3.75 stars rounded up to 4. I enjoyed this short, creepy, and endearing fantasy! I loved Toadling as a character and following along as she found her way through her troubled and cursed life. Would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a quick fantasy read with some horror elements.

This was a nice read. Like all T. Kingfisher books, the writing is great, Thornhedge in particular is on the simpler side but it was still enjoyable and I liked the characters. Thornhedge truly reads like a fairytale.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Tor Books for this absolutely magical arc!

5/5 stars!

I absolutely LOVED this!! Thornhedge was everything I've been needing in a fantasy novel but haven't found in so long. The prose, the medieval world, Toadling, Halim, UGH I JUST LOVED IT ALL <3

- THORNHEDGE is a novella that asks "what if the damsel in distress was actually the villain?"
- I'm always impressed by Kingfisher's ability to craft a full world in so few pages. The world of this book feels lush, but it's only exactly as complicated as it needs to be.
- As I'm finding to be a hallmark of Kingfisher's work, THORNHEDGE is somehow cozy and gruesome at the same time. I don't know how, but it is.

When Toadling was born, she was stolen by fairies and grew up in faerieland. Once an adult, the fae ask Toadling to return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. 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.

This is not the first variation of Sleeping Beauty that T. Kingfisher has written, but this novella works with the premise What if people should have feared Sleeping Beauty? What if she was kept away for a reason? Toadling has kept watch over the tower and the brambles, watching as time went by. She has little magic as a changeling that lived with the equivalent of fairy country bumpkins, so the job she was given centuries ago went awry. I enjoyed seeing her POV, and how she gradually opened up with a knight curious about her and her role in the story. What she says and does matters, and this is more than she'd received from the fairy goddess. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and wished it was longer so I could see more of Toadling's future.

I loved how she took the story of Sleeping Beauty and flipped it on its head. I adored Toadling. She was kind and selfless, and I wanted to protect her at all costs. I admired her dedication to doing the right thing even when everything was against her. Since this is a Kingfisher book, you know you're in for some weirdness, and I enjoyed how she created this faerie world that felt so different from other books. The little family that Toadling forms there is so sweet, and you felt how much they all love one another. I liked the changeling aspect and the earnest, awkward knight full of good intentions. Everything about this was whimsically dark and reminiscent of Nettle and Bone, and I enjoyed every moment.

This book had a little bit of everything. There is family, there is a tower surrounded by hedges, there is a changeling, there is a sensitive knight and there is Toadling, sweet endearing, Toadling. I love how T. Kingfisher blended light and darkness in this book. She took a beloved fairy tale and made it her own in such a magical way. She has written a fairy tale that I want to read. Not everyone is beautiful on the outside, but there are some that are quite beautiful in their actions and personality.

This book had me turning the pages to see how things were going to end.

This book felt so cozy and comforting. It made me think of the Grimm's fairy tales, somehow a mixture of feeling like a child snuggled into a blanket with some hot chocolate on a cold day listening to their granny tell them a story and also a somewhat gory and (arguably) not child-friendly story to telling. I pretty much immediately fell in love and found it compulsively readable. Each time I decided I'd pause at the end of a chapter to jot down some notes, I ended up completing skipping that and jumping into the next chapter. The characters were so sweet and not, for once, unearthly beautiful. It was so, so close to being perfect until the ending. Don't get me wrong, if the intention was to be told as a classic fairy tale would be, then I think the ending was dead on - and I do believe that was the intention because I've seen T. Kingfisher do intense endings before. But the resolution just felt so easy peasy.

Another charming-yet-twisty fairy tale from T. Kingfisher, who is rapidly becoming for me one of those authors where I will read absolutely anything they write, without even glancing at the synopsis. Thornhedge, like so many of Kingfisher's works, takes a well-known tale and looks at it from a slant angle, and in so doing gives us one of the most endearing fantasy protagonists I've read in a while. Frankly, it's remarkable how much I've been describing this novella with words like cute, charming, sweet, and earnest, considering how genuinely grotesque a few elements are - but that blend of charm and horror seems to be where Kingfisher excels, as she has with Thornhedge.

Thanks to Tor Books for the advance review copy!

An absolutely wonderful reading experience! To meet Toadling and watch as she makes her way through life was a pleasant surprise. T Kingfisher skillfully worked her magic and Toadling appeared in our hearts. The character feels blessed and believes in sharing with the rest of the world. When her error sets her life on a different path, she faces the consequence with her unfailing faith that everything will come right in the end. And it does.

Can we please have more Toadling stories? This one deserves 5 hearts, but we can settle for stars.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. Thornhedge is beautiful and sad, twisted but loving, and so very sweet. I absolutely loved it, and it is my new favorite Sleeping Beauty. (Now, to be perfectly honest, I would read just about anything by T. Kingfisher, so this was not a surprise to me.) I love Toadling, and my only regret is that I didn't get several more books of her.

A fairy tale retold, but with a twist? Yes, please!

Here we see the story of Sleeping Beauty retold from the point of view of the fairy. Toadling was supposed to be the princess, but she was stolen by the fae and a changeling was left in her place. She was raised by the greenteeth, trained in the ways of their magic. And when she was grown, the fae asked her to return to the human world, to place a spell of protection on the creature who took her place. But as often happens, the spell goes awry, and Toadling remains with the humans, to protect the princess as best as she can.

But as the changeling princess grows, she shows herself adept at casual cruelty to animals and people alike, and Toadling must more often protect others from her. Toadling’s magic is weak. The creature – for that is what the “princess” is – is strong, and vicious, and without a shred of empathy. The best thing Toadling can do is to put the princess into an enchanted sleep and guard the castle, lest anyone get some foolish idea about castles and princesses and breaking a spell with true love’s kiss. And history passes them by – Toadling, castle, and princess – until one day a knight comes along, drawn by an old, old story.

