Thorn audiobook

Just released my Top 10 Books from 2020 BookTube Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest! The Written Review “We all need our quiet, I think. We all have our unspoken wishes, hopes we cannot mention, choices we may yet regret.” Princess Alyrra spent her life balanced on the precipice of fear - her brother finds joy in being cruel and her mother could care less. Her greatest wish is to fade into the background and live her life outside the shadow of her family.Then one day, a neighboring king visits their small kingdom and with him comes the proposal of the young Prince Kestrin.With her mother and brother remaining to rule over their kingdom...Alyrra knows this is her only chance to find her own life. “. . . I've found that acting when you are afraid is the greatest sign of courage there is.” On the way to her betrothed, a sorceress curses Alyrra - forcing her to swap bodies with Valka (a noblewoman in her kingdom that absolutely hates Alyrra).While Valka stumbles her way through the difficult role of princess, Alyrra sinks into her new identity as royal goose girl...though the prince seems a bit suspicious of her intentions.At first, Alyrra couldn't be happier with her new role but this new perspective allows her to see the ugliness of the kingdom in a way she never would have from the palace. Will Alyrra keep her head down and accept the status quo? Or should she dig deep and learn to speak up? “Which of us has not made mistakes when faced with more than we can handle?” (view spoiler)[ Oh my gosh. (hide spoiler)]The Goose Girl is one of my favorite childhood books and let me tell you - this version of it was stunning.I am a huuuuuge fan of fairytale rewrites and this one was no exception.I loved Alyrra's character - her grit and determination was inspiring. Her cleverness and wit made me love her.I adored the way Alyrra and the prince circled each other - their relationship was such a slow burn but at the same time, I wouldn't change a thing. Every time the two of them danced on page - it made my heart happy. And the big reveal? It had me grinning like no tomorrow.The plot to this one was lonnnng. The book itself was over 500 pages and yet, there wasn't a thing I would cut.There's so much that happened in this book and the plot itself was paced just perfectly for the 500 pages. All in all, I am overwhelmingly happy that this is the start to a series. I cannot WAIT for the next one!A huge thank you to Anela Deen and Intisar Khanani for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest reviewOther booktube videos involving this gorgeous book! I did a little Video Review for this gorgeous little book!YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

Actual rating: 4.5 StarsI received this ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.This book was first published in 2012 as an indie book and it is being republished now by HarperTeen because an editor fell in love with it after reading the book. And I can see the reason why.This book has a slow start, that much I can say. So I didn't notice for a while that I came to love the story and much of its characters. I only did after I got to the middle part.The story is so mesmerizing and at times heartbreaking. It is more than a simple coming-of-age story. It is about knowing yourself, it is about trust, it is about deception, it is about revenge, it is about politicking, and most of all it is about learning that sense of justice is different for everyone. Moreover, it is about finding your path after a previously rendered road was taken away from you.The protagonist, Alyrra, is written so magnificently. Although at first, she was described as somewhat a slow, shadow of a self, but other than that, she is caring, intelligent and had a high sense of justness. She had her doubts in her person but after a while, she came to believe in herself which magnanimously helped in the climax of the story.Moreover, I loved the tandem between Alyrra and Kestrin. What they had is not an instant love between two people who are meant to be wed. They took their time to know each other and in turn trust each other. At the end of the book, Alyrra has not yet come to love Kestrin but is already furnishing the path to get there. And this is the kind of relationship that I love to read about: mutual respect and trust, not just about appearances.This book is a retelling of the classic Goose Girl. Although I haven't read that particular book yet, I took the risk to read this before the classic. And I am glad that I did that, because this book left me enthralled and I'm sure that it will be one of my best reads this year. Hopefully.Edit 16/01/2020Even Ms. Intisar Khanani liked my review! I am so honored and thrilled! There's no doubt that I'm going to buy the book after its release.

Full review now up @ https://bookerification.com/thorn-by-... 5 stars! Truth be told, I started this book with low expectations and mid-level interest. 'Thorn' wasn't a book that had fascinated me enough to be added to my 'Want-to-read' shelf nor had I come across a lot of excitement or hype surrounding it. This was a completely random acquisition, but boy am I glad I got it! "It is rare for someone who wants power to truly deserve it" The storyline begins with much pomp and intrigue, at a turning point in the life of the protagonist, Alyrra. From there, Intisar Khanani skilfully introduces the main characters and smoothly interweaves the world-building. Her writing style has such a tranquil and calming nature, it's almost like stepping into a nice, warm bath. You know the feeling - all your muscles relax, your mind clears and you never want to get out. ________________________________Full review to come @ https://bookerification.com/ 5 stars!!It’s been a while since I’ve given a book 5 stars but this deserves every single star.

