Sleeping Beauty is one of my all-time favorite fairy tales, and T Kingfisher is very quickly and solidly cementing herself as a favorite author of fairy tale reimaginings. So when I saw this title and author, I immediately knew I had to get my hands on it - and this did not disappoint. This is such a great twist on the original fairy tales with Toadling trying to keep Fayette from doing harm, and ending up keeping her asleep for over 200 years. I loved the world building and the different Fae creatures who make appearances. In some ways the conclusion felt a little abrupt, but I do love how things resolve for Toadling. This also has really great lines on perception of beauty, and what makes someone or something beautiful based on the ideals one grows up around. In the author’s note/acknowledgments, Kingfisher talks about this book being sweet and I can honestly see it. Yes, there’s violence and Fae creatures who harm mortals and Toadling is a child stolen away to faerieland, but also it’s got themes of family and connection and the power kindness can hold. All in all, definitely a book I enjoyed and one I’m sure other fans of Kingfisher will adore, and one I will be recommending!

I love T. Kingfisher! Whether she's writing for adults, teens, or children, her work has a characteristic weird darkness about it that just captures my imagination every time. Thornhedge is her riffing on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale with joyous abandon. Nothing is as it seems, yet the heart of the story resolves in a very classic love story fashion. Wunderbar!

A retelling of Sleeping Beauty told from the perspective of Toadling, a changeling fairy. Toadling was the human baby meant to be Fayette and she is sent back with a gift to keep the fairy exchange girl from doing harm to others. Toadling muffs the spell and has to do her best to keep Fayette from killing everyone. Truly an enchanting story!
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Oh my gosh this is just SUCH a fantastic little story. Absolutely on my list for new favorite novellas. I adored the depth and range of emotion, the twist of a known story trope, and the awesome fae creatures. Highly recommend it!

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC
Actual rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

Ever since reading What Moves the Dead, I’ve become a huge fan of T. Kingfisher’s books, snapping them up left and right. I love how the author manages to effortlessly pivot from sweet and quirky fairytale retellings to dark and twisted horror stories. In Thornhedge, Kingfisher manages to merge both of these genres with aplomb, creating a simultaneously sweet, but dark and violent retelling of the classic tale Sleeping Beauty.

"There was simply no way to hide a hedge with thorns like sword blades and stems as thick as a man's thigh. A wall like that invited curiosity and with curiosity came axes, and it was all the fairy could do to keep some of those curious folk from gaining entrance to the tower."*

Thornhedge poses the question, “what if the beautiful maiden sleeping in the tower was put to sleep and hidden away for a more sinister reason?” And in Thornhedge, this reason is simple—it’s for the world’s own protection from this Sleeping Beauty, who’s beautiful appearance hides a truly dangerous secret. I was truly enthralled by this story and was floored that the protagonist of this story was not the helpless sleeping damsel in need of a white knight, but the “evil” fairy who laid a “gift” on her in the first place.

Toadling, the faerie godmother in question,  has a truly unique upbringing—she was stolen from her human parents at birth, and raised in the swamps of the faerielands, something which renders her more fae than human. Knowing the circumstances of her life, a goddess appears, and calls for Toadling to leave her home and to become a faerie godmother in order to bestow a crucial gift upon a newborn princess.  But when the day comes to bless the child, everything does not go according to plan and Toadling is forced to deal with the increasingly violent consequences.

'"His eyes were grave. 'Some things can't be fixed.'

'We couldn't change her,' said Toadling, feeling as if the words were broken glass in her ruined throat."

Thornhedge does a fantastic job of setting up the mystery of why Toadling remains alone, with only a wall of  thorns as company, as centuries pass. This novella sucks readers in by giving more details of Toadling’s past piecemeal, leaving readers with the magic of suspense until the full story is divulged. Kingfisher truly is a master of dread and readers quickly learn that  the Sleeping Beauty is anything but the Disney version of the character.

