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A review by sandymaple
A Thorn in Every Heart by Kate King
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to Kate King for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
As a big fan of Beauty and the Beast, I had high hopes for King's first fairytale retelling... and as far as retellings go, this one is pretty solid. Belle and the Beast are there, but this time Belle is in her eighties and from another world, and the Beast... well, he's a narcissistic moron.
Alix is a totally relatable FMC, thrown into an adventure that she didn't know she needed. She finds herself with a slew of new friends (and some enemies...), living someone else's story for the greater good. Daemon is a morally grey, broody MMC, but I would have liked him to have a little more depth. He felt a little bit whiney at times.
While the dual-realm world itself is fascinating and the banter is top notch(!), I did feel that the second half was rushed and the world building in Ellender was lacking. I was missing an understanding of the magic system, which is frequently referenced but never explained, and any kind of depth for the side characters. For example, Daemon constantly hints about his posse members' histories, but we never really find out anything about them or their respective homelands. As a result, they felt somewhat irrelevant. There were also some confusing inconsistencies with nicknames: we start out with Alix, Isabelle, and Odessa, but they suddenly become Ali, Belle, and Dessa in the last quarter (or so) of the book.
A Thorn In Every Heart is a light, easy read that zings with nostalgic references and the tension of forbidden love. This book will be released on April 1, 2025.
As a big fan of Beauty and the Beast, I had high hopes for King's first fairytale retelling... and as far as retellings go, this one is pretty solid. Belle and the Beast are there, but this time Belle is in her eighties and from another world, and the Beast... well, he's a narcissistic moron.
Alix is a totally relatable FMC, thrown into an adventure that she didn't know she needed. She finds herself with a slew of new friends (and some enemies...), living someone else's story for the greater good. Daemon is a morally grey, broody MMC, but I would have liked him to have a little more depth. He felt a little bit whiney at times.
While the dual-realm world itself is fascinating and the banter is top notch(!), I did feel that the second half was rushed and the world building in Ellender was lacking. I was missing an understanding of the magic system, which is frequently referenced but never explained, and any kind of depth for the side characters. For example, Daemon constantly hints about his posse members' histories, but we never really find out anything about them or their respective homelands. As a result, they felt somewhat irrelevant. There were also some confusing inconsistencies with nicknames: we start out with Alix, Isabelle, and Odessa, but they suddenly become Ali, Belle, and Dessa in the last quarter (or so) of the book.
A Thorn In Every Heart is a light, easy read that zings with nostalgic references and the tension of forbidden love. This book will be released on April 1, 2025.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Infidelity, Kidnapping