Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Thornhedge

Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

64 reviews

kshertz's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really love this author. This Sleeping Beauty retelling is great! I love a twist. I love telling it from a completely different perspective. Nothing is as the fairytale would have you believe. Plus it’s got some creepy aspects too. Very highly recommend this quick read.

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augustaholyfield's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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melodyseestrees's review

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adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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callidoralblack's review

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dark slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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ashtheaudiomancer's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

THIS is the "Sleeping Beauty" retelling I've been looking for! After being disappointed by a few other iterations of my favorite fairy tale, this one really hits the mark. I just started reading T. Kingfisher's work this year, and every one I pick up is better than the last. Which means this is my favorite one so far. My only complaint is I wanted MORE. Novellas are a tidy length, and I'm glad she had the opportunity to get this book published as a standalone, but gah, I could've spend a lot more time in this world!

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eviethebookworm's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I read Nettle & Bone last year and loved it. I think it made my favorite books of 2022 list actually. And I have been meaning to read more from Kingfisher since then. There just isn't enough time for all the books I want to read! Though I will say, once I sat down with this one, it took less than 24 hours for me to speed through it.

You think you know this story: there is a princess in a magical sleep, trapped in a tower. But perhaps there's a good reason for that. In this Sleeping Beauty retelling, we meet our narrator Toadling, stolen as a child and raised by long-toothed, water dwelling fairies until the day she's tasked with offering a blessing to a newborn child. But her mission does go as planned, as centuries later, she is still guarding that same child...or guarding the rest of the world from that child. When a soft-hearted knight arrives to break a curse now relegated to stories, Toadling knows she must prevent that at all costs. And yet, she has spent so long alone, and the knight is so gentle and sweet with her and she can't seem to make herself force him away.

Well, maybe it's because it was the first I read by Kingfisher so it'll always hold a special spot in my reading-heart, but this wasn't quite at the same level as Nettle & Bone, for me. That being said, I was absolutely charmed and delighted by this story. It was such a surprisingly sweet and gentle story, for all that is leans into horror elements like reanimated corpses (or well, just the one corpse), terrible children with torturous inclinations (well, just the one child), and a slew of chaotic neutral-ish fae creatures living their natures even if it seems "ugly" to humans. There is always something so heart-warming about the reclaiming of the less "desirable" qualities that a person can have, like those tasked with terrible jobs being too kind-hearted to carry them out or knights that are too tender to be considered "good" at that profession, and showcasing how they can be (and should be considered) strengths instead.

Speaking of, this whole novella is a study in the turning-on-its-head of a traditional fairy tale. Kingfisher questions why a person might need to be put to sleep and hidden in the first place. And in that exploration is a profound interrogation of why (societally traditional external) beauty is easier to believe than (societally traditional external) ugliness. Even after a full connection is developed (between Toadling and Halim), the traditional "ugly" character is still convinced that their partner will believe the traditional "beauty" (Halim and the sleeping princess), even though they have no preexisting relationship and no baseline of trust in the same way. It's a heartbreaking concept, when you realize how true that observational insight into humanity is, and yet the inherent gentleness in the story-telling style softens it to the point where the point is still made, but the reader feels comforted by the way Toadling and Halim subvert it.

The one thing that felt a little strange to me was the way that real life historical events were referred to, in a way that was familiar enough that I knew they were based in actual history, but not with enough clarity for me to place them or settle myself/this story and setting into them. I sort of wish Kingfisher had gone one way or the other with it - more clarity in the references, to better ground the reader, or a full-on fantastic/unreal setting.

This story is just endearing AF. It's the style of fairy tale that I can just never get enough of (the tone, the changeling trope, the flipped-villain retelling, the fantasy creature elements, in addition to everything else I've mentioned so far). A style Kingfisher seems to revel in that style of retelling, and delivers on it spectacularly.

“The world rarely leaves anyone alone.”

“Surrounded by child-eating swamp spirits, Toadling felt intensely loved.” (these are the kinds of fairy tale lines I live for)

“But we are not always given the choices that we want.”

“She did not know how to fight a story.”

“The love of monsters was uncomplicated.”

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