*This review is of the ORIGINAL self published version of this book. The new version may have substantial changes. A retelling of the Goose Girl fairy tale as a YA fantasy. This is beautifully written and easy to gobble up with a clean plot and some stunning imagery. At times, I found myself a touch annoyed with the main character, she's quite passive, but this may be a consequence of the source material (after all, that's what most fairy tale heroines are = passive). In the end, I wished the romance thread was a little stronger, but it was nevertheless a hugely absorbing and fun to read.The most amazing thing about this book is the sense of place. It took me back to my archaeology days and through that back into time, in a way that even working with artifacts never has. Truly remarkable.

When a king asks Alyrra's hand for his son in marriage, she accepts happily knowing that she won't have to live with her cruel brother and bitter mother. On her way to the other kingdom, she is cornered by her maid that used some magic from an ancient witch to switch their bodies. At first, Alyrra hated the change but slowly, she learnt to cherish the simple life. No princes, no courtly lessons, no dances... But when prince Kestrin(the dude she was to marry) grew suspicious of the fake princess and ends up discovering Alyrra's identity, they have to do all in their power to save each other from darker forces that threaten to destroy them both.To be honest, the best part in the book was the romance. The book wasn't centered on it and it didn't feel at all instalovy. It was just the perfect amount of cuteness to warm the heart without making it too cheesy. What I also liked was the fact that Kestrin was actually suspicious about Alyrra's identity yet he let her Iive her life like she wanted too. He didn't torture her or force her to be princess again. Kestrin, you're awesome balls.The world building was clear for me, and I really loved the subtle magic that filled the book without overdoing it.If I could change anything about Thorn, I would make Alyrra a little more... Bad-ass? I feel like even though her character was nice, she didn't have the physical action of say Throne of Glass, Graceling or Eona...It doesn't make the book any less good though .I liked it. I'll wait for the sequel.

March 30, 2020:➝ Sum it up in points!✔ retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale: The Goose Girl✔ female protagonist finds her strength & purpose✔ societal themes of justice and entitlement✔ free-thinking Horse + sentient Wind✔ slow-building, genuine romance✔ villainous witch & robinhood-type thief Thorn is YA dark retelling of a fairy tale that doesn't confine to the mere recounting of fantastical occurrences but also explore themes important enough to discuss in a world of injustice, royal hierarchy, and risks imposed by hidden slavers and a revengeful witch. A wonderful storyline that empowers the female lead to strengthen her backbone for others and oneself, it definitely shows women empowerment without the usual support by males deemed necessary in such context. Shocking twists that are largely inspired by the original story, this fantasy hooks anyone interested in secrets capable of exploitation, regretful actions from the past, lost and found identities, and a serving of emotions with all of the above. Another aspect is the commendable representation of trauma that has risen from childhood familial pressure and grown because of constant comparisons to create bad impressions. The slow-pacing of the story is essential to its atmosphere but was a personal drawback. Overall, an emotionally heavy story that depicts excellent character development, especially of a female finding her purpose.➝ Trigger Warnings✔ domestic abuse✔ belittling & bullying✔ animal death (off-page)✔ choking & authoritarian questioning✔ physical & emotional abuse✔ sexual assaultMarch 29, 2020: This took me so many days because I had to keep it aside at around 35% for the tough, traumatic, and slow-paced story line but once I returned, I was hooked because the plot does create more peaks during the later half of the story and I understood the representation from another perspective. Full review to come!March 10, 2020: ✔ retelling of the Goose Girl story✔ royalty & sorcery✔ grounded, naive but strong female protagonist✔ themes of finding one’s voice and standing up for othersFebruary 2, 2020: So excited to be a part of the blog tour for this fantasy retelling of the Goose Girl fairy tale. Received a digital review copy via Edelweiss!

A beautifully-done retelling of 'The Goose Girl.'(http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm089.html)As in the original Grimm brothers' fairy tale, a princess, on her way to meet her betrothed, is betrayed by her maid, who uses magic to force the two to change places. 'Thorn' adds an extra element of magic in that the women don't just exchange clothes; but actually switch bodies.Prevented by a curse of speaking of what has been done to her, the princess Alyrra must make the best of her new situation and adjust to living a life of privation and hard labor - like so many of the kingdoms' subjects take for granted. Luckily, she is an adaptable and resourceful individual - and has the advice of a wise horse to help her through.However, the story does not shirk from the cruel and tragic elements of the original tale, and Alyrra's troubles are not at an end, even when she resigns herself to her fate and makes the best of it. Not to mention - does she have a responsibility to the kingdom to make sure that her cruel former maid, now drunk on her new status, does not get the opportunity to keep on deceiving the Prince and grabbing for power?Fans of this book may also wish to take a look at another take on the story, Shannon Hale's 'The Goose Girl.' https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

