Intisar Khanani

To escape her cruel family and contemptuous court, fifteen-year-old Princess Alyrra is willing to marry Prince Kestrin but when she magically swaps lives her nemesis, she may find happiness as a commoner.

Thorn

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 realise, sometime the hardest choice means learning to trust herself. Inspired by The Goose Girl fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.

Loïs Zane

i got through this book in 2 days, which is very quick for me these days! i really fell into the world and grew to love the characters a lot. this story threw all of my favorite fairy tale tropes together — body swap galore + going from riches to rags + needing to pass 3 tests to get to your happy ending were all things i loved very much! i adore the goose girl fairy tale and have read (and loved) retelling lol so truly who is surprised that i am here. i also loved how insistent the prince was that thorn was not who she presented herself as — theyre such a great match w their twin dedications to what they believe to be right. i will say, however, that the morality of everything was quite black and white — not entirely so but enough that i wished alyrra would have to contend a bit more in terms with her actions by the end. maybe in that sense i’m a bit too old for books like this in that i want sliiiiiightly more complex characters and motivations haha but i still loved this very much and had a good time!

lucia

nuha ✨️

For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she's never had... until she's betrayed.

Selin Igten

** spoiler alert **
           i liked this a lot <3

just the relationship between thorn (alyrra..) and the prince god so cute
the prince is a sweetheart

kestrin being the wind was unexpected but so sweet
also him letting alryrra live life as a goose girl instead of forcing her into court even though he knew she was the princess

I really enjoyed this story. I found two characters’ deaths quite unexpected and heartbreaking. I also liked Khanani’s commentary on grief and fear. 

Kierce

I really enjoyed this story. I found two characters’ deaths quite unexpected and heartbreaking. I also liked Khanani’s commentary on grief and fear. 



Well I can’t give more compliments than the fact that it was easy to get into and entertaining. I honestly expected more and it wasn’t how I expected the story to turn out… I thought the beginning started quite strong but it fell flat towards the middle and it was just ok overall although a bit forgettable. 

I also wished the « romantic » aspect was handled a bit better. We’ve got nothing and I just couldn’t care how it would turn out at some point. I get it the romance isn’t the main part of the story but for a character driven story I think it was handled poorly.

Amira BEN

Well I can’t give more compliments than the fact that it was easy to get into and entertaining. I honestly expected more and it wasn’t how I expected the story to turn out… I thought the beginning started quite strong but it fell flat towards the middle and it was just ok overall although a bit forgettable. 

I also wished the « romantic » aspect was handled a bit better. We’ve got nothing and I just couldn’t care how it would turn out at some point. I get it the romance isn’t the main part of the story but for a character driven story I think it was handled poorly.

It was nice but thats all. 

Hunted meets The Wrath and the Dawn in this bold fairytale retelling—where court intrigue, false identities, and dark secrets will thrill fans of classic and contemporary fantasy alike. Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life, but when her mother betroths her to a powerful prince in a distant kingdom, she has little hope for a better future. Until Alyrra arrives at her new kingdom, where a mysterious sorceress robs her of both her identity and her role as princess—and Alyrra seizes on the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl. But as Alyrra uncovers dangerous secrets about her new world, including a threat to the prince himself, she knows she can’t remain silent forever. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds, and ultimately must decide who she is and what she stands for. Originally self-published as an ebook and now brought to life with completely revised text, Thorn also features an additional short story set in-world, The Bone Knife.

Joycelyn Ghansah

Her family was horrible! But I loved how she was written, her development. The development of those around her. I love how the author wrote different perspectives and even if you didn't agree with their choices, you understood.

