This was an absolutely gorgeous retelling of a classic fairy tale - encouraging readers to imagine that we had the motives of the classic good and evil characters wrong.

Toadling and the knight were fantastic, well-developed characters for such a short novel - I loved Toadling from the beginning, as we watch the world outside of the thorn hedge with her and then dare to venture out. I laughed and cried and didn't want the story to end.

T. Kingfisher never fails to impress!

I loved this darker twist on the sleeping beauty fairy tale. It doesn't center the sleeping princess but rather a fairy that is assigned to guard the princess. The knight that comes to "rescue" the princess is also not your typical knight. If you love darker (but not too dark) tales of the fairy world, this one's a great quick read.

I genuinely enjoyed the time I spent reading Thornhedge. From the moment I read the first line, I was hooked and had to see how things would play out for Toadling. T. Kingfisher’s alternate take on Sleeping Beauty (not a retelling, just using elements of the fairytale and playing around with it, to be clear) is probably one of my favorites that I’ve ever read. It offers the potential of a “what if” scenario that captures the magic of the source material, but also gives it some interesting new spins. I liked the characters well enough, but I especially liked how the story felt like reading a modern fairytale (of a sort). Definitely the Kingfisher work I’ve enjoyed the most so far (of the two I’ve now read).

I LOVED this! A fun Sleeping Beauty retelling! I loved that fairies and changlings were incorporated into this retelling. It felt fun and fresh.

This is such a sweet fairytale! I’m so glad I got into Kingfisher in the era of all these little stories that have such big hearts and ideas.
An absolute must read author!

I love this author. I recently read Nettle & Bone so I was thrilled to get an ARC. This author has a way of writing deeply human and uniquely observant characters that are amazing and hilarious. Kingfisher can literally write some dark downright bleak shit and then have you laughing on the next page. This book is no different. There is a gentleness and kindness to these characters that is just so captivating. Kingfisher has become an “instant buy” author for me.

This is a beautifully written story about faeries, changelings, magic and curses.

Toadling was born human, but at her birth she was swapped with a changeling. This is her story. She is centuries old and has seen change upon change occur. When a knight finds her, it’s the first contact she has had in a very, very long time.

She begins to tell him the story of the curse she accidentally set upon the changeling who took her place. She has been watching over this changeling for many, many years, but not to protect her… Toadling needs to make sure the curse is never broken.

This is a very quick read, which I enjoyed.

I’ve quickly become a big fan of T Kingfisher’s books, both the horror books and the fantasy books and this one is no different! I love this twisted retelling of Sleeping Beauty, where a (sort of) fairy named Toadling tries to offer a newborn a gift but messes it up. It’s hard to believe that this is only 128 pages, because there is just so much packed into this novella, and I didn’t want it to end. Toadling and Halim were such lovable characters, and I really hope their story isn’t over because I would love to know more about them. This book makes me think of how a good retelling should be - take the general idea of a story (girl in a tower, fairy who put her there) and twist it on it’s head and play with expectations and add a dash of lightheartedness and (a bit more than) a dash of darkness to it. Highly recommend this one both for new and old fans alike!

Toadling has been guarding the tower and the thorns from princes and knights, trying to protect the world from her slip of tongue.

Why I started this book: Requested this ARC on Netgalley because I'm a fan of Kingfisher's characters, humor and stories.

Why I finished it: Charming retelling of Sleep Beauty. It is the tale of mother's love, sacrifice, duty and curses. With the insight and deft story telling of Kingfisher all packed into a novella. If this is your first book by Kingfisher, do yourself a favor and pick up [book:Nettle & Bone|56179377] or [book:A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking|54369251].

Thank you to Tor Books and netgalley for an e arc of this one.

In this Sleeping Beauty retelling, the fairy that cursed the princess is actually the good guy. Toadling is such a cute MC. I love how awkward she is but she's just trying her best!!!! I also loved Halim for many of the same reasons. He reminded me a bit of Lazlo from Strange the Dreamer.

This was a very interesting story and I would love to know what happens next for Toadling!

CW: death, torture, animal cruelty (mentioned)

What’s a fairy godmother to do when she bungles her gift to a beautiful princess? In Toadling’s case, it means making sure that no one ever, ever wakes that princess up. Thornhedge, by the always excellent T. Kingfisher, flips the story of Sleeping Beauty on its head.

Toadling has quite lost track of how long she’s been hiding behind brambles, thorn hedges, and enchantments when a blundering young Muslim knight (he admits he’s not very good at the whole violence thing) decides to camp beside the thorn hedge. Toadling is spotted watching the knight, and he strikes up a conversation with the skittish fairy. To her frustration, Halim reveals that he’s been looking for a keep surrounded by formidable thorns that he learned of from a story. All Toadling wants is for people to forget all about the keep and the thorns and stay very far away from the sleeping princess in the middle of all of it, but nothing she says will make Halim go away. He’s determined to free someone from an enchantment, whether it’s the princess or Toadling herself.

I love what Kingfisher has done with the Sleeping Beauty story here. There are changelings, goddesses, lots of blunders, magic, the march of time, and a relentless desire on both Toadling and Halim’s part to do the right thing (even if neither of them are quite sure what that is). I found this story of two people who have no idea what their next move is to be a very human kind of tale, even with all the magic happening around them. Who among us hasn’t drawn a complete blank when faced with an insurmountable problem we have no idea how to tackle? And who among us has not faced an insurmountable problem by just winging it and hoping for the best?

I had a great time with this breezy, funny, heartwarming fairy tale retelling.

I’ve been reading a lot of T Kingfisher lately and absolutely loving it. She has a knack for perfectly combining whimsical and sinister, and this book is no exception. Thornhedge is a charming fairy tale novella, but fairy tale in the old fashioned sense, in that it’s steeped in old magic and has darkness lurking in its heart. It had a similar vibe to Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series in a lot of ways. It’s a super quick read and I really enjoyed it.

Representation: POC character

Trigger warning: suicide (mentioned), animal cruelty (mentioned)

My first T. Kingfisher story and it definitely will not be my last because I adored this. This is such an endearing story with a great twist on Sleeping Beauty. There's dark fairytale elements but I also would describe the writing of it as cozy - it's whimsical but there are stakes to this plot. The dynamic between Toadling and the knight Halim is lovely and I could read 100000 novellas of them having adventures.

I would've welcomed a longer story but I never felt like this novella was too short. The plot and character arcs all wrapped up well and it's the perfect short read for anyone looking for a fantasy story to read in one sitting.

T. Kingfisher does it again with a lovely new twist on a beloved fairy tale. The main character is unexpected given the tale being retold, in a good way. I really love the way this retelling makes you think harder about what is on offer in these stories, and what assumptions people make.

My only complaint is I wish there was more!

"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!