooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This has been on my to-read list for a long time, but I wanted to hold the physical book in my hands and my local library didn't have a copy (and I wasn't willing to pay $15 for a paperback novella). So this weekend when we went to my sister's 25th birthday party and she kicked me out of the kitchen (she was experiencing a sausage SNAFU + she looked like the cover of American Housewife by Helen Ellis), I visited with her bookshelves and there I found a hardcover of Thornhedge. I started reading it at the party but stopped when others started arriving (I'm not COMPLETELY antisocial) and she graciously allowed me to borrow it (even though she hasn't read it yet!).

I loved it. Toadling and Halim are perfectly imperfect -- she a kind-of show more fairy, he a knight that prefers stories to fighting. Neither great at their given "jobs". They meet when Halim goes searching for a lost keep he read about in a book, the very keep Toadling has been guarding for a very long time. I loved them so much.

Since I just read another popular novella (The River Has Roots), my brain is comparing them and Thornhedge is a much easier read. The River Has Roots is beautiful writing with a good story, but Thornhedge is a beautiful story with good writing -- sweet, dark, mysterious -- and I love a good story that I can sink into over beautiful writing that occasionally takes me out of the story. show less