"From USA Today bestselling author 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..."

Never trust fairies. Never.

A novella with the concept "what if Sleeping Beauty were a bitch" is definitely going to pique my interest. Toadling is a heroine you cannot help but to love -- who can't relate to someone who just wants to do the right thing but says all the wrong things and would rather just stay home with her moms?! What a beautiful, creepy, thoughtful story about hope and forgiveness. I wanted another hundred pages or so to get even more development of her relationship with Halim, which was so sweet and cute.

I love dark, fairytale retellings, and the concept that Thornhedge used filled that need. A dark retelling of sleeping beauty, but if she was an evil that needed to be locked away. Toadling is the main character and seemed a strange protagonist until further in the story. She was unique not just in her background, but in her look and ability to shapeshift in to a ....toad. The knight who sweeps in to rescue the fair damsel being guarded by Toadling does not conform to the fairytale prince; he is isn't very handsome, or brave, or overly smart; but, he is kind and curious. Together they team up to solve the problem of the tower and then, the story is over too quickly. The ending swooped in and I felt a little loss without a resolution I wanted. But, this was a quick, darkly-atmospheric tale that fits in well with dark fairytales and provides a different look on faerie beings.

Thoroughly enjoyed this little tale of Toadling and her changeling charge. Excellent modern fairytale.

This book was so beautifully written and so immersive to the point where I didn't want to build the world Kingfisher had built for the reader. This is a modern day fairy tale with a little bit of darkness that keeps the reader enchanted with its flowery language. This quick read is for anyone who needs a little magic in their life.

Please note: this book is a short story/novella. It is not a full length novel like I had originally thought. The story itself was really good, and I always love a good fractured fairy tale. The twist on the classic "Sleping Beauty" story was the main reason I kept reading, although the story itself seemed to be slow at times. Overall, I really enjoyed it!

Thank you Netgalley and Tor for providing me with this book in exchange for a review.

"Thornhedge" isn't out yet but I'm already wishing for a second book in this universe. T. Kingfisher is a master of spinning fairytales and giving them a fresh perspective. While the story is not cosy per se, the author's fantastical writing brings you back in time, and suddenly you're reading your favourite fairytale back home all over again.
Toadling and Halim are such beautiful characters that you can't get enough of them, they're both kind-hearted individuals and bring the best out of each other. However, I do wish the ending was less rushed.

Although Kingfisher's note at the end of the book explains that she doubts readers will agree with her that the story is sweet, that's exactly how I would describe it. Despite some heavy themes and content, it is a story about a kind-hearted protagonist who is trying her very best, and I love that. The blurb from Katherine Addison is especially apt, as Toadling reads similarly to Addison's protagonists in the world of The Goblin Emperor.

My favorite part was Toadling's backstory, especially her life with the greenteeth, and the overall characterization of the world of Fairy. I appreciated the flipping of the sleeping beauty tale and the character of our knight, Halim. This novella was a great example of balancing grim elements with the hopeful.

I absolutely adored this delightful novella! From the moment I read the description, it immediately brought to mind the whimsical charm of Shrek. What sets this story apart is its endearing protagonist, Toadling, who takes center stage as a toad-shaped heroine, defying the conventional image of a beautiful princess. Toadling's journey begins when she is whisked away from her family by faeries at birth, yet she is raised in a nurturing and affectionate environment. However, the faeries task her with a crucial mission - to venture back into the human world and bestow a blessing of protection upon a newborn child. Of course, this endeavor is not without its challenges!

Fast forward centuries later, a knight stumbles upon the enigmatic thornhedge and resolves to break the curse that has befallen Toadling. However, our resilient heroine is not one to let her fate be determined by another's intervention. This narrative presents a refreshing twist on the traditional Sleeping Beauty tale, captivating readers with its lovable characters. Each persona is irresistibly likable, leaving an indelible impression on anyone who encounters them. Kingfisher, the author, possesses a remarkable writing style that can only be described as "friendly." It's this warmth and approachability that make it impossible not to fall in love with her work. While the story certainly has its dark moments, its core essence remains one of sweetness and heartwarming emotions.

The pacing of the novella is superb, maintaining a steady rhythm that keeps readers engaged throughout. And let's not forget the immensely satisfying ending that ties up loose ends and leaves a lasting impression. I implore you not to miss out on this absolutely adorable novella featuring the extraordinary journey of Toadling! I wholeheartedly recommend it to all readers in search of a charming and enchanting tale.