“Which of us has not made mistakes when faced with more than we can handle?” First of all, thank you so much to Intisar Khanani for giving us a different kind of heroine who survived physical and emotional abuse. I know the YA fantasy genre already has so many characters who are abuse survivors, but Thorn's special for me because she fought back in a quieter way and her recovery process was gradual and believable. "Thorn" was an emotionally harrowing read because violence against women is one of the hardest topics for me. Since the entire novel was written from our heroine's POV, I had to watch her endure cruelty and feel homicidal rage towards her abusers. Even worse, there were other female characters in this book who suffered terribly. Looking back, I can say that the vicious cycle of abuse and injustice due to lack of action are important themes in this book. These are the reasons why reading this got exhausting for me at times even though I loved the writing and the heroine.Sometimes when we read fairy tales where the heroine does not speak up and fight back, we tend to get frustrated and angry at the heroine. I myself used to feel that way when I read stories with heroines who seemed to be striving for martyrdom. "Why do you let these jerks hurt you like this? Why don't you leave them? How can you forgive them too easily?" Back then I raged because I felt like those heroines deserved better and I wanted them to realize that. Well, I still rage, but I've had a better understanding of those heroines for a while and my anger is now concentrated on their tormentors. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that "Thorn" is one of those books that might help you understand and appreciate those heroines more. “We all need our quiet, I think. We all have our unspoken wishes, hopes we cannot mention, choices we may yet regret." The harsh reality about abuse is that it's so insidious. It tears you apart little by little. Suddenly the day comes that you start to believe all the horrible things your abusers said about you and you lose your voice. Sometimes you just want to run away from that life, responsibilities be damned. That was the Thorn we met in the beginning of the story. She did fight back in her own way, but she did it half-heartedly. I understood why because the author clearly showed that Thorn didn't want that life for herself anyway. She fought back only because she felt like it's the right thing to do for Prince Kestrin. Remember those peaceful (tedious for some of you) chapters where Thorn was enjoying the life of an ordinary goose girl? They were quite boring for me to read, but at the same time I can see why those chapters had to be there. Thorn desperately needed those moments of quiet and comfort considering the constant fear she had to deal with in her homeland. Why fight Valka for the princess role considering all the responsibilities and problems that came with that life? Like Falada, I didn't think Thorn made the right decision back then, but I could definitely sympathize with her feelings. Give the girl a break. You can't expect her to be a noble heroine right away when she still needs to recover from her traumas. (Don't tell me about those feisty heroines who set aside their traumas to save the world. People cope with pain in different ways. Other kinds of abuse victims deserve representation too.) "Perhaps I cannot fix everything in this moment. But I can do this: start somewhere and keep going." Now this was the empowering part of the novel and a big part of the reason why I loved it. As I mentioned above, Thorn's recovery process was realistic and beautiful to see. She made new friends, learned to use her voice more, developed new skills, and found a bigger purpose. The best thing about these amazing changes was that they didn't happen overnight. Right from the beginning, it was already established that Thorn's kind, fair, observant, and hardworking. Those positive qualities just became more and more obvious as Thorn became stronger. Also, let's talk about how Thorn earned the love and respect of her friends. That's another important recurring theme in this book. Kindness is NOT a weakness. By the end of the novel, I wasn't just looking at a princess - I was looking at a future queen who would consistently do her best to fight for what's right and protect her kingdom. "I cannot yet tell him I love him, because we need more time without games and deceit between us to find such love." To those of you who hate contrived romance, you can rejoice now. There was no insta-love and the romance was never the focus of the story, which I liked because that did not take away the focus from Thorn's character arc. You wouldn't be given the stupid idea that true love fixed all of Thorn's problems. On the contrary, the romance was a big part of the conflict, which was a refreshing take on a fairy tale where princes tend to save the day. In conclusion, I am aware that this was more of a character analysis than a book review, but true to the title, Thorn's the beating heart of this retelling. I needed to speak for her and "every girl who has ever doubted she has what it takes" (taken from Intisar Khanani's dedication).