I loved Thorn, her development in the book was amazing. Loved how the author allowed for various perspective and the found family aspect got me. I thoroughly enjoy this book

4.5 stars
I really enjoyed it. One of my favourite books as a child was the goose girl by Shannon Hale so I was excited to read another retelling of the goose girl. This book is quite different but I really enjoyed seeing how all the elements of the story were done here. It was still just as heartbreaking when (view spoiler)[ falada died.  (hide spoiler)] I really didn't expect (view spoiler)[ the wind to be the prince  (hide spoiler)] and thought that was quite cool. I also really enjoyed red hawk and the thieves. (I would read a book just about them tbh) I just wished the ending tied everything up more, there were still some things left open. 
But it seems like this is part of a series so I guess we'll see.
(Also I listened to this as a audiobook and I was distracted at the end so it could be on me)

Amanda

Not quite what I had expected, and it got off to a slow start, but I really enjoyed the story. The main character's growth was really well done and very believable.

Stephanie Ridiculous

Started slow but got unexpectedly engaging about 40% through. While there is quite a bit of heavy handed writing (forcing an understanding instead of trusting us to see things), I found myself quite drawn to the characters and the world building at large.

I particularly appreciated the ending finding the perfect balance between a natural pause in the story, satisfied with the main plot being addressed, while also leaving so many questions waiting to be answered. Excited to read the rest of the series!

3/5 stars for how long it took to really get going and how often I was beaten over the head with the characterizations instead of showing and trusting we would come to the same conclusion about the heroine.

Ben Bastow

I really enjoyed this, full review coming soon, but please read this asap, it's a really clever book and I really enjoyed it (4.5/5 stars)

Sheila

Decent retelling of the Goose Girl fairy tale! I was frustrated at times with Thorn/Alyrra's inaction & indecision throughout the book, but in actuality it made sense for her character to act in the ways she did given her upbringing in the book. Definitely touching & a good, quick read :3

Pamela Alvarado

Al principio, me gusta como la 'acción', si podemos llamarla así, comienza de inmediato. No hay largos párrafos de introducción que haya que sortear para llegar a lo que de verdad nos concierne. No, la historia abre con el suceso que pone en movimiento todo. (view spoiler)[At the beginning, I like how the 'action', if we may call it that way, starts right away. There're no long, burdensome introductory paragraphs we have to sort through to get to the real stuff. No, the story opens with the event that sets everything else in motion. (hide spoiler)]

What I didn't like, however, was how confusing things got as the story progressed. It wasn't making any sense for a while. And there's a fine line between leaving stuff out to give the reader room for imagination, and having him asking himself 'wtf?'.

Y hay demasiados personajes. Más de los que son necesarios. No puedo recordar los nombres de las personas con las que Alyrra 'Thorn' se estaba quedando excepto por Violet y Laurel, porque sus roles tuvieron un impacto en la historia. (view spoiler)[ And... there're also too many characters. I can't remember half the names of the people Alyrra 'Thorn' was staying with, except for Violet and Laurel, and that's just because the made several appearances and actually did things. (hide spoiler)]

Unfortunately, this novel was bland in more than one aspect, but above all the little things, the biggest flaw, in my opinion, was how everything seemed to be disconnected. I feel like a lot of the things that happened were mostly a filler for the real story, which took soo long to take place because we had a lot of description about how much Thorn enjoyed being a goose girl and his little goose boy companion who was always looking at her, like ALL THE TIME, and she'd never say anything about it. And there's a talking horse, and then faeries and it's just... all over the place.

I was tempted to DNF several times.

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, sometimes the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.

Ella Zegarra

Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

La escritora Intisar Khanani dice en su web algo como "Me cansé de esperar a que las editoriales se interesaran en mí y decidí publicar yo misma mis libros". Y lo qué me pregunto es ¿Cómo es posible que ninguna editorial haya podido interesarse en Thorn? Qué si bien, sí, tiene una que otra cosita que mi lado editora cambiaría, la historia y la narración global del libro es... *sonidos ininteligibles*

Lo primero que me gustó de la narración de la escritora es que fue directo al punto, no hubo exactamente una detallada y amplia introducción a los personajes, sino que fue a la trama directamente. Los libros de fantasía me gustan mucho, pero a veces tienden a aburrirme todo esa back story que le crean a los personajes, que si bien son necesarios, darlo de a poquito es mejor, en mi opinión de lectora perezosa. Thorn gana tu atención desde la primera página.

