Thornhedge by 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 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…

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For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #24: A cover without people on it)

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The Reason

I am a huge fan of T. Kingfisher. So much so that I didn’t actually know what this book was about before going into it, only that I wanted to read it because it’s by T. Kingfisher. I guessed that it might have been Sleeping Beauty-related because of the title, but I didn’t know for sure until I started reading it.

The Quotes

“Learn what you can. Use what you learn. You have not failed yet.”

“Greenteeth did not slap one another—not out of any virtue, but because a slap was such a useless thing underwater. When greenteeth brawled, it was with teeth and strangling fingers, spines and claws.”

“It never occurred to her to doubt her welcome. Such was the gift of a child raised with love.”

“No. I have many mothers. If I am hideous, then we are hideous together. And that made it easier, because in her heart of hearts, she could not believe that her mothers were anything but beautiful.”

The Characters

Toadling – the main character. She is such an interesting character, even in a story as short as this, we learn so much about her. She was stolen by the fairies, lost her birthright and family of origin, and yet the family she found was loving and perhaps gave her a better life than she could’ve had. She is dutiful, a people pleaser, a little too harsh on herself, but she is also resourceful and steadfast.

Halim – the unremarkable knight. He’s not anything special. He is not handsome or renowned, he doesn’t have many conquests to his name. He’s not exceptionally brave or ambitious. I think his best quality is his curiosity and openness.

The princess – the sleeping beauty. The changeling. I think the quote below just about sums her up.

“The only curse is that she is a changeling. And she will be as cruel as she can, because that is the nature of changelings. Good spirits do not steal away babies to take their place. It is only the wicked that are sent to make mischief. And only the dutiful that are sent to try and stop them.”

My Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of fairy-tale retellings, and I’ve probably read a dozen retellings of the Sleeping Beauty story. I never get tired of them because there are always new perspectives, and even the “original” fairy-tales have so many different variations, and I love discovering them all. I love stories that flip the good guys and the bad guys because I’ve always believed that it depends on who’s telling the story, and we are always the good guys in our own stories. However, while this story is based off the Sleeping Beauty story, most of its charm comes from the “side stories”, the ones about Toadling growing up with the greenteeth, Toadling’s and Halim’s “meet-cute” and their conversations that help us get to know them, even the little snippets about how the world outside has changed, while the world inside the thornhedge makes its own little changes.

My Feels

I love how this story transports me to a different world. T. Kingfisher’s books has a way of doing that to me. It feels like a weird but pleasant dream, and I love that vibe for this book.

My Rating

4/5 stars. I loved it, but it’s not my favorite out of all her books (and she’s got so many amazing ones!).

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?