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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Struggle over struggle, Thorn is faced with one too many emotional and physical challenges. I ached so much for the injustice she faced throughout all the book (and cried my eyes out at Falada's death even though I knew it was coming)
Alsoso relieved to finally have a love relationship in which the character do not end up forcibly kissing and making out but want some time to get to know each other out of the dangerous times they both have been in 🥹
Also
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
Ok, I don't get all the 4 and 5 star reviews. I found this at times confusing and felt like I must be missing details which would make it all make sense, especially around the middle of the book. Characters often did things which made absolutely no sense in context, as well. And all the people who like the lack of insta-love, I can appreciate that, but could we at least have a LITTLE bit of it? You see the prince's love for her, but she's all cold fish toward him the whole time. Blah.
- Not going to lie, I found this book... frustrating lol. It had so much potential and it just fell a bit flat for me
- I really loved the start of the book! The beginning was so strong, and it really pulled you in and got you invested, but pretty much the minute she got to Kestrin's kingdom it just fell off the rails for me. Alyrra (aka Thorn) went from being this strong character to someone who was kind of selfish and just let bad things happen to people because she didn't want to have to be princess.
- There wasn't really much of a plot for the middle of the book, it was just an internal monologue/struggle of Thorn. She would be mad that bad things were happening and that royalty wasn't doing anything about it, but she was literally doing the same thing by not trying to become princess again.
- There was magic and mages in this world, and it comes up quite a bit in the beginning, but then nothing happens with it. It just kind of exists in the world but never really gets explained or used
- There were just a lot of things that were happening in the middle of the book that didn't actually add anything to the overall plot and just felt like fluff.
- Not going to lie, the ending REALLY annoyed me. It was set up to be so cool, and then the final confrontation is literally a conversation and then the villain never faces any consequences for what she's done and only her underlings are punished. And that was the end of the story. It just didn't give me any closure in the story and felt incredibly unfair to the underlings (who, even though they did bad things, were ultimately just pawns of the big villain, who was just let free to wander).
- Overall, I think the book could have been really good, but the plot was just going in too many directions and not really being tied together. The beginning of the book I loved, but the rest of it I just wasn't a fan of.
.
PS. Read trigger warnings before-hand. There was quite a bit of abuse and sexual assault
- I really loved the start of the book! The beginning was so strong, and it really pulled you in and got you invested, but pretty much the minute she got to Kestrin's kingdom it just fell off the rails for me. Alyrra (aka Thorn) went from being this strong character to someone who was kind of selfish and just let bad things happen to people because she didn't want to have to be princess.
- There wasn't really much of a plot for the middle of the book, it was just an internal monologue/struggle of Thorn. She would be mad that bad things were happening and that royalty wasn't doing anything about it, but she was literally doing the same thing by not trying to become princess again.
- There was magic and mages in this world, and it comes up quite a bit in the beginning, but then nothing happens with it. It just kind of exists in the world but never really gets explained or used
- There were just a lot of things that were happening in the middle of the book that didn't actually add anything to the overall plot and just felt like fluff.
- Not going to lie, the ending REALLY annoyed me. It was set up to be so cool, and then the final confrontation is literally a conversation and then the villain never faces any consequences for what she's done and only her underlings are punished. And that was the end of the story. It just didn't give me any closure in the story and felt incredibly unfair to the underlings (who, even though they did bad things, were ultimately just pawns of the big villain, who was just let free to wander).
- Overall, I think the book could have been really good, but the plot was just going in too many directions and not really being tied together. The beginning of the book I loved, but the rest of it I just wasn't a fan of.
.
PS. Read trigger warnings before-hand. There was quite a bit of abuse and sexual assault
It's fair to say that I have a soft spot for fantasy and fairy tales, and an even softer spot for heroines that kick ass, particularly those who do it in quiet, humble ways. After a reading slump, I especially needed a character that was a fighter, masked though it may be behind uncertainty and meekness. What I loved most about this was Princess Alyrra herself and the quiet strength she displays throughout, though the way she exhibits it may often be mistaken for cowardice, weakness or avoidance. Another thing I loved about this (as I did with the other Goose Girl retelling) is the pervasive theme of what is possibly my favorite trinity for discussion: justice, mercy, and revenge.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is the literal opposite of a Sarah J Maas book. In a typical SJM, the leading lady is daring and outspoken. She is outmatched in a bloodthirsty game of Fae courtly intrigue, but through friendships, alliances, training and resilience, she grows to be her enemies' equal in strength and superior in righteousness. She is often the subject of multiple characters' affections, and must be careful to whom she trusts her heart.
In Thorn... *weary sigh*...