Una buena historia, no solo es cuestión de una gran narración, sino también del personaje que nos narra, si es en primera persona como lo es Thorn, y para mí, Princesa Alyrra es uno de los personajes que más he querido en toda mi vida lectora. Me encantó como se desenvuelve en todo el libro, no es de esos personajes demasiado optimistas que tienen a ser no-creíbles pero tampoco se centra en sí misma y como de mal le va la vida. Alyrra trata de sacarle el mejor provecho a la situación, como bien dice la sinopsis, es la primera vez que Alyrra tiene opciones, es la primera vez que quizá su futuro puede ser decidido por ella misma. Y ella lo disfruta en cada palabra del libro.

Uno de mis personajes favoritos sin duda fue Alyrra, su personalidad es bastante querible, el respeto que muestra en todo el libro me gustó bastante (después de leer un libro como Hello I love you dónde la protagonista no hace más que menospreciar una cultura, es satisfactorio leer un personaje femenino que no es así). Sobre todo, creo, que mi gran cariño por ella es por la vida normal que lleva, Intisar Khanani te muestra la vida en Menaiya de una manera que te gustaría estar ahí y conocer toda la gente que Alyrra conoce. #TeamAlyrraForever

LOS "ERRORES"

Sí, un editor profesional le hubiera ayudado en algunos puntos de la historia dónde va bastante rápido y llega a ser un poco confuso, pero a mí el libro me ha gustado tanto que sinceramente estoy dejando de lado algunos vacíos para disfrutar el trabajo total.

Es más, no me había dado cuenta de que la historia dejaba algunos puntos inconclusos hasta que me puse a stalkear a la escritora (si una historia me gusta, es seguro que le escritora se gane una acosadora fanática bastante apasionada). Además de que estaba casi segura de que sería el inicio de una serie, pero igual que con Strange Sweet Song, estaba equivocada, el libro acaba con este y no hay más.

Como dije, hay cosas que no han sido resueltas y la escritora dice que lleva trabajando un tiempo una serie (!!!) que acompañe este libro, claro que con otra protagonista.

CONCLUSIÓN

Amé Thorn de principio a fin, tiene una de las protagonistas que recordaré toda mi vida, personajes secundarios que querré y conmoverán siempre. Además, Falada y el Príncipe Kestrin, suman puntos a una historia que de por sí tiene todos los puntos del mundo.



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Sheila Goicea

I'm excited to be a part of the THORN blog tour with The Fantastic Flying Book Club from March 24th - March 30th, 2020!

I received an ARC of this book from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.



All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.

Content Warning: Physical & Emotional Abuse, Rape & Attempted Rape, Assault

  Mother has never kept me safe from my brother The only time I can remember not fearing him was before my father’s death.

Although she’s grown up as a princess, Princess Alyrra has never known a pleasant life. Tormented and sometimes afraid for her safety from her terrible brother, and disliked by her mother, Alyrra has little hope for a happy life. When a King of a faraway land arrives at their abode to ask for her to become the betrothed of his son, she has no option but to accept. The marriage alliance will provide her family with improved status. Her brother's hatred towards her has long-jaded her view on men and makes her apprehensive of what the prince will be like.

  I have only ever been a tool--something to be used or disregarded, my worth measured in my political acuity and marriage prospects.

Before she leaves her homeland to travel to Menaiya, she is visited by a mage in her dreams, warning her of the many perils ahead and to be wary of whom she trusts. A terrifying sorceress enters the room during his warning, and attacks the nameless mage when Alyrra denies to help her gain the prince for herself. Alyrra wakes up with the knowledge that the dream has foreshadowed what is to come.

Princess Alyrra embarks on her journey to her new home, accompanied by Valka, a previous friend, and Lady that she has long had a falling out with. Despite the mage's warnings, Alyrra is tricked by Valka and the woman from the dream along the way and has her identity stolen from her. Alyrra and Valka switched bodies, putting her at the mercy of Valka as she took possession of the princess' body. The only one to know her true form is a talking horse named Falada, that her brother had gifted to her as a wedding gift before leaving. 