"'This would be easier if you could turn into a toad,' said Toadling, after Halim had been hacking away with a hatchet for several hours. He raised an eyebrow at her. 'I can safely say that in all my life, no one has ever said that to me before,' he said."

I immediately liked Toadling, as Kingfisher enchantingly crafts her as an endearingly otherworldly, but kind and sensitive, fairy. Through Toadling, we see the difference between the worlds of the fairy and the humans. Though each world is cruel, it’s in very different ways. Thornhedge charmingly shows off Kingfisher’s talent for truly unique and quirky world-building along with her zany sense of humor, which though quieter in this novella, still manages to show itself through Toadling’s new friendship with an ineffectual, but sensitive knight who originally aims to break the curse surrounding the mysterious sleeping maiden.

I highly recommend this to pre-existing fans of T. Kingfisher’s works, especially those who loved Nettle & Bone, as it really combines the author's talents for both the dark and the sweet in a delightfully entertaining and satisfying way. Thornhedge is also the perfect read for fans of fairytale retellings and those who like strong female protagonists.

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

What an incredible take on Sleeping Beauty! This was such a short read but absolutely wonderful!

Anytime I see a T. Kingfisher Book it’s automatically being purchased for my physical shelf! This book was so cute with Toadling and Halim with just the right touch of creepy with Fayette…I don’t know if there would ever be a second one but now I want more!

5/5 stars and will definitely be recommending this!

Thank you to NetGalley, T. Kingfisher and Tor Publishing Group for an arc of Thornhedge in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

T. Kingfisher is an auto-read for me. I am super excited that I get this opportunity to review her new novel set to publish 8/15/2023!

Ok, so I loved this little novella!! Just based on the description, I was thinking along the lines of Shrek.

Toadling is a toad-shaped heroine, not our usual beautiful princess. She was stolen by faeries from her family when she was born, but she was raised safe & loved. They just asked on favor of her – to return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection on a newborn child. Well, that doesn’t go off without a hitch! Centuries later, a knight discovers thornhedge and decides he needs to break the curse, but Toadling isn’t about to let that happen.

This was a refreshing take on the old Sleeping Beauty type fairytale. The characters were so likeable. Like, you just can’t help but like them. Kingfisher has such an amazing style of writing that can only be described as “friendly.” It makes it hard not to like her work. While this story has its dark moment, the heart of it is extremely sweet and heartwarming.

Pacing was great & the ending was extremely satisfying. Don’t miss out on this adorable novella about Toadling!!! I highly recommend!

4.5/5 Stars

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

Once again, the author gives us one of her slightly warped fairy tales: this time we get Sleeping Beauty. A bit on the dark side, this short novel is told from the POV of "Toadling", the human girl who was taken by the fairies and replaced with a changeling fairy child. Many of the tropes common to the classic Sleeping Beauty story are turned on their head, giving this story some very entertaining twists and turns.

I really ended up enjoying Thornhedge.
Which was not a surprise as I've so far loved everything I've read by T. Kingfisher!
They are definitely becoming a favourite author.
This was a quick and fun read and I highly recommend it you enjoy fairytale retellings!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely delightful! I wasn’t sure where the story was headed and was entranced to the end. I hope we will get more of her adventures. More please!

I love a good twist on a fairy tale and this book does that and then some. T Kingfisher once again brings her whimsical storytelling to a darker kind of fairy tale. The one where the princess might be sealed away to protect everyone else. An excellent little bite of a story.

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher is a delightful fairytale with a unique twist. Toadling, a toad-shaped heroine, is asked by the faeries to offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child in the human world. But when a knight approaches a tower where Toadling is protecting the curse, things take a wild turn. Kingfisher’s story subverts the traditional fairytale tropes, creating a refreshing narrative that is both hilarious and heartfelt. The characters are endearing, and the world-building is vivid and magical. The book is a must-read for anyone who loves fairytale retellings or fantasy stories with a touch of whimsy.