I adore Kingfisher's novels. Everything about this novella was haunting and beautiful. I really love how Kingfisher has changed the typical tale of "Sleeping Beauty" into something more dark and twisted. But as Kingfisher says, there is also something sweet about this book as well.

It's a very odd combination of feelings -- Toadling is such a character, and you really love how dimensional she is. She's a great character to follow, and how her story unravels as it is told is beautiful. I absolutely loved how we learn both her history and the present. Sometimes mixed times doesn't work, but in this case it did.

There was something magical about this book, and I absolutely adored it. I can't wait to see what Kingfisher has in store for us next.

Release date: August 15th, 2023

Wowwwww. This may just be the thing that jumpstarts my fantasy era!!!!

I decided to request this from NetGalley on a whim because I've been wanting to get more into fantasy again and this is a novella so I figured I wouldn't get overwhelmed, and I enjoyed T. Kingfisher's novel What Moves the Dead so I wanted to try out her fantasy writing. This ended up being exactly what I needed right now! Bless the book gods.

The characters were everything to me. I honestly would die for Toadling and Halim. Even all the side characters, including the villains, were so fleshed out and enticing. This is a major accomplishment considering the fact Thornhedge is under 150 pages.

The plot itself is really where this thrives for me. The TRUE meaning of a retelling, in this case, Sleeping Beauty. I've read countless retellings and they never really do it for me, but this took that origin story and completely threw it on its head while still maintaining the integrity of the overall concept and vibe. Amazing!!!!

Overall, I can't recommend this enough. It was creepy, heartfelt, wholesome, and exciting all at the same time. Highly suggest picking this fun little guy up when it releases later this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my very own.

First off - T. Kingfisher could write a takeaway menu and I would devour it! So when I saw she had an upcoming release of a Sleeping Beauty retelling I knew I would not rest until it was in my hands.

Thornhedge was absolutely fantastic and I want more! This story literally has it all - a princess in a tower, curses, fairies, knights, found family and magic. I was drawn in from page 1 and read Thornhedge in 1 sitting - 100% could not put it down! The story and character development is so rich and immersive I felt like I was right there with Toadling.

There are so many twists and turns - I don’t want to give anything away! But seriously, read this book! It blew me away!!

10/10 recommend!!

Also - Not to be dramatic but I would go to battle for Toadling 🐸 🖤

Thank you so much to Tor Books for the advanced copy!

Thornhedge re-tells the classic Sleeping Beauty with a twist. It demonstrates that beauty is not all it is cracked up to be. Toadling is the most endearing character. The only disappointing factor is that the story is just not long enough! I wanted to hear so much more about Toadling and Halim.

Based purely on growing up in the Disney era of fairy tales, at one point I would have said that Sleeping Beauty is the lamest of heroines. Problematic, of course, but also just boring. Clearly just a tale invented by a parent who really, really wanted to go to bed! But I’m so glad that several writers have undertaken a rehabilitation of the story, especially T. Kingfisher, who has now done it twice, albeit for different audiences.

Kingfisher’s first take was in her young reader/middle grade novel Harriet the Invincible, a slightly wackier take that included, among other things, cliff-diving and grumpy hamsters. Now with Thornhedge, there’s a version for adults that leans in to the horror. As per usual, Kingfisher hasn’t entirely dispensed with wackiness, but her trademark humor is a balm in what could otherwise be a grim tale of loss, cruelty, and painful secrets.

If I didn’t already have a shelf dedicated to T. Kingfisher books, I’d be shelving Thornhedge beside Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples,” or Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. There’s an undeniable coming-of-age element to this novella, even if it takes a bit longer than your traditional youthful journey. Two hundred years longer, actually, give or take.

Yes, the story of Toadling takes a few centuries to get going, but this isn’t The Fellowship of the Ring. The progress of years is swift, and we get to experience the narrative in two parts, both present-day Toadling as she tries to dissuade an errant knight from chopping his way to the tower behind the thorns, and past Toadling as she does her best to fulfill a prophecy she never had much faith she could even deliver.

Originally, Toadling was only meant to magically inhibit a new evil. However, a tragic blunder meant Toadling had to assume far more responsibility than she ever wanted. She only ever wanted to belong among the greenteeth, the not-actually-but-definitely-could-be-British fairies who are equal parts horrifying and awesome, but now she’s in the human realm.

