Book Review: Ravensong (Green Creek, #2) by TJ Klune

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Ravensong
Series: Green Creek
Author: TJ Klune
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: August 1, 2023 (originally published 2018)
Length: 512 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

The beloved fantasy romance sensation by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about love, loyalty, betrayal, and joy. The Bennett family has a secret. They’re not just a family, they’re a pack . Ravensong is Gordo Livingstone’s story.

Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves. It should have been enough. And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack… and won.

Now, a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them. But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it’s crawling from within. Some bonds, no matter how strong, were made to be broken.

The Green Creek Series is for adult readers.
Now available from Tor Books.

You many have seen my super-gushy lovefest review of Wolfsong, the first book in TJ Klune’s Green Creek series. You may be wondering — can she keep this up? Will she love the rest of the series, and write yet more super-gushy lovefest reviews?

Yes. Yes, I can. Yes, I will.

Ravensong picks up after the events of Wolfsong (read these books in order, my friends!), but also fills in backstory for this book’s main character, Gordo Livingstone.

We meet Gordo in Wolfsong when he befriends a young Ox Matheson, then twelve years old, abandoned by his father, and desperately lost. Gordo takes Ox in, becomes a friend and father-figure to him, and gives him connection, found family, and a place to belong.

Gordo — besides being the town mechanic — is also witch to the Bennett werewolf pack. Gordo’s magic is embedded in the elaborate tattoos that cover his arms. He’s powerful, but he also has secrets and hidden pain.

In Ravensong, we learn more about Gordo’s past and why he holds on to such bitterness toward the Bennetts. As a boy, Gordo watched his father Robert Livingstone serve as witch to the Bennett Alpha, Abel. At far too young an age, Robert and Abel tattooed the magic into Gordo, and introduced him to the world of witches and werewolves. Yet despite the pain involved, Gordo also found a home with the Bennetts, particularly with Abel’s son Thomas, next in line to be Alpha, and with Thomas’s brother Mark, a kind boy slightly older than Gordo who seemed determined to protect Gordo, even when he didn’t want protection.

After tragedy strikes, Gordo becomes the official witch to the pack — but when a fresh, devastating tragedy occurs, Gordo is left behind. He’s abandoned by the people who are supposed to be his family, and he’s left behind by Mark, who only recently declared Gordo his mate. Gordo stays in Green Creek, but he’s hurt and angry.

When the Bennetts return years later, Gordo has made a life for himself with his garage, the group of (ridiculous) guys who work there, and with Ox, his ward and son-figure. And even as he’s drawn back into the life and struggles of the pack, he never forgives them — or Mark — for the betrayal so many years earlier.

The first third or so of Ravensong gives us all of this history, which is touching and allows us to know Gordo in a different, more complicated way than in Wolfsong. For the remainder of the book, Gordo is deeply enmeshed in the pack’s looming battle against dangerous enemies who seek to destroy the Bennett pack once and for all. The danger strikes deeply at the foundations of the pack, and Gordo’s magic is one of the few defenses and remedies the pack has against a threat that’s seemingly impossible to overcome.

What can I say about Ravensong? I felt completely invested in the well-being of the Bennetts and their pack, to the point that I just wanted everyone to be happy and healthy and not be in danger (although that would rule out about 50% of the plot of the book). These characters are all so wonderfully written, and it’s easy to love them all. Can I help it that I’m an emotional wreck when I see character I love suffering? And they do suffer in Ravensong, unfortunately.

Despite its 500+-page length, Ravensong moves quickly. There’s barely time to catch your breath from one dramatic moment to another. And yet, despite how much action there is, there are also beautiful moments of romantic and familial love.

And lest you think everything is completely dire — there are also hilariously funny scenes, especially when the humans of the Bennett pack get involved.

Then Rico said, “Okay, like. No offense, papi. You know I love you. Bros for life, and all that. But did you go a little nuts in your head from the mystical moon magic? Because it seems like you went a little nuts in your head from the mystical moon magic.”

(Okay, that’s not even the best example, but I was so absorbed in reading that I didn’t stop to highlight all the passages that made me laugh or cry.)

While I loved Ravensong, I maybe loved it a teensy bit less that Wolfsong. Gordo is a hard character to know, and while Ravensong shows us so much more of his life and what happened to make him the man he is now, I still felt a little removed from his inner self at times, in a way that was never true in Wolfsong when it came to Ox.

And while I was aware ahead of time that each book in the Green Creek series would have a different main character as its focus, I couldn’t help wishing for more (much more!) time with Ox and Joe in Ravensong. I mean, they’re there, and they’re still vitally important — but their love story is in the background here, and their role is more focused on their importance to the pack… and I won’t say more, because spoilers, ya know.

As I mentioned in my review of Wolfsong, I love the pack dynamics, the mind to mind connection (PackWitchBrotherLove), and the deep love that runs between all of those who belong to the Bennetts — blood family, found family, humans, werewolves, and their witch. I still feel that I don’t know Mark Bennett very well, and that’s maybe why I wasn’t as deeply invested in Gordo and Mark’s love story as I expected to be — but it’s still lovely and affecting, and takes some twists I never would have seen coming.

Ravensong ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger, setting up what’s still to come in the next books. The main action set pieces are resolved, but it’s clear that the threat to the Bennett pack isn’t gone, just regrouping until it strikes again.

Tor Books is reissuing the entire Green Creek series in gorgeous hardcover editions. Ravensong was originally published in 2018, and while the Kindle/ebook edition is available now, the new hardcover will be released August 1, 2023. Hardcover editions of books 3 and 4, Heartsong and Brothersong, will be released in 2024.

I am all in when it comes to Green Creek, and although I’m trying to pace myself and not read them all at once, I’m not sure how long I can hold out before starting Heartsong!

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5Jul2023

Calling on the hive mind! Help me find a story I only sort of remember…

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Books & Authors by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Calling on all you wonderful book lovers and avid readers!

I’ve had a memory of a story in my mind for a while now, and it’s driving me bonkers. I need your help figuring out what this could be!

I read a story for women’s studies class back in college, and here’s all I can piece together about it:

It’s sci-fi / speculative fiction
No idea if it’s a short story or if we read an excerpt from a full-length book
The plot revolves around a society consisting only of women
I think (maybe) men are allowed to live somewhere nearby, and there’s contact between the groups for reproductive purposes
The women have telepathic/empathic abilities
There’s something about a woman sitting up in a tree, using her telepathy to expand her consciouness outward in order to stand watch over the community
Someone who uses her telepathy to invade another person’s thoughts is punished — maybe exiled?
This would have been written no later than the early 1980s.

(I wondered if what I remembered might be connected to Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, but now that I’ve read Herland, I know it’s not.)

That’s about all I remember.

Any ideas?

4Jul2023

Top Ten Tuesday: A Salute to the Red, White & Blue (