Review: Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Release Date: May 30th 2012

Publisher: Self Published

Genres: Young-Adult/ Fairy Tale/ Retelling/ Fantasy

Format: Paperback

Source: Won

My Rating: 5 Stars

Find It: Goodreads | Amazon

For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she’s never had … until she’s betrayed.

Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family’s cruelty and the court’s contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future.

But powerful men have powerful enemies–and now, so does Alyrra. Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman’s, giving Alyrra the first choice she’s ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she’s never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own. As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometime the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.

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Review: If you are familiar with Grimms’ Fairy Tales, then you should know of the story, The Goose Girl. It’s one that I loved growing up, so reading this retelling should come as no surprise. It’s been sitting on my shelf for a year, and I finally got the chance to read it. One of my favorite Indie Authors, Anna Silver, gave this to me during one of her giveaways. She told me that it was one of her favorite books; I can see why.

Same premise as the original story- the Princess is betrothed to a prince in a far off land. Princess sets off with entourage to meet her betrothed, along the way she is switched with her servant. Princess is forced to live her life as the keeper of geese. Except, this story has it’s own unique plot twists! I couldn’t stop reading it because from beginning to end I was caught up in the mayhem.

I really like Alyrra as a character. She so didn’t want to be betrothed to the strange Prince Kestrin; and with the sorceress stepping in to magically switch her with Valka, her servant, a weight is lifted off her shoulders. Valka, on the other hand, is just a disgrace. She feels as if she deserves all the power and praise. The only problem? Kestrin knows that all is not as it seems and everything begins to crumble. Alyrra (or Thorn in this case) really sees him as a person and not as the stranger she imagined when she was told that she was to marry him. She has to try and save him and herself before the evil sorceress does her bidding.

This retelling is really good. There are lots of twists that I didn’t see coming. The writing is beautiful and the characterizations are not overly done. If you are looking for a change in your fantasy reading, then I highly recommend this book! I will definitely be checking out more from this author because her writing is beautiful.