Thornhedge by T Kingfisher
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Sleeping Beauty, the alternate version
I didn’t realise how much I needed this story in my life. This is so, so good. I loved it. It’s literally short and sweet and ultimately downright satisfying.
At the heart of this little nugget is Sleeping Beauty, but, as the description points out, this is not her story. This is the story of Toadling. A character stolen at birth, who finds a loving family in the most unexpected of places, whose life becomes entangled and locked into that of the princess in the tower when a magical gift goes quite wrong. Of course, a knight comes along, as they often do in these tales, in search of something, he knows not what, and from there grows a charming and compelling story.
This is only a short story (appox 120 ish pages) but it totally worked it’s magic on me – which is a surprise as short stories usually fail to win me over (confession time, I hadn’t realised this was a novella when I requested it but I’m so glad that my oversight worked out so well).
I don’t want to say too much more. The beauty of this tale is finding it fresh for yourself and it’s such a compact story it’s possible to gobble it up in one sitting.
What I will say is that I was totally absorbed. I adored the central character and the charming knight. The story itself is intriguing, the writing delicious and I concluded the story with that happy glow that finishing a really good book elicits. Do you self a favour and read this book.
I received a copy through the publisher, courtesy of Netgalley, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Mr rating 5 of 5 stars
Friday Face Off: Thornhedge by T Kingfisher
Today I’m returning to the Friday Face Off, originally created by Books by Proxy). I’ve missed these for the past few months and so would like to get back to comparing covers (and hopefully I will be updating this page with a new banner. This is an opportunity to look at a book of your choice and shine the spotlight on the covers. Of course this only works for those books that have alternative covers (although sometimes I use this to look at a series of books to choose a favourite). . So, if you have a book that has alternative covers, highlight them and choose your favourite. If you’re taking part it would be great if you leave a link so I can take a look at what you’ve chosen.
My book this week is my current read: Thornhedge by T Kingfisher.
I must say I like both these covers, and just look how different they are. Both are styles that would automatically draw my eye. The first one a close up view of what is presumably a hedge with thorns, with the menace of the dripping blood and in the background the fairytale castle. The colours give a very cool feel to this one. The second, in contrast is very striking, quite dramatic covers. I love the banners and attention to detail and it feels like you’re going to have a dark fairytale on your hands.
I found it difficult to choose with both of these but if pushed my favourite would be:
Which is your favourite? Have you read this book yet??
Join me next week in highlighting one of your reads with different covers.
Can’t Wait Wednesday : Thornhedge by T Kingfisher
26 April 2023
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't wait Wednesday, T Kingfisher, Thornhedge, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is : Thornhedge by T Kingfisher. Here’s the cover and description:
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
Expected publication : August 2023
A House with Good Bones by T Kingfisher
My Five Word TL: DR Review : I’m loving this author’s work
A House with Good Bones worked really well for me, it’s a Southern Gothic horror that manages to temper the creepy horror elements with a good dose of humour and brings us a wonderful central character who has a great outlook on life.
Sam is an archaeoentomologist – that’s a proper tongue twister that took me about 5 minutes to even spell correctly – the dig she is working on has been put on a temporary hold and following up on some concerns expressed by her brother about their mom’s slightly ‘off’ behaviour she decides now is as good a time as any to return to the family home and spend some quality time together. When Sam returns home though things are definitely off kilter. Her mum is behaving erratically and Sam worries about all sorts of scenarios, perhaps her mum is poorly or starting to experience dementia. What she doesn’t expect, with her straightforward, no nonsense, analytical brain, is a haunting.
There are so many unusual and quirky elements to this one and they all seemed to come together in a very pleasing way for me. The house and street where Sam’s mum lives is described with a certain charm. Her mum is a great character and the family dynamic between the two is refreshingly good. The tension is built up little by little and what starts out as slightly odd gradually becomes creepy before morphing into all out crazy.
Basically, as with many families, scratch the surface and uncover all sorts of skeletons. Sam’s gran was a strange woman, scary, intimidating, definitely not a soft and cuddly character. She made enemies out of most of her neighbours and ruled the roost with a firm hand. It seemed like Sam and her brother were only too keen to leave that particular nest that seemed to be lined with thorns rather than feathers. And, although Gran Mae has been dead for years it seems that she still has strong feelings on how things should be done.
To be honest Sam really won this particular show for me. She’s such a great character. Her determination to find reasonable explanations in the face of creepy situations, and not to resort to hysterics is such a winning element. On top of that she’s not the best at small talk or socialising and is constantly putting her foot in things which definitely made me smile more than once. She loves bugs and so isn’t freaked out by swarms of them simply handling things with calm resolve, she even takes the resident vulture population in her stride. And, she doesn’t want or need rescuing so, although there is a rather sweet friendship developing between her and the local handyman, she can stand on her own two feet thank you very much.
In terms of criticisms, I don’t really have anything, I did wonder at first why Sam’s mum didn’t try to talk to her earlier but to be honest – that conversation wouldn’t have gone well when I think about it.
Overall, I loved this in so many ways. Even the crazily twisted, over the top, nightmarish conclusion and I can’t wait to read more from this author.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher. For which my thanks. The above is my own opinion freely given.