I never know what I’m getting into with a T. Kingfisher piece, but I always walk away unnerved, but in a quirky cool way. This was certainly one of the neatest fairytale retellings I’ve encountered in a minute—what if the princess was the real villain all along???!!!! (and she was so creepy!!) I loved Toadling, and how hard she tried to do her best and help people, and how the whole story wasn’t leading up to this grand romance thing where the hag was actually beautiful all along, yadda yadda. We love a good trope subversion. Some novellas, I feel, suffer under the lack of pages, but this was perfect. I got enough from the characters that even though I would love to read a whole buddy novel of Toadling and Halim traveling around, exploring the world, I don’t feel like I *need* more to develop them as people in my brain. Anyway. It was good. Read like a dream. There are images that are burned into my brain forever. You’ve done it again, T. Kingfisher.

I adored this retelling of Sleeping Beauty! My dear Toadling, I loved her so much, her story could have been so tragic and yet ends up so sweet.

T. Kingfisher's books have been on my reading list for a while now and I'm so glad to have read this as my first book of hers. I will be moving her other books to the top of my list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

T. Kingfisher did it again! I love all of her books, but her fairy tale novellas are my favorites. I really, really hope she continues to write them. Thornhedge may be my favorite thus far, though. I absolutely love Kingfisher's writing style, and I think it lends itself well to fairy-tale style writing. As soon as you start reading, you feel like you've been dropped into the world.
I also really appreciate how Kingfisher writes main characters who aren't your standard attractive young person. There are definitely reasons why people want to read about attractive people falling in love with other attractive people, but the strength of Kingfisher's writing means that you don't actually care that Toadling, well, looks like a toad.
Finally, the retelling itself is simply astounding. None of the Sleeping Beauty retellings I've read have ever gone into depth about the fairy world that the evil fairy came from. Kingfisher's depiction of the fairy realm seemed familiar and easy to sink into. The vagueness of the time period and location made the story seem all the more like a classic fairy tale. And I was absolutely not expecting the Sleeping Beauty to be a bloodthirsty and crazed little changeling!

I have yet to meet a Kingfisher book I don’t like! Such a charming and sweet, yet dark, read. This is a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and very well done. Kingfisher took the bones of a familiar fairy tale and made it completely her own. I fell in love with Toadling and Halim, two unconventional character types we don’t often often get to read about. At just under 130 pages, it made for a very fast read. I suppose if I had a complaint, it’d be that I was left wanting more. Kingfisher’s other two novellas left me far more satisfied so I know she’s capable of it. Overall though, it was a very enjoyable read and one that I would definitely recommend to other fans of fairy tale novellas.

5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: retellings, Sleeping Beauty, fairytales, Fair Folk, T. Kingfisher

This review has been posted to Netgalley as of 2/12 and will be posted to my book review blog 2/15 and to Instagram 3/15.

Welcome to a Sleeping Beauty retelling where the sleeping princess is not only not the main character, she's not even a good character. I liked this take on the fairytale and how complicated everything was. While it's somewhat similar in concept to The Sleeper and the Spindle, it takes it in a different direction and it was interesting to see how the situation evolved over time.

I liked Toadling and the way she viewed the world. She had an utter love for the 'monsters' that raised her and her view of beauty was entirely based on what she saw in her mothers and sisters, though she was also aware of human standards of beauty as well. We get to see different aspects of Toadling throughout the book as well and get to understand both how she handles different situations and how she ended up where she is in the 'present.' I do wish we got to see more of Toadling with her family since the descriptions were phenomenal and I really wanted to enjoy more pond/mud/toad settings and magic.

Halim is a knight who is...not so great at being a knight. That is to say, he's a knight but he isn't interested in doing tournaments or fighting other people, though he does have the 'saving maidens' part down. I liked his character a lot, in part because he has a natural curiosity about things, but mostly because he's got such a matter-of-fact way of looking at things and has some of the funnier lines in the book.

