Medium – Book
About the Book – Princess Alyrra is promised to be married to Prince Kestrin, the heir of the throne of a neighbouring kingdom. Abused and terrorised by her family, she is not particularly keen on the marriage, but at the same time, can’t wait to get away from her mother and brother. On her way to her new life, she is enchanted by a Sorceress and switches bodies with her companion, the traitor, Valka. Valka, who now looks like the Princess Alyrra, sends our heroine to the stables to be the new goose girl. However, this type of life is exactly the one that Alyrra (now nicknamed Thorn) always wanted and she embraces her new life of hard work and friendship. Soon, however, she realises that she can’t just leave Kestrin and the kingdom to the mercies of the sorceress and Valka.
My thoughts – This was a book I received through the Book Box Club, a young adult book subscription box which includes a book (usually signed!) alongside some bookish goodies. I plan to ‘unbox’ my next subscription box on here! The books from the Book Box Club are usually really high quality and Thorn was no exception. I really enjoyed the character of Thorn, who was strong and independent without having magical powers or fighting skills. She seemed like a really normal person, which was great. The other characters, particularly her adopted family in the stables where she goes to work and the thief Red Hawk, are sympathetic and kind, and well developed despite being very much supporting characters.
I also liked how the author included contemporary issues within the story about abuse, race and the issue of consent/rape, without moving to more ‘adult’ content. There are a surprising number of deaths of quite ‘main’ characters, but the deaths always feel like they further the plot rather than just being there for effect. The only reason I have gone for four stars rather than five stars here is because the ending of the book seemed a little rushed, and I am still not quite sure how the actions that took part in one part of the ending led to the actions in the other part. But what I am pleased about it that the author left a big opening for a sequel, which I will be looking out for with interest!
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