I was hoping with a novella I would be drawn into the story quicker, and was left pretty disappointed.

A fun, quick re-telling of the "Sleeping Beauty" tale. I loved the of the thing in the tower being pure evil - locked and surrounded by thorns for REASONS. T. Kingfisher does no wrong here, and the little romps through faerie with different creatures and lore and passing of time, all great. I honestly could have consumed a full novel of this!

‘Thornhedge’ by T. Kingfisher is a familiar story told with a signature twist.

A princess asleep in a thorn choked tower guarded by a fairy. A knight has heard stories and a knight has shown up to investigate. So far this sounds familiar, but it’s not going to go the way we know. The fairy, named Toadling, is unconventional, as is the poetry loving knight. Which leaves the princess and that is for the reader to discover.

T. Kingfisher shines here with memorable characters and a new look at a seemingly familiar story. I highly recommend this one and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Such a surprising and well written read. Definitely a new spin on a classic fairy tale. The author brought a lot of story elements together that I had never seen combined before, but she made it work sooo well.

Thornhedge was an enchanting retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a heartwarming uniqueness that has earned T. Kingfisher's books a well-deserved place among my favorites. The delightfully short novella follows the familiar story of a princess sleeping in a tower and the fairy who put her there, but turns everything on its head, giving readers the preciously polite Toadling, the unsettling Fayette, and the knight Halim who follows old stories to find much more than he expected.

I would recommend this book if you're already a fan of T. Kingfisher and looking for spins on old tales much like Nettle & Bone or the forthcoming A Sorceress Comes to Call, or if you're looking for a quick sample of her charming characters and fantasy style! I think I have fallen into the pitfall of having 5-star standout favorites already that are very hard not to compare to, but I did still very much enjoy this read. It has most things I already love about Kingfisher's writing in a very short tale, but I think I'll usually (and probably greedily) love the longer ones best. I love staying in her worlds.

Once again, T Kingfisher proves that fairytales do not have to focus on the typical main character to be told! This reimagining focuses on Toadling who is tasked with guarding over a sleeping beauty. But, not everything is as it seems. The sleeping figure is a problem, the knight who is trying to save her is muslim, and Toadling has her own strange connection to the keep. I loved every minute of reading this novella. It is short, but detailed with a clear vision as to what the story should be!

Thornhedge is Sleeping Beauty with a twist. As always I enjoyed T. Kingfisher's writing and storytelling as well as her in-depth characters. Unfortunately the ending of Thornhedge was a tad underwhelming for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this! It was sweet and short and full of tenderness alongside cruelty. I think that is the ideal fairy tale -- full of idealistic hope and crushing reality. I was endeared to the sweet knight and our fairy immediately and I loved the lore of her story as well as his quiet softness.

4 stars!

There are two things I specifically love in a fairytale retelling - a misunderstood villain and the upending of a story I grew up on. Thornhedge delivers on both accounts. I haven't enjoyed a Sleeping Beauty retelling this much since Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman.

Due to its length, I don't want to give too much away. So, my review will be a little vague.

T. Kingfisher does an incredible amount of worldbuilding in just 116 pages. It is beyond impressive. Equally impressive are the characters. Toadling's story made me feel things that some tomes never manage to. Toadling may be my favorite T. Kingfisher character.

Charming yet dark, Thornhedge proves that beauty is only skin deep.

I listened to the audio while reading along. Jennifer Blom does a fantastic job with the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor, and Macmillan Audio for advanced copies in exchange for an honest review.

T. Kingfisher is so good at packing a lot of story into a small amount of writing. That was an interesting take on the classic sleeping beauty tale. It had the same feeling as Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman - what if the original damsel in distress was actually the evil you needed to contain?

T. Kingfisher's 'Thornhedge' is like a breath of fresh air for Sleeping Beauty fans. This novella shakes up the classic tale, making you rethink everything you thought you knew about the 'damsel in distress.' But what really makes this book shine? The characters. Even though it's short, you'll quickly fall for the main characters and their banter.

