This isn't her story."
It is a stormy night tonight. The wind is blowing the last of the leaves off the trees in my garden and the rain is battering against the windowpanes. I have autumnal fairy lights twinkling around me and a Pumpkin Chai scented candle burning on my desk as I write. We are heading into the arc of winter now and I'm so happy that the dark season is all around us! It's the ideal time to curl up with a book and work your way through your to-be-read (tbr) pile, which is exactly what I have been doing this evening.
After reading lots of dark and spooky novels for review in the run up to Halloween, I was in the mood for something brighter, something light and lovely, but still seasonally appropriate. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher is just the ticket, being a semi-dark retelling of a classic fable. The Sleeping Beauty is my favourite fairytale so when I came upon this novella, based on the sleeping princess, I knew I had to read it and I'm so glad that I did!
Thornhedge is the story of Toadling, a fairy changeling who is charged with protecting the cursed tower in which the princess sleeps. Toadling is a gentle spirit, with the ability to shapeshift into a toad at will. Although she protects the tower, she misses the water and the river bank which she believes to be her natural habitat. But Toadling is much more than she first appears. She isn't beautiful, but she is intriguing. She might be alone, but she is well-loved and she has plenty of friends - they're just far away, back at the river. She isn't powerful, but she has enough magic in her to ward the princess as she sleeps peacefully in her bed, in the chamber at the top of the tower.
For such a tiny book, this novella ticks all the right boxes for a beautiful and enchanting fairytale. There is a beautiful princess, a cursed tower, a knight in armour riding to the rescue and offering his assistance. There are plenty of surprises along the way. Our heroine is a quiet girl who wants to live a simple peaceful life, until a wicked fairy intervenes and sets her on a new path entirely, leaving her lost and seemingly abandoned at the tower.
Thornhedge is poetically written in the style of a traditional fable. It is the kind of story that lifts your spirits and carries you away to the land of the Fey. It is just dark enough to be a great choice for autumn reading, but at the same time it is light enough to take your mind off the dark nights if they don't agree with you. I wish this book was the first in a series of fairytale novellas by this author, but alas that doesn't seem to be the case, although she has written some full length fairytale novels which I am definitely going to read.
All in all, I have had a lovely time reading this book. It's full of whimsical magic and enchantment, really lifting you out of reality and into another world altogether. It also takes no time at all to read, being a novella, so its ideal for busy people. I highly recommend this book. It presents a lovely world that I am so sad to leave now that I've finished the book.
If you enjoy fairytale retellings and mystical enchantment, then you will probably enjoy this little book too. Happy reading!
Serene Blessings
Marie x
AD: This books was published by Titan Books in August 2024 and it is available now in all formats.