This is a fantastic reimagining of Sleeping Beauty! The fairy is always evil, come to wreak harm on the innocent human princess. Here, though, Kingfisher flips the whole thing around, and it absolutely works. Toadling is a winsome character, and the knight, though not big on derring-do, is charming in unexpected ways. It works.

It is a novella, not a full-length novel. I don’t think I realized that when I started reading. But that’s long enough. Would I love more of Toadling’s story? Of course. Was this story just right? Absolutely.

The story is gentle, in turns wistful and thought-provoking, touching on topics of love, loss, responsibility, and the deceptive nature of the outer self. It may be one of my favorite books this year. I highly recommend it, and I must read more of T. Kingfisher’s books.

I received an advance copy for review from Netgalley, and I was very happy to. T. Kingfisher has long been a favorite writer and while I enjoy her increasingly creepy forays into horror, I was starting to miss her fantasy.

Kingfisher’s realm is fantasy with actual sensible people in it, and it is delightful and refreshing. And now she’s given us a new look at the traditional Sleeping Beauty tale, with one important twist: What if the impenetrable hedge of thorns and the sleeping spell around the Princess’ castle wasn’t just to keep people away, but to keep something dangerous trapped inside?

Outside is the fairy changeling Toadling, whose fumbled spell started the whole thing off and who has guarded the castle for… how many years? Enough to see the tales fade and the curious disappear. Until one day a knight shows up, eager to prove an old story he read about in a book…

Thornhedge contains Kingfisher’s soft humor, common sense fantasy characters and sideways look at fairy tales. While the threat later is real, it seems very intimate and low-stakes throughout the short book. It’s not as action-filled as, say, her “A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking,” but it’s a fun, breezy, slightly unsettling gem of a book.

Once upon a time, there was an enchanted sleeping princess. This isn’t that princess, and it isn’t even her story. No, this story belongs to the fairy who gave her her gift, and it’s not the gift you remember from the fairy tales either.

In T. Kingfisher’s (@redwombatstudio) unique twist on the story of Sleeping Beauty (out today from @torbooks), she flips the familiar fairy tale over and creates something new and fresh, this time from the point of view of the fairy, Toadling, who is sent to bestow a gift on the newborn princess, but who inadvertently misspeaks the spell and finds her own life altered forever.

When a knight comes in search of the fabled enchanted princess, Toadling’s story is revealed and everything we thought we knew about the sleeping princess is not what we’ve always thought, and the knight begins to question who it is that is actually cursed, the princess, or the fairy?

This is a delicious take on a well known trope and the twist was not what I was expecting at all; leave it to T. Kingfisher to create something wholly original, even in a retelling. There is beauty in this book, but also darkness, as with everything with the fae, and Kingfisher describes both with equal grace; even the most horrifying creatures sound beautiful in her hands.

A huge thank you to @netgalley and @torbooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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There are few types of stories I love more than retellings of fairy tales, especially ones that are as original and interesting as this one. I love T. Kingfisher and this novella doesn't not disappoint! It's charming and eerie and interesting. The line "bones heal faster than spirits, I think" will stick with me.

A beautiful tale as old as time turned on its head.

I loved the characters and how Kingfishers manages to absolute shatter my expectations.

I stan T. Kingfisher!
A re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty, this novella is so simple in its premise and yet makes a truly compelling read.
Our heroine here is not beautiful, nor is she fully human. However Toadling in her averageness shines so beautifully throughout this book. Her relationship with her new family almost moved me to tears at certain points.
Thornhedge tells a whimsical story of changed fates and unconventional found families. The author notes at the end that this is one of her sweetest books and I absolutely agree.
Highly recommended.
Huge thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher is out today and is the BEST novella! It is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a fairy named Toadling that you are going to adore! She is dedicated and so incredibly endearing. I would love it if there was another story about her! What a gripping and magical read! I can't wait to get into Kingfisher’s backlist!

4.5 stars

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

This novella had the perfect dose of cozy vibes I wanted. I really enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone looking for a twist on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale!

What a cozy, but also dark and dangerous book. This genre of cozy fantasy with a splash of horror is just perfection and T. Kingfisher is leading that game. I adored Toadling and her history and the way she tells this story. The writing is beautiful and captivating and I honestly could read more and more. The story went in absolutely unexpected places and I wasn't ready to leave Toadling and her family behind (I had genuine tears at one point). I really loved this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

Retelling classic fairy tales and myths is a popular trend in fiction right now. However, T. Kingfisher manages to take the familiar tale of Sleeping Beauty and completely transform it into a story that feels genuinely unique. Our main character, Toadling, is a human girl who was stolen and raised by the fae. She’s also the person in charge of maintaining the curse that keeps the princess asleep and brambles growing around the long forgotten tower. Centuries into this task a knight shows up, hearing stories of a mysterious curse.

What follows is a novella filled with the interesting worldbuilding and loveable characters that I’ve come to expect from T. Kingfisher. Kingfisher has a talent for writing characters that feel so incredibly genuine and alive, even the ones who can turn into toads. And then she’ll surprise you by writing a scene that reminds you that yes, she also writes horror. Thornhedge is just the right level of unsettling for a fairy tale retelling - not overboard to the point of qualifying as horror, but enough to remind you that Thornhedge has much more in common with Grimm than it does Disney.

This was overall a wonderful novella, perfect for anyone interested in a refreshing new take on the classic Sleeping Beauty.