Review – Thorn by Intisar Khanani

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review from the publisher**

Title Thorn

Author Intisar Khanani

Description from Amazon

Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life, but when her mother betroths her to a powerful prince in a distant kingdom, she has little hope for a better future.

Until Alyrra arrives at her new kingdom, where a mysterious sorceress robs her of both her identity and her role as princess—and Alyrra seizes on the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl. 

But as Alyrra uncovers dangerous secrets about her new world, including a threat to the prince himself, she knows she can’t remain silent forever. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds, and ultimately must decide who she is and what she stands for.

Release Date March 24, 2020

Initial Thoughts

I’ve had this ARC for a while now (several months to be accurate), and I really wanted to finish it before release date so I’d have my review ready. Full disclosure, I wasn’t super into the summary but I wanted to give it a try anyway. I hadn’t read any other goose girl retellings so this seemed like a good chance.

Some Things I Liked

• An accurate retelling. This story uses many of the original names as well as a very close plot to the story that inspired it, The Goose Girl. I had not read that story before I read Thorn so I enjoyed that element.
• The side characters. I really enjoyed the family Thorn met in the stables and I loved their relationships. I’d love to see more about them in future sequels.
• Falada as the voice of reason. I loved him and was devastated with the turns his storyline took. I hope Intisar Khanani finds a way to incorporate him into sequels.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

• The romance. It wasn’t really present here. I hope it develops more in sequels to this story but I missed it here.

Series Value

I’d continue with this series. It had a bit of a slow start for me and I had a difficult time connecting with the main character initially but the pace picked up and I learned to like Thorn more and more. I would keep reading this series.

Final Thoughts

I liked this book. It had a slow start but it did pick up around halfway through. I liked the characters and I would continue with this as a series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

• The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh – if you like retellings and rich details, definitely try this duology.
• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale – if you liked the idea a Goose Girl retelling, try this standalone by Shannon Hale.