The broad strokes of the settings are familiar: medieval Europe, castles, fairies, curses. But it shades quickly into the new: unprecedented fey, unknown gods, and—hey, look at that—presence of non-European peoples and cultures. The knight of this tale is Halim, who is a wonderfully patient and curious person (and nice to his mother!), but maybe not cut out for the derring-do side of errantry. He’s less of a jouster and more of an anthropologist, and he really wants to know what’s up with the thorns.

With the characteristic charm, frankness, and essential goodness that so many T. Kingfisher heroines display, Toadling is a perfect guide to this world at half-turn. She finds it as strange as we do, but she gamely tries her best to be helpful. Halim, too, just wants to be of use, even if he knows he’s not cut out for the violence so often assumed to be synonymous with heroism.

In that sense, there aren’t really any heroes, except in that most ordinary people who try to do good are heroes. And there isn’t evil so much as there’s selfishness, but at a level of narcissistic disregard for others that to call it evil wouldn’t be too far off. Kingfisher’s antagonist here is both pitiable and truly awful, a great addition to her growing pantheon of villains.

Thornhedge really made me consider broader fantasy tropes, too: the novella gently critiques both the SFF tendency toward Absolute Good vs. Absolute Evil, but also all the stories that insist that a hero can love someone so hard that they stop being bad.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with those kinds of narratives. It’s just that Thornhedge has a caveat or two, a gentle reminder that sometimes there’s only the choice between bad and worse, and that love doesn’t fix power (or sociopathy). So what do you do when you can’t defeat your enemy with either a good sword or good intentions?

That conundrum is the crux of Thornhedge, and those of you who love the Steven Universe approach (hey, me too) will be happy to know that the power of friendship and family still does play a part. It just can’t be the only solution. We aren’t always equipped with either the power or the time to create an ideal solution, one in which everyone is happy and healed. Instead we can only try to do the most good for the most people, and hope that it’s enough.

Another splendid addition to the Kingfisher canon, Thornhedge reminds you that true fairy tales have teeth.

Creative, beautifully written spin on the Sleeping Beauty tale, with an unusual heroine and plenty of humor as well as emotional impact. Highly recommended!

I am a newly converted T. Kingfisher fan and I'm in deep! I adored both Nettle & Bone and A House with Good Bones so I was thrilled when I saw this was upcoming.

This is a super charming - and fairly grim - little story. Be prepared though, as it's very much a little slice of a larger story and much more of a character study than compared to the two works I mentioned above. However, if you go in ready for that, you'll love it. The main characters are so delightful and yet the story packs an emotional punch in its short time.

I'm constantly in awe of Kingfisher's ability to construct such beautiful and fully realized worlds with such distinct tones in a such small amount of pages. It's part of why they have so quickly jumped into my list of favorite authors. I truly hope we get some more Toadling and Halim adventures! Thanks to Tor for the eARC!

I need more.

I know that this was a novella and those aren’t supposed to be long, but I need a full blown novel about Toadsling. I fell in love with this little creature. She is so sweet and polite. It was hard not to fall in love with her.

I loved everything about this story. I loved how it began, the middle, and the end. I loved the back and forth between the present and the past. I loved the history it gave us into the Faire realm. I just really need more story to come from this little story!

Thornhedge was very different from other fairytale retellings, and it was wonderful. T. Kingfisher never fails to write compelling narratives with compelling characters. I loved the twist of a changeling and the child she replaced being the one who to defeat her, as well as the use of folklore devices and patterns for the storytelling. I did not read the synopsis of the book before reading, so I went into this with very little context, but I picked up on the plot quickly and enjoyed every second!

4.5 stars. A sweet little novella that grabs you and makes you care about the world and characters in such a short time. The setting is fantastical, familial, and magical, with a hint of danger. Toadling is a great character who makes you want to see her succeed and be happy by the tale's end. Halim seems so warm, and you felt the connection between the two immediately. The world of the faeries is intriguing and makes you want to know more about the realm and its relationship to the human world. I really hope that there is more from this world and more from these characters. This author writes in a way that makes you feel welcomed into the character's world, and they are your friends.

I thought this was a very charming novella retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I'm not sure the flashbacks were the most effective way to build tension and the ending was a bit rushed, but I'm a big sucker for all things T Kingfisher so that didn't really dampen my overall enjoyment