I went into this indie fantasy novel, not quite knowing what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. Intisar Khanani has created an unusual fantasy world full of an intriguing cast of characters. The main character – Thorn is not a conventional fantasy heroine, she is not loud, brash or good with a sword. She instead has a quieter more hidden strength that comes from her resilience in times of hardship and her continuous kindness to all she meets. I found her personality a really refreshing change to what you normally see in YA fantasy becuase she felt more genuine and realistic and someone that I’d like to be friends with.

However Thorn wasn’t the only impressive character, the characters were all really vivid and enjoyable to read about. There were quite a few bad guys, some good guys and some morally ambiguous ones as well. It was interesting that good and bad weren’t always clear cut. Another thing which was good about this novel was the intriguing fantasy aspects that were carefully interwoven and relevant to the plot without being too in your face or overwhelming.
I didn’t know where this book was going until the end, there were so many twists and turns and the plot really keep me on my toes. Sometimes fantasy novels can fall into the trap of being predictable, but this one couldn’t be further than that. However I must confess I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the ending as I really wanted to keep following the characters on their journeys rather than being forced to wrap up nicely. I felt like there was definitely more to say and that the ending was a little rushed.

Overall this book was a truly enjoyable read that is unlike any I’ve ever read. I would definitely recommend this to people that enjoy fantasy with a twist.

I talk about Thorn in my #ARCAugust Wrap-Up starting from 14:31 and ending at 16:25

https://youtu.be/03DiFs4EzQw?t=14m31s

Usually, I love a good retelling, but I couldn’t get into this one, which is a play on Goose Girl. I made it 35% through before I called it quits and DNF (did-not-finish) it. However, I might revisit at a later time.

I liked Alyrra well enough. She’s been through a lot but she’s strong. Unfortunately she was a little too passive for my tastes.

The main reason I chose to DNF this one is because the pacing was slow. It felt like the plot was dragging and moving on with nonsensical things. It felt like I had spent forever reading, but only managed a few pages, and even then nothing very important happened.

The story is interesting enough, the whole concept of switching identies and pretending to be someone else is usually fascinating However, this one was just too slow for me to properly enjoy.

Maybe I’ll try again in a couple of months. Part of me is interested in what happens at the end, but not enough to continue slugging my way through.

I never had a chance to review this before it expired. I'm sorry!