The book is told in a semi-nonlinear fashion, beginning with the present and then switching to various points in the past to describe what happened, and then coming back to the present again. I liked the style and thought it was a good way to show everything without having massive amounts of exposition/dialogue.

I also liked being able to see the past because, as mentioned above, it allows us to see Toadling in different situations and how she handles different circumstances. It was also nice because it means we get to read about Faerie and the different creatures that exist there and not just stay in the 'present' human world.

Overall I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it as a quick, light read if you're interested in unusual fairytale retellings and/or fantasy books.

A few years ago I started reading adult fairy tales like "Uprooted" and "Spinning Silver" both by Naomi Novik, and fell into a black hole of where I couldn't find books that had a similar feel. Then I started reading T. Kingfisher and have been following her stuff like a weird devotee. In all of her works you can't help but like the characters. I'm speaking too broadly and not drilling down on this particular book, but it still applies.


If I could meet the greenteeths and not be eaten by them, I think I would. The sense of family Toadling got from them was like a warm hug to me.

The Goddess - this year is really the year of the rabbit. So many fantasy books like "The Magician's Daughter" by H.G. Parry and this one features a magical rabbit. I realize two doesn't really equal a lot, but I stand by what I'm saying, and anyways I like talking rabbits. The Goddess however, like she says, “We are made of cruelty and kindness both.”

Toadling and Halim were both relatable characters. I loved them both, but especially Halim. I loved his dedication to doing the right thing and the descriptions of his mother. How she would expect him to behave and how she would care for Toadling if he brought her back with him. There's an earnestness and wit to him, "...a knife that my mother’s imam said duas over and also I had it blessed by the Benedictine monk who ran the library, so between the two of them, it ought to be quite holy by now. I couldn’t find a rabbi. Well, I did, but he wanted to come along because he’d never met a fairy, and I thought you wouldn’t like that."

Toadling was such a lonesome creature before Halim came along. I could feel her grief at being the last sentinel, and was happy with the speed with which she made Halim a friend.

The one problem I have with T. Kingfisher novels is that I have such a book hangover once they're done, and this particular story was just a little over hundred pages, so it lasted me only a day. I'm now stuck to opening many books on my ereader and not committing to any.

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Another quote, this one made me laugh out loud.

Chapter 6 -- Page: 65

“Not that he’d have died,” she had muttered, “but I was like to throttle him if he did not stop his whining.”

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Thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

At its heart, Thornhedge is a very sweet retelling of Sleeping Beauty. We see the story through Toadling (who I just want to hug!), a fairy who is charged with keeping the princess from doing harm. There are horrors, but overall it was a sweet story.

"She was theirs; they were hers. The love of monsters was uncomplicated."

I had the great fortune of being able to read this before publication thanks to NetGalley approving me. It is the first time I have had the chance to use NetGalley and having this book be my first foray could not have been a greater gift!

This story plays on what readers have come to expect from fairy tales. It challenges the genre and looks at it from a different point of view. It isn't quite parallel or parallax, but it asks the question of, what if everything you expect from fairy tales is not quite right? What if it is just set ever-so-slightly to the left?

Thornhedge faithfully takes the darkness of a true fairy tale and lets the story unspool in such a soft-hearted and gentle way, that you almost forget how dark the story truly becomes. Toadling is so effortlessly kind even to those who might not deserve it, that it feels impossible to describe her in the ways she often describes herself. At the core of its story, Thornhedge is about children taken from their families and what difference it makes to open yourself up to love. It is a story about refusing to bend what you believe to be beautiful to what the world thinks is beautiful. It is a story about finding a place to belong for yourself and how it is up to you to recognize where that space is.

Words cannot express how much of a joy this was to read or how excited I will be to purchase a physical copy as soon as it is available on the shelf!