3.5 stars!

A sleeping beauty retelling. This is a novella and I kind of wish it was a full book! The writing was fantastic but I could have done with *more*. More details and backstory. This is often my problem with novellas I always just want more. But hey! That's better than wanting less lol.

Thank you netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

Yes.. im very netgalley backlogged.

It is quite possible that I have found my newest obsession in Kingfisher’s distinctive brand of storytelling and word building because this was exquisitely beautiful and super entertaining to read. I’m already waiting to read their next book.

This was a short fun read and everything you can expect from a T.Kingfisher book. It’s the perfect pallet cleanser or something to read if you’re in a slump.
A little dark and twisted take on sleeping beauty that I very much enjoyed!

Just another tick in the column of books that I love by T. Kingfisher.
Also, there are no ticks in the column of books that I dislike by T. Kingfisher. Please don’t jinx me on that.

Our dearest, lonely, moist Toadling is tired and anxious and would just like this whole curse business to be done already. But alas, she is the only small creature holding back a beautiful yet evil girl from unleashing torture on the world. Until a kind, and often overly apologetic, knight comes upon Toadling's bramble looking to undo all of her hard work by freeing the mysterious maiden she’s trapped in a tower.

The inverted fairytale is done so well; its so charming, as is all of Kingfisher’s writing. But my favorite part was the culminating message of self-forgiveness. It can be so easy to adopt the narrow mindset of living just in the wreckage of our error. Avoiding connection and comfort. Partaking in penance and self-flagellation for months and years as a way to atone. Yet, there can be a whole world of choices and community just beyond the threshold of our self-inflicted misery.

God knows I need that reminder, and often, please.

Recommended for those who love their cozy fantasy with a side of fae hijinks like reanimating the dead for fun. And also if you'd enjoy shy forehead kisses as a love declaration.

Gorgeous as always, inside and out. I love adding Kingfisher books to the collection and this was no exception.

Thornhedge is a delightful little novella that's a nice palate cleanser between longer novels. It's a bit weird (in a good way) and reminded me of some of the folklore elements of Holly Black's Folk of the Air Series.

I do feel like some of the characters felt a bit flat. I didn't necessarily care about any of them, but I still had a pleasant time reading this book. If you enjoy T. Kingfisher's unique worlds and clear writing voice, you will enjoy this book; however, I don't feel it's her strongest. Nettle & Bone is stronger in terms of character development, plot, and relationships. Overall, Thornhedge is worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for this ARC!

Thornhedge is a beautifully written and engaging fractured fairy tale mashup by T. Kingfisher. Released 15th Aug 2023 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 128 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

The author is prolific, readable, engaging, and has some really really good and perceptive observations to relate. She does a wonderful job here of helping the reader examine their own ideas about what it means to be a monster and what lies in the notion of true beauty.

It's a fairy tale, and as such, there's a dreamlike quality and form to much of the prose. It's so amazingly well written that readers will encounter passages which require a pause to reflect on the writing. Just breathtaking.

Five stars. This is a must-have for library acquisition and a must-read for fairy tale and classic fantasy fans. For readers who love Katherine Arden, Naomi Novik, and Alix E. Harrow, the author will undoubted already be on the radar.. but for the lucky few who haven't stumbled across her work yet, you're in for a real treat.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Another amazing book by T. Kingfisher! Everything written by Kingfisher is such a breath of fresh-air in terms of writing style and plot. Everything is simultaneously way-more grounded in reality than most fantasy is yet also more fantastical? If you've ever read anything by T. Kingfisher, you know exactly what I mean. I knew before I even picked this up that it was probably going to be a five-star read and I'm glad T. Kingfisher did not prove me wrong on that front!

A solid retelling that was quick to read and not just because it is a novella.

Kingfisher has already proven that retellings are easy for them and this was no exception.