Thorn

By: Intisar Khanani

Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio

Hunted meets The Wrath and the Dawn in this bold fairytale retelling—where court intrigue, false identities, and dark secrets will thrill fans of classic and contemporary fantasy alike.

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.

Originally self-published as an ebook and now brought to life with completely revised text, Thorn also features an additional short story set in-world, The Bone Knife.

Great reader

The reader did a great job with this take on the story of the goose girl. The ending of the story felt a little rough and unfinished to me. I was also a little let down that the heroine couldn't give the hero a little more of herself. After everything he did to prove himself, she was still stilted with him. I feel like there needs to be a sequel or just more there. With all of the relationships. That all said, the story is different and mostly interesting.

A Goose Girl with a violent past

I wasn’t sure about this book because I absolutely LOVE Shannon Hale’s book Goose Girl. Thorn is excellent in its own right. Thorn has had a violent and sad past, but remains a kind and compassionate character with courage. This book is unique and interesting.

Powerful Book, Beautiful Narration

The narrator does such a good job bringing to life this amazing book! She captures such heartache and beauty with her voice and does justice to this well-crafted story.

Read or listen - for reals

Hot oh-my-gods. This book takes me for a ducking spin. Plot twists giving me anxiety 😦 Balling my eyeballs out. On edge over every critical moment. Forget about sleep - book bender on hand. Sweet baby kittens… text messages to my sister and wine for baby Yoda’s sake!
Read or listen. Bro. For reals.

I couldn't stop listening!

Thank God, I started this book on a day off from work, because I just couldn't stop listening. I finished it in a day and a half. The fantasy world is so unique, and doesn't have overused fantasy tropes. I would highly recommend this book.