Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

128 pages

Fic/Fantasy/Action/Adventure

Release Date: August 15, 2023

5/5*

Formats available: Book, Libby eBook, Libby eAudiobook

“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?

But nothing with fairies is ever simple.

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…”

“I can’t fight stories.” This is the sentence I knew this tale spun before me would be fantastic because stories are the way we pass down history, our lives. T. Kingfisher has a way with fairy tales the likes I never witnessed anywhere else. She has a way of making me yearn to hear them repeatedly like a child by a fire listening to elders speak of past dragon tales. I love a fairy tale, but I love the way she speaks them even more, with something past the edge of passion as if these stories are part of herself. Within Thornhedge, Kingfisher’s beautiful fairy is more than glittering fae and sensual luring beauty; this small and mighty character is curious and I feel if I sit still in the forest long enough that I may see her flitting about speaking to the wagtails. As a reader, you may think you have read this story multiple times and have grown tired of its retellings but I assure you that you never have heard this. This tale grips you with the horror of the unknown and makes me crave the rough and bloody world of fairies. Read her story so that your heartbreaks and you long to hear it again. This is a masterful tale that is written boldly and with a beauty that few people recognize because it goes beyond skin deep. This is something that will be added to my list to be reread over and over. Entirely impressive, T. Kingfisher has shattered my expectations and I am in heartbroken love! Highly recommended.

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Bethann