It was a nice Saturday to sit around and read this little novella with my dog! Thornhedge is a Sleeping Beauty retelling but not in the expected way, and in that way it was charming to meet and know this "fairy godmother" and just what she was about! Not only that, but the way the passage of time happened through her observations, and the man coming to seek the legend being not a white European was a refreshing breath (Halim was very cute!! I like his character type), especially thinking about the globalization of tales especially through and after terrible world events.

This was somehow my first Kingfisher book but it definitely won't be my last. Love the way things were described and moved through and the details that aren't always so obvious.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the eARC borrow in exchange for this honest review!

This book was GLORIOUS.

T Kingfisher writes a dark, beautiful fairytale like no one else. A delightful cast of glorious monsters who are not beautiful but are wonderful, and a not so handsome but very brave knight will make a spot right in the middle of your heart. This book took something familiar & did something entirely original with it, and I couldn’t be happier to have read this.

No notes, all the stars.

Thank you so much @netgalley @torbooks & @macmillan.audio for the e & audio copies

Thornhedge is a fairy tale. It's sleeping beauty, but Toadling is not our sleeping beauty. She is the one who is awake and watches over the sleeping beauty.

It's a short tale, melodic and lovely and satisfying.

I went into it without even reading the blurb and it was a lovely experience. I hesitate to share too much, lest I ruin that experience for you.

Go on, read it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fairy tales are still so important, and T. Kingfisher is so amazing at fairy tales.
Thornhedge is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but it's not about saving the beautiful princess from the dark fairy. Sometimes the princess needs to stay asleep.
Super quick read so it's a great palate cleanser.
Anyone needing a book to help meet your reading goal, this is a fun one.

This was a really good read. I listened to this in audiobook as well. This is like a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. This is my third book by T. Kingfisher and he keeps drawing me in for more. I definitely recommend this book!


Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, Tor Books for allowing me to read this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

A reimagining of the Sleeping Beauty fable as you haven't seen it before! This novella follows Toadling, a human spirited away to the fairy world at birth. Fate has made her a prisoner to a tower, forever warding away curious humans and upholding the curse that is cast on the princess within. That is, until a curious knight comes calling...

The narration for this was lovely and definitely helped impart the folk-tale atmosphere. Thornhedge is as sensible, unassuming and heartfelt as you'd expect from a T. Kingfisher fairytale. I loved it!

I love Kingfisher’s writing (and think I always will) but have to say this paled in comparison to Nettle and Bone for me ):

Toadling was stolen as a baby, brought to the fairy world and raised by creatures called greenteeth while a changing baby took her place in the human world. Years later (but only moments in the human world) a Goddess arrives to give Toadling a mission: bestow a blessing on the changeling child. So sets into motion a task spanning centuries for Toadling, a task that may be upended when a kind knight with good intentions arrives at a hedge of thorns…

Let me start by saying T. Kingfisher is a fantastic writer, especially in terms of the way she weaves words together. There was something so unique and deeply poetic about her turns of phrase that really lent itself to the atmosphere of a fairytale retelling. It was mystical and magical and felt almost like you could curl up inside of it, despite the sometimes dark subject matter.

She never fails to impress with her characters, either. Toadling was an absolutely lovable heroine, a not-exactly-human and not-exactly-faerie woman, cursed (but not literally) to never quite achieve what she sets out to. I loved getting to experience her inner monologue and felt very endeared to her as someone who frequently fears saying the wrongs things, and not feeling I measure up to the world around me. Halim was the perfect counterbalance to her, a kind and gentle knight determined to set her free by any means necessary. Getting to watch them together was a big highlight of the story.

However, I did not feel the arc of this story was what I was hoping for, especially after the adventure of nettle and bone. It felt like the storyline, of an evil changeling child and the protector tasked to teach her, was leading up to something and then it kind of…didn’t go anywhere. When we got to the big final event I couldn’t believe that that was where things were stopping, because there was so much buildup for kind of small and unexpected conclusion. The first pages were slow to me but I thought “hey, it took me a while to get into Kingfisher’s other works too, so maybe this will take a turn at about halfway” but the turn never really came. It almost felt like the story either needed to be even shorter (I’m thinking six deaths of the saint style), or longer and with more development.

I also feel it necessary to point out (as some other reviews have) that historically, the myth of evil changelings taking the place of human babies has been used as justification for the abuse of disabled children. Now, I am not saying you shouldn’t read Thornhedge because of this fact. And although there was a “maybe not all changelings are bad” moment, I do still think it’s important to keep the historical context and harm that the changeling myth has had in mind if you do decide to pick it up. You kind find some information on this here (link to be provided in Goodreads/blog review)

Overall: I would recommend this if you want a unique and quick fairytale reimagining with a compelling heroine, if you don’t mind a bit of letdown by the conclusion of the story.

Intended audience: adult
Pacing: slow
Content warnings: Suicide, murder, torture of animals

Review to be posted on social channels closer to publication

This was an unexpectedly enjoyable novel, a rewrite of a classic fairy tale by telling it from the perspective of a minor but important character, and changing the entire interpretation of the story in the process. This volume falls far outside the normal methods of retelling a fairy tale, and does so wonderfully well.

Toadling is a human changeling, raised by greenteeth, water fey who often eat human children who fall into their realm, but who sometimes raise a female child with care and love, which is what happened to Toadling. Retrieved from the greenteeth by a minor god with the appearance of a hare, Toadling, who is much older than she would otherwise be because of the different time rates between our world and the world of fairy, is sent back to her original home, in the guise of a fairy godmother coming to bless the fairy changeling who - unbeknownst to any but Toadling - replaced her at birth, a child now named Fayette. From there, then entire story changes, because unlike the fairy godmother in previous versions, Toadling stays at the court, to watch over Fayette and try to protect those around her from harm. This short but still intensely detailed story puts a completely different spin on the story of Sleeping Beauty, and particularly on the reasons for her long sleep.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Easily one of my favorites.