1) The main character is a coward. She flees every opportunity to interact with another human being, preferring the cozy company of barnyard animals. She knows she has been cursed by a Fae, and refuses the repeated offers for help from the only other magical person she knows! Even when the plot forces her into a conflict, she either runs away, or blacks out and gets rescued, until the last 30-40 pages of the book when she talks the Fae-tagonist into simply letting her go out of mercy.
2) The typical YA Fantasy love triangle is set up, but not explored in any way. The protagonist actively tries to avoid both the magical prince and the prince-of-thieves, spending huge portions of the book wandering the pastures and streets in contemplation. Even though both young men offer her friendship, she declines, and accepts her ill fate almost contently. Even as other women and children in the kingdom suffer under the courtly drama that the protagonist will do nothing to address, she refuses to "play The Game of Thrones" as it were, fearing that both offers of friendship are disingenuous (despite an enormous amount of evidence to the contrary!). It takes her until the last 100 pages to seek them out, and by then it is too late to protect anyone. Lives could have been spared if the protagonist had interacted with anyone in any way: platonically, romantically, manipulatively - in any single way!
3) The moral of the story seems to be "If you see something, say something." Because for 40o pages, the protagonist witnesses abuse, but keeps to herself. And in the last 60 pages, she has a philosophical debate with every major character about the nature of Justice, and she talks the villain into giving up her bloody revenge. This confrontation is presented as a moment of strength and growth, as if the protagonist speaks for all women wronged throughout history. But it comes across hypocritical, pathetic, and unearned, given how much her own inaction harmed everyone around her. It's dissatisfying to have a realm full of dangerous magical enemies threatening a climactic confrontation... and it all boils down to some girl saying, "Don't."
4) The magic of this world is pointless. It doesn't mirror the protagonist's own personal growth. It isn't used in creative, karmic fashion. Things set up in the beginning do not matter for the conclusion. This entire story could have been told without magic, and it would have been the same book.
About 200 pages in, the protagonist was thinking to herself while out in the pasture: "I wish I could skip to the end of my story." If the main character didn't want to be in her own book, why on earth would any reader. SKIP!
In Thorn... *weary sigh*...
1) The main character is a coward. She flees every opportunity to interact with another human being, preferring the cozy company of barnyard animals. She knows she has been cursed by a Fae, and refuses the repeated offers for help from the only other magical person she knows! Even when the plot forces her into a conflict, she either runs away, or blacks out and gets rescued, until the last 30-40 pages of the book when she talks the Fae-tagonist into simply letting her go out of mercy.
2) The typical YA Fantasy love triangle is set up, but not explored in any way. The protagonist actively tries to avoid both the magical prince and the prince-of-thieves, spending huge portions of the book wandering the pastures and streets in contemplation. Even though both young men offer her friendship, she declines, and accepts her ill fate almost contently. Even as other women and children in the kingdom suffer under the courtly drama that the protagonist will do nothing to address, she refuses to "play The Game of Thrones" as it were, fearing that both offers of friendship are disingenuous (despite an enormous amount of evidence to the contrary!). It takes her until the last 100 pages to seek them out, and by then it is too late to protect anyone. Lives could have been spared if the protagonist had interacted with anyone in any way: platonically, romantically, manipulatively - in any single way!
3) The moral of the story seems to be "If you see something, say something." Because for 40o pages, the protagonist witnesses abuse, but keeps to herself. And in the last 60 pages, she has a philosophical debate with every major character about the nature of Justice, and she talks the villain into giving up her bloody revenge. This confrontation is presented as a moment of strength and growth, as if the protagonist speaks for all women wronged throughout history. But it comes across hypocritical, pathetic, and unearned, given how much her own inaction harmed everyone around her. It's dissatisfying to have a realm full of dangerous magical enemies threatening a climactic confrontation... and it all boils down to some girl saying, "Don't."
4) The magic of this world is pointless. It doesn't mirror the protagonist's own personal growth. It isn't used in creative, karmic fashion. Things set up in the beginning do not matter for the conclusion. This entire story could have been told without magic, and it would have been the same book.
About 200 pages in, the protagonist was thinking to herself while out in the pasture: "I wish I could skip to the end of my story." If the main character didn't want to be in her own book, why on earth would any reader. SKIP!
Decent retelling of the Goose Girl fairy tale! I was frustrated at times with Thorn/Alyrra's inaction & indecision throughout the book, but in actuality it made sense for her character to act in the ways she did given her upbringing in the book. Definitely touching & a good, quick read :3
Really enjoyed this book, though I did feel that maybe too many storylines were being juggled. Perhaps this was building into the series.
Good but dark for me, too meandering in the middle and I'm not a fan of first person present tense.
Great twist and characters but it didn't draw me in the way I had hoped.
Great twist and characters but it didn't draw me in the way I had hoped.