Once at court, Valka quickly gets rid of Alyrra, stripping her status to a mere peasant. Alyrra becomes a goose girl, and rather likes her new, simple life. As time unfolds, and her crossings with Prince Kestrin increase, Alyrra finds herself drawn to not only him, but his kingdom and the people within. Knowing of the trick the sorceress has set in place for Kestrin, Alyrra must decide if she wants to remain the goose girl, or become the princess that she has always been to help mend a kingdom in disarray.

Thorn is a heart-wrenching tale about a constant and admirable princess. This retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ The Goose Girl highlights how important healthy and supportive relationships are to have, and how terribly toxic ones can attack one's self-worth.

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Candyce Kirk

Kerry Gibbons

This was a quite enjoyable book. The prose had a nice rhythm and the story was one I was unfamiliar with. My biggest complaint is really that although we reached at least three moments that felt like endings, the ending itself did not feel like one.

Katie Egan

I've never read the actual fairytale that this is based off of, but this was a great fairytale retelling that I could not put down.

Marissa Scudlo

** spoiler alert **
           A very interesting book about stolen identities, and making the best of what you’re given. Princess Alyrra was given to a foreign country to marry their prince. Her identity is soon stolen by her companion. Princess Alyrra is forced to survive by becoming the Goose girl. It was a great read.

What did I think of Thorn?
I'll be honest, I started out a little sceptical. The first couple of pages had some echoing of words that threw me off and it was slightly annoying that the book never gave the name of the main character's mother and brother. Still, after the first chapter, I found myself interested: there were quite some nuggets of foreshadowing and backstory sprinkled through and I was curious to see where the story would go from there (being unfamiliar with the original fairy tale of the goose girl). I did miss some character motivation in the beginning and only felt like the story had a direction on page 76, but in hindsight, I think the character goals were executed pretty well: the main character actually got what she wanted at one point, but by the time she did, she realised it was not what she needed. It was lovely to see how Alyrra slowly grew a backbone and defended herself. 

The whole "neglected-and-underappreciated-by-family" thing was a bit on the nose, though, and perhaps it bothered me because it was repeated quite often. I don't know, but I think I would have liked it if that had been more subtle and would have been shown through character interactions. Which the story did! But the direct mentions to emphasise it were in my opinion not per se necessary.

Emotions: an important character died and I don't know how but each time they were mentioned afterwards my throat closed up. And I don't get why. So credits to the author for making me feel strongly for that character. The way other characters reacted to their death put me off a little bit, however: it implied that if Thorn had talked to them, the death could have been prevented. This makes their death just seem a little pointless to me.

My favourite parts of the book were the interactions with another character, but sadly there were few of those! Another thing I really liked is how this book explored the topic of justice.

By the time the story had ended, some things weren't explained as clear as they could have been and I'm slightly confused as to what really happened and what certain characters were or were not responsible for. Or perhaps my brain is just slow to catch on because I was reading late at night. Because that is one thing this book managed to do: I was up reading till deep into the night because I wanted to know how things would go. So all in all a solid read, I'd say!~


Lara Van der Merwe

Absolutely amazing book that still has me reeling.

Samantha Bass

You can view my other reviews/posts on my blog ladyandstar.wordpress.com

So when I picked up this books I didn't realize it was a retelling of The Goose Girl, which is a story I am not familiar with. You don't need to know the original fairytale to understand the plot, but part of me wishes I had read it before starting this book, just to know the original tale and know what has changed.

