A review by unread_shelves
Thorn by Intisar Khanani

3.75

I had the privilege of meeting the author at a convention in December and she talked me into buying all three of the books in this series. I was so excited to try this series and check out the vibes of this book. I've been after the vibes that popular Young Adult fantasy provides and this book did have some of that. 

Generally speaking, this was super intriguing. There was magic, intrigue, villains, and a little bit of romance. Emphasis on little bit of romance. Alyrra faces a lot of abuse within her royal household. After being bethrothed to the prince of another kingdom, Alyrra journey's to his kingdom in hopes of a better life. During the journey, a mysterious sorceress steals her identity and makes a promise that she is going after the Prince. With the ability to reinvent herself, Alyrra jumps at the chance, while still trying to find a way to warn the Prince of the sorceress's plan.

This gave me what I wanted, but didn't cement itself as a new favorite. I'm intrigued enough to continue in the series, though know that the next book follows different characters. I was, with minor exception, satisfied when I finished this book. 

What I didn't love was that the best character was the talking horse, Falada. I loved the interactions between Alyrra and Falada and his protective nature. Also content warning for animal death. I was disappointed with the fate of Falada.

My main takeaway from this story is that we are all strong in our own ways. Alyrra recognizes that the only way she can make a difference for the people she's created a community with is by reclaiming her identity and saving the Prince. I'm honestly really looking forward to to rest of the series to see what comes of the plot points that were started.

Main characters: Alyrra and Kestrin
Tropes: chosen one, goose girl retelling.
Content warnings: physical abuse, sexual abuse, violence, emotional abuse, death of animal (on page), death.