T. Kingfisher just as this way of retelling fairy tales that is so dark and creepy and heartfelt at the same time, with seemingly loser heroines that have shy reserves of strength and bravery that don't scan as strength or bravery until you look deep down.

I loved Toadling. I loved Halim. And the villain—yeah, nothing is creepier or more evil than that.

Fairy godmothers are dangerous!

The magic of this story, the beautiful and sensitive writing, kept me enthralled. A wonderful retelling of Sleeping Beauty that came stunningly alive.
A child is stolen and spends her days with the water creatures in faerieland. She learns from them. She’s ‘Toadling.’ She’s loved.
That child was replaced by a changeling who grows into a beautiful Princess. A Princess whose completely immune to any human feeling, who kills for interest, for the mechanics of the action, like picking wings off insects.
Toadling is sent back to the castle to curtail the Princess’ power, only something gets in the way, and what comes next is at least on the surface, we all know.
A darkly charming, and enjoyable cautionary tale.

A Tor ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

This is a beautiful, short take on a fairy tale that explores....what if the "victim" of these curses was actually the villain? How can we address guilt and trauma and grow from it? What is the story of the villain, and what more is there to the dashing prince who has been sent to vanquish the villain and save the princess? T. Kingfisher killed it, as per uszh.

This is a very interesting retelling of The Sleeping Beauty. It definitely begs the question, what if the curse was necessary?
Toadling has been assigned to be a young princess’s godmother. She is tasked with making sure the child does no harm. But something goes “wrong” with the “blessing” and Toadling is stuck trying to fix her mistake for 200 years.
T. Kingfisher knows how to spin a story and you’ll definitely come away thinking of this story very differently from now on.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for this e-arc.”

Thornhedge is a Sleeping Beauty retelling with a twist - what if you don't root for the spell to be broken? The reader follows Toadling as she both tells the story of the tower and its occupant and meets the Muslim knight that may be the one to defeat the hedge.

I loved this novella from the first moment of the story. It has all the delight of childhood fairy tales with the adult sense of Faerie and what that could really mean. There are deliciously icky moments but overall it was delightful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for my review copy.

Any T. Kingfisher book is a delight to read and this novella, and the cleverly retold fairytale it contains, is no different. Highly recommended.

Rating: Absolutely Loved It, 5 stars

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

This was an absolutely delightful novella by T Kingfisher! It's the third one I've read and I think probably my favorite!

It's a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but if the fairy were the good one and the princess were evil. Toadling as our main character was absolutely perfect. She is the sort-of-fairie guarding the tower where the princess sleeps. She is there for centuries, fretting over what would happen if someone comes looking for the tower, and one day they do.

Toadling was just so genuine and earnest. She was a kind soul, and I loved getting to explore her backstory and motivations for what she is currently doing. Halim is a cinnamon roll of a knight who was raised Muslim, apologizes as he curses, loves his mother, and is just so respectful towards everyone.

I loved the whole story, the found family of monsters, and just in general the topsy-turviness of this retelling.

I think that T Kingfisher said it best in her author's note:
“And so if someone asked me about Thornhedge, I would probably say that it is a sweet book and then presumably someone would point out that the heroine is raised by child-eating fish monsters and the villain is torturing people and animating the dead, and I would be left flailing my hands around and saying, “But it’s sweet! Really!” because I am not always the best at judging the tone of my own work. ….I still think it’s sweet.”

This was one of my favorite books that I've read all year, and I can't wait to continue exploring her backlist!

Thank you to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for an eARC for review. All opinions are my own. Thornhedge releases on August 15, 2023.

Thornhedge is an absolutely wonderful twist on Sleeping Beauty! T. Kingfisher never disappoints!

Thank you Netgalley for the arc

I adore a fairy tale retelling and Thornhedge is no exception. While it had an excellent creep factor and felt sharp with it's darkest moments, I do agree with the author that there is a sweetness around the story. Especially regarding found family, love, and the packages things come in. Sometimes beauty masks the ugliest things. Loved this so much!

I absolutely devoured this unconventional story of sleeping beauty. Its whimsical yet dark and absolutely perfect.

This is not the sleeping beauty you've heard of before, this is something dark, gritty and lives on the wilder side of fairytales. I loved this story of the faerie that cursed a princess and stayed to see it through. A knight that came for a story and left with a friendship. Two unconventional people wrapped up in a story they didn't ask for and walked away with something even better.

Another incredible tale from T. Kingfisher, I will absolutely be reading more!

T. Kingfisher never disappoints! I loved this short, dark, and thorny novella.
I actually wasn’t in the mood for this genre, but I wanted to read and review prior to publication, so I opened it up and then… couldn’t put it back down. It was a fairy tale turned upside down and I enjoyed Toadling’s POV immensely.
Much like Damsel turned the dragon and maiden tale on its head, Thornhedge was a what-if sort of twist on Sleeping Beauty that I never knew I needed.
I love Kingfisher’s writing and highly recommend this. It’s atmospheric and interesting and an absolute must read if you like fairy tales and fantasy. And it’s so short, there’s honestly no reason it’s not on your TBR right now!

I think at this point, T. Kingfisher could write a spooky and whimsical grocery list or telephone book and I’d still devour it like I was starving. The way she writes is so so good and I love how she crafts her stories and her characters. If y’all need me, I’ll just be here waiting until she releases her next masterpiece