My rating 5 of 5 stars
Best of the Best
1 January 2023
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Alice Feeney, Best of the Best, Emily St John Mandel, Heather Fawcett, John Gwynne, Mark Lawrence, Quenby Olson, Richard swan, Sarah Pinborough, ST Gibson, T Kingfisher
Every year, around this time, I pull together a top ten list of books that I’ve read. This is usually a difficult choice because over the course of 12 months I usually manage to fit in a good number of books and given that I don’t force myself to read those that I’m not enjoying these are mostly all good reads. This year is no exception although for once (in perhaps 15 years) I haven’t read 100 books. This is a new all time low for me which I put down to a mid year hiatus where I read and blogged very little. My reading is back to normal now, I’m pleased to say, and I have plenty of great books to look forward to so far this year. So, this is part 1 of my ‘Best of’ list. I’ll be doing a further post to highlight some of my other great reads but this is about choosing my absolute favourites. Without further ado:
January
The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence
In a nutshell. This book has so many winning elements. A thrilling adventure. A twisted ending. Characters that you can love (and hate), a jaw dropping conclusion and also one that is packed with emotion and a series that manages to be fantasy and science fiction combined.
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
This story compelled me to keep turning the pages into the early hours. I loved the choice of narrator, the world is developed with (more than likely) deceptive ease, the murder mystery is intriguing and more complex than first meets the eye and, well, put simply, it just won me over so easily and quickly. I can’t wait to read the second instalment which is now waiting on my shelves.
Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough
I would say that not only did I like Insomnia but I liked it even more than Behind Her Eyes. It’s a perfect jumble of crazy mixed up, spiralling out of control, sleepless insanity. Every time I thought I had a handle on what was going on it turned out I was wrong and I just love the way that the ending is totally out there – let’s just say #wtfthatending
The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne
Gwynne is an author who excels at action scenes and all them are breathtakingly described. I had my heart in my throat every time shields locked wondering whether any favourites would fall under the axe. There’s also wonderful moments of camaraderie and banter, or cunning snippets of other scenes playing out and weaving the story together. The pacing is just so well planned and I loved the way that as the story progresses you have these shorter chapters that really pack a punch and I have to acknowledge it drove my reading on into the early hours with the age old ‘just one more chapter’.
Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher
Fairytale style stories are absolutely one of my favourite reads and I’m always on the lookout for more. This is an author that I hadn’t read before but have wanted to do so for quite some time and now, with the benefit of Nettle and Bone under my belt, I can genuinely say that I will be visiting all her previous books. I loved this book so much. It’s full of everything that I enjoy, it’s got elements of old fairy tales but as the same time feels unique. It takes us on a wild ride to a far away kingdom. There are princesses in distress, people who can talk to the dead, a dog that came back to life, amazing characters and the beginnings of a sweet romance.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandell
I am in complete awe of this author and can’t even begin to outline how impressive this book is. On the face of it this is a standalone story that fundamentally connects the lives of four people who share an experience through a strange anomaly, a glitch in the system if you will, that in the future will be scrutinised and investigated by a time travel agency. Dig a little deeper and this novel actually brings together elements from the author’s previous works (definitely The Glass Hotel and also I think Station Eleven) in the most eye popping feat. If that wasn’t enough, one of the characters is an author herself, of a post apocalyptic book that has become a bestseller. There are so many little twists and turns in this book all finished off with a mouth dropping conclusion that is simply brilliant. Read it – please.
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
I picked this one up and was immediately intrigued with the storytelling voice. There’s an almost ethereal feel to the way the narrative is delivered and this is strengthened by the unusual setting and the dysfunctional family that we are introduced to. Feeney starts out with a captivating hook, she then lets us run on the line enjoying the freedom to explore the remote setting and the histrionics of the Darker family before reeling us in to a climatic and dramatic grand finale. Brilliant.
A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson
I will say from the outset that I loved this. I was gripped from beginning to end and couldn’t put it down. This is my catnip. Retelling famous stories from the point of view of side characters, victims or misunderstood characters is popular without a doubt at the moment and I for one am enjoying this trend. Dowry of Blood is no exception. Take the classic vampire story, Dracula, and take a look at him and his life through the eyes of three of his ‘children’. Dracula’s chosen ones. A story with a message.
Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson
Miss Percy is an absolutely delightful, regency period, fantasy of manners style story that won me over with ease. The writing is wonderful, the plot is well thought out and totally absorbing, the characters are Austen-eque but with a slightly more uptodate sensibility and for those readers out there who usually shy away from fantasy elements, but who are in good need of a period drama, I implore you to give it a try, because, whilst I cannot deny that the inclusion of a dragon definitely falls most firmly into the realm of make-believe, the way this story is told, it feels almost less sensational than forgetting to wear a bonnet. Please give it a try, I’d love to discuss your thoughts about this one.
Emily Wilde Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
I don’t have a link to a review for this book yet as it’s a recent read that I’ll be posting about shortly. I did love this book though and highly recommend it. Simply superb.
Books and travelling with Lynn 