The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
morganfiona's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am generally a huge fan of T Kingfisher, but I believe there were some major oversights in the creation of this book. If it existed in a vacuum, outside of the fae folklore it draws from, I think I would have greatly enjoyed it. However, be ause Kingfisher chose to draw on the stories of changelings for the villain in this book, a world of implications were drawn in too. Changeling lore is inexorably linked to the stories and stereotypes of autistic people, and painting a changeling as an unfeeling villain is not a good look. In the acknowledgements, Kingfisher said she wanted to explore the idea of sleeping beauty from a new perspective. The way in which she did this leaned into a long history of negative perspectives of autistic people, which feels not the least but subversive to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Animal death
kittykatz96's review against another edition
4.0
Thornhedge is a retelling/reimagining of the story of Sleeping Beauty, Thornhedge twists this beloved tale by asking "What if the Princess was the evil one?". We find ourselves following the story of Toadling, born a princess but taken by faerie in her infancy, she grows up as the beloved changeling daughter of the greenteeth. When she is taken by a goddess because her fathers house has need of her she finds herself tasked with learning how to and eventually gifting the Faerie changing that replaced her to do no harm. Things go awry leaving Toadling stuck in the human world trying to deal with a monstrous child.
I have to say that T, Kingfisher is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors, her style of writing and ability ti develop fairytales has truly enchanted me from the start of every book I have read by her. I loved getting to follow Toadling and seeing the loving environment she grew up in and how it impacted her when she was taken away from that sort of care and nurturing, and how these factors are reflected in Halim as well, it really helps create a bond between these two characters in such a short period of time.
While I loved the story I do have a fairly major issue with the story, and that is how the changling trope is handled. Historically the changeling storyline/ trope has been used to justify maltreatment of children born with disabilities. While I do feel like the author has tried to address some of these issues in the text with the way the story ends I feel like it falls flat of really addressing these issues. While this doesn't ruin the story for me, it is something that feel I must point out and may ruin this story for other readers.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I have to say that T, Kingfisher is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors, her style of writing and ability ti develop fairytales has truly enchanted me from the start of every book I have read by her. I loved getting to follow Toadling and seeing the loving environment she grew up in and how it impacted her when she was taken away from that sort of care and nurturing, and how these factors are reflected in Halim as well, it really helps create a bond between these two characters in such a short period of time.
While I loved the story I do have a fairly major issue with the story, and that is how the changling trope is handled. Historically the changeling storyline/ trope has been used to justify maltreatment of children born with disabilities. While I do feel like the author has tried to address some of these issues in the text with the way the story ends I feel like it falls flat of really addressing these issues. While this doesn't ruin the story for me, it is something that feel I must point out and may ruin this story for other readers.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
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