I appreciated this book even more the second time around. It's a beautiful, character-driven story that defies expectations and easy pigeon-holing, feels much more grounded and realistic than the majority of YA fare, but still hits with powerful emotions. --As luck would have it, I became a raving fan of Intisar Khanani's fantasy right around the time that THORN was withdrawn from circulation preparatory to being traditionally published. So...let's just say I've been waiting for this one for a while.And it did NOT disappoint.THORN is gorgeous, mesmerising, leisurely, deep, and gutwrenching. I knew it was also a retelling of the Grimms' fairytale The Goose Girl, which I have always loved and never seen retold before. It is that, and it hews surprisingly close to the original fairytale, but it's also very much its own creation, something startling and new and very far from simple. It's both darker and more mature than fairytale retellings tend to be, but despite (or perhaps partly because) of that it also falls into the category of "YA books I would actually give to young adults."I'm doing a bad job of this. Let me talk about some of the things I really loved.I really loved how the book was challenging and deep and honest about the bad things that happen in life, while maintaining a deft touch that never becomes explicit or melodramatic, and equally gives such things the weight of grief they deserve. It's HARD to walk that line well, but Intisar does it gracefully and I'm so happy that there are books out there like this.I really loved the strong theme of justice - what it is, what it isn't, and why it is important. Everything about it rang so true and went far beyond simple answers and again, I'm so happy this book is out in the world.I absolutely adored the...I almost don't want to call it a romance? Because the heroine is not in love with anyone at any point in this book. THORN is not a love story so much as it's a respect story. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that love stories aren't fantastic. But no amount of love can build a healthy relationship if there isn't a ton of respect, and I think respect is a ton more romantic than it's often depicted as. (Jane Austen knew it. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is explicitly about the importance of respect, yet how often does anyone point that out?) THORN is all about our heroine learning to trust and respect someone who, at times, I despaired of. Their interactions were my favourite scenes in the book because the stakes were so high, and the heroine so vulnerable. I did not know if it was going to work out in a way that would satisfy me, but it did and I'm applauding.THORN is surely one of my favourite reads of 2019. I did think the book could have been a little shorter and tighter. The heroine seemed a whisker passive at times and some of the story elements could have been either utilised more or trimmed - eg., the main villain has a fascinating backstory, but she and her motivations are sidelined for much of the story while smaller conflicts play out. These are issues that I can be super impatient with, so it's a testament to everything this book does RIGHT that THORN kept me eagerly turning pages. I loved it, and I can't wait to read whatever Intisar writes next. 4.5 stars.

It isn't often that I pick up a book that grips me as much as Thorn did. It was highly unexpected, and I sobbed in many parts because it touched me so personally. I will be completely frank. It isn't a perfect book. But it is one of those rare reads that because of the way I feel about it myself, I rate it as a perfect 5 star because I don't really care that it isn't perfect. It's a raw and compelling story and the fierce and unyielding main character compensates for any other missteps. This is the ultimate underdog story. It is based on a story called the Goose Girl and adheres pretty closely to the tale. But although the framework is there, the characters are all Khanani's. No one is black and white (except for possibly 1-2 characters). There are no right or wrong decisions. But there is hardship and rising to overcome impossible odds. That even in the face of no hope, a decision is made to keep going, because it is the right thing to do. I'm choking up just writing these words. I don't think this will be a book for everyone. I don't think everyone will love it as much as I do. But the ones that do will treasure this book forever.

Thank you Intisar Khanani and Netgalley for sending me this book in exchange of an honest review Having never to read Goose girl, I pleasantly enjoy reading this book. The plot was alright, interesting enough to kept me reading for the entire time. Despite the fact that the synopsis seems to empathise a lot on the romance, but the main focus was definitely beyond that. I would have elaborate more but I think it would be better getting in the story without knowing much. The writing style is extremely beautiful, it gribs on the themes of the books perfectly. "Justice is not men beating each other up," Laurel says quietly. "Justice is teaching men that there is a law and, if they don't abide by it, there is an established punishment." I really do like the Princess Alyrra, she's mature beyond her ages as well as that fact that she never acts irrationally. But most of all it's her personality that really sparks my love for this book. She's an extremely kind hearted girl, in defiance of being a princess she is not a spoiled brat, if anything she's considerate and generous always doing things with her best intentions. "Murders make one cold." ..... "It takes away your soul, piece by piece. It turns your heart to stone. Is that what you want?" Prince Kestrin is alright too, not exactly swoon worthy but he definitely makes the book less tense. I love his relationship with Princess Alyrra, they're interactions were extremely rare but cute. Also there's no insta love, which made me love this book even more. "It is easier to be strong when you have a friend supporting you." Overall I give this a full 4 stars :D Hope this helps

I bought this book because of its cover (just look at it, it’s so beautiful!) and expected more or less mediocre YA fantasy. I was surprised to find something completely different. This book isn’t about a kick-ass heroine who’s a trained murderer as it seems to be common these days. It’s about a quiet, insecure and humble princess that learns to face her duties. Sure, sometimes she frustrated me (I sometimes wanted to strangle her and force her to effing TALK), but I guess I’m just so used to characters overcoming their fears so easily that I lost my patience along the way. But looking at real life, overcoming your fears is a long process full of struggles, full of doubting yourself and taking two steps backward after taking one step forward. So, this was a nice change and actually portrayed real character growth very well. This book isn’t about an immaculate prince the princess falls for instantly. This prince is full of flaws, but virtues as well, and the princess faces all of it. And he isn’t the hub of her world, she has so many other things to care about that a romance isn’t on top of her list and that is SO refreshing!All in all, I really liked the story and the writing style. Minus one star because the pace sometimes was pretty slow and the MC frustrating, even if I understood her behavior.