Book Review

Thornhedge By T. Kingfisher

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Thornhedge

  • Author: T. Kingfisher
  • Genre: Folklore/Fairytales
  • Publication Date: August 15, 2023
  • Publisher: Tor Books

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with an ARC of this novella in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

CONTENT WARNING: violence, mention of off-page animal abuse, blood, murder

From USA Today bestselling author T. Kingfisher, Thornhedge is the tale of a kind-hearted, toad-shaped heroine, a gentle knight, and a mission gone completely sideways.

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 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…

“The way Thornhedge turns all the fairy tales inside out is a sharp-edged delight.”

―Katherine Addison, author of The Goblin Emperor

There’s something about a Kingfisher book that makes me want it without even reading the summary, because I already know that I’m going to read it no matter what it’s about. Of all the books of hers that I’ve read so far, they’ve all been winners. And this one is no exception.

As far as fairy tales go, Sleeping Beauty is pretty much the most boring for me. The main character has no agency, and has her whole life dictated for her without getting the chance to offer any input of her own. But Kingfisher breathes new life into this tired old tale, and infuses it with wonderful characters who are easy to adore despite the fact that they don’t fit the typical mold for the good guys.

First of all, she completely subverts the tale by forcing readers to think outside of the box. What if the heroine and the villain weren’t who we thought they were? What if the fairy wasn’t the villain? What if the princess wasn’t the victim of a curse? What if there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this?

In so many books, the heroine is beautiful (and smart and rich and perfect). But in this book, that isn’t quite the case. The breathtakingly beautiful princess isn’t the center of the story. That honor goes to Toadling, who is described as unattractive with limited magic and a tendency to avoid people to the best of her ability. She was born human, but taken to Faerieland just after her birth and raised there. After experiencing good and bad times, she was sent back with an important task. However, things don’t go quite as planned. And when a kind-hearted knight comes to Toadling’s tower, her plan is in jeopardy, so she does her best to make things right.

While this is just a novella, it’s exactly the right length. I loved the connection between Toadling and Halim, and how it works on Toadling’s confidence and self-esteem. I also loved how both of them are prime examples of not being what they are expected to be, and especially Halim’s willingness to fight social conventions. It’s a sweet and heartwarming story that makes me look forward to reading more of Kingfisher’s work.

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