Thorn is a standalone novel by indie author Intisar Khanani. She has plans for a companion trilogy, which would be set in the same world as Thorn, but with a different heroine.
THE BLURB:
For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she's never had ... until she's betrayed.
Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family's cruelty and the court's contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future.
But powerful men have powerful enemies--and now, so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman's, giving Alyrra the first choice she's ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she's never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own. As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometime the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.
Thorn has received a Badge of Approval from Awesome Indies.
MY THOUGHTS:
This retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairytale The Goose Girl was great fun.
Thorn is a heroine many readers can stand behind, a strong and principled character who strives to understand true justice, how it should be meted out, and by whom.
This is somewhat at odds with how we first see her - a princess cowed by her ruthless mother and beaten by a cruel brother, but still known across the kingdoms for her honesty. But when she and a greedy servant girl have their identities switched by a sorceress, she finds herself no longer bound by the conventions of royalty and court intrigue, and she begins to blossom.
With her new perspective, Thorn is able to learn more about how the world really works than she had ever learned as a princess. This, combined with her inherent sense of honor, only serves to mold her into a more fitting potential ruler. But it is her duty to the kingdom that battles with her desire to be free to make her own way in life which becomes the struggle that shapes the story told in this book.
The book wasn't 100% perfect for me - I was left with some questions, things that weren't totally explained to my satisfaction. Thorn arrives at conclusions now and again that surprised me and I couldn't figure out how she got from A to B. I didn't really understand her mother and brother, who seemed too black and white, pure scoundrels with no redeeming qualities and no sufficient explanations as to why they came to treat the princess the way they did. And lastly is one issue that is not a problem with the book, really, but just one thing that didn't quite match my personal tastes - although there is a possibility of romance here, we don't get to see it develop. There is no way it could in the part of the tale told in this book, so the author certainly didn't do anything wrong here, but I just prefer to have a bit more romance in my stories, to feel my own heart rate pick up when the would-be lovers find themselves navigating around one another.
Overall, though, I really really enjoyed this book. It sucked me in, and I stayed up way too late to keep reading! I found many of the characters very likable. I especially found Red Hawk to be an intriguing figure. I see that the author plans a companion trilogy, set in the same world as Thorn, but with a different heroine. Can I request, Ms. Khanani, that Red Hawk figure into the new story? Pretty please? Perhaps, but not necessarily, even as a romantic interest? I would SO read that!
MY RATING:
4.5 booksies!
Author website: http://booksbyintisar.com/
Find it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00869SADQ/ref=pdp_new_dp_review
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