There were some things I was a little pressed with when reading: 1) There is a lot of filler. Not unnecessary filler, but there are several moments in the book where a scene could have been shortened or cut and it would still make sense. 2) I thought the ending was written in a muted way. If that makes sense. Instead of feeling like a relief from the action, it feels like a sort of continuation of the action of the plot, but slightly less alarming. This could be because it will be continued, or it wants to leave off on an uphill kind of feeling. Not sure, but it was new and different, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Besides the filler moments, which some may find unnecessary or annoying, the book is beautifully written. Though the filler is there, it does give us some intimate moments with Thorn and other people who will eventually become her friends. We get a context to their friendship and loyalty, which we wouldn't get if those scenes were cut. I find myself wanting more interaction between Thorn and Valka though - especially since their lives have been switched. Or even more moments where Thorn sees Valka performing as the princess. We get several scenes as Thorn the Goose Girl, or Thorn the Horse Girl, or even Thorn the Peasant and not enough of Thorn the Princess.

Overall, I love the plot, I love the slow build up to Thorn's relationships with everyone. It doesn't feel spontaneous or rushed. Thorn's personality doesn't change in a dramatic way which I find is a problem in these personality switch books. She's also a very genuine, sweet person and I'm loving these kinds of characters! Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for the hardened, badass characters who doesn't need anyone, but getting a kind, caring main character is a nice change of pace. I also appreciate the idea of a princess who hates being a princess, but hates it for the fake formalities and not because she's selfish. Thorn as a character proves she wants a real, genuine life with real, genuine people - which is why when she is switched with Valka, she's happy to hand over the lifestyle. But then she also reflects that she would like to keep her duties to help people, she just wants to do it in a less grandiose fashion.

Can you tell I really love this book?

After finishing the book, I'm still not sure what to rate this book. I liked the ending, though it was a little slow. I thought that everyone got what they deserved and justice, which is often mentioned in the book, was fairly given. Part of me wants to rate this at 5 stars, but there are those slow moments in the books I'm not sure I can let slide. My heart wants to go with 4.5 // 5 stars - it was almost a perfect story.

I think there are several moments when I wish it was sped up. Intisar likes to explain things well, which can slow down the plot. I appreciate the explanation, but the inconsistency with pacing is ultimately what is bringing down my score a little bit.

I'm going to have to go with a 4.5 //5 stars for this book. It was almost perfect. This book has been published and is available for purchase if you're interested in reading this well written, exciting new take on The Goose Girl.

Leelynn Brady

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Edelweiss, and Hot Key Books for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

This book broke my heart okay? From the very beginning, and honestly I feel like this book moved so fast in the beginning as well that I couldn’t help but feel angry at how Alyrra’s family treated her. Especially her brother. Ugh what an abusive jerkface. And her mother was a biyotch too. It wasn’t even hidden. The contempt that her mother – the Queen of their kingdom – had for her only daughter just disgusted me.

He shoves me hard against the wall. Only the bulk of my hair bound up at the back of my head saves me from cracking my skull against the stone.

And this isn’t even the first time that her brother was abusive to her. And her mother never once did anything to stop him. This kills me to no end, and honestly that was the biggest thing I could focus on while I was reading this. And there was a point where Falada – a Horse – understands the reason why Alyrra is okay with her identity being stolen and getting a chance to start over as a goose girl. Who was to say that the Menaiyans would treat her with respect? So maybe the Lady switching her with the wretched Valka was a blessing in disguise?

If the Lady wasn’t intent on doing something evil to Prince Kestian, and now the only person that can do something about is Alyrra…. in Valka’s body.

I feel like Alyrra grew into herself after being treated so poorly in her home kingdom. She was able to find herself by learning hard work – which I think part of her may have enjoyed thanks to the company of Falada and the rest of the servants. I also think that Falada helped her realize that she couldn’t passively live out her new life and shirk her original responsibilities as a princess, even if she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to.

I have to say that Falada was my favorite character honestly. I don’t think there’s ever been a Horse that I loved more.



This was my first book from Khanani and I feel like this was a really great introduction to her work. I’m glad that I got to read it, and I’m so glad to be able to support her work.

Bianca Sneed

I really enjoyed this book. The politics and the intrigue were also very well written. The journey that this princess goes through was one that anyone can understand and put themselves into her place. The struggles that she face and overcome are things that while unknown can be sympathized with. I was a little skeptic about this book hold my attention but once I really started it, I was unable to put it down. I would really recommend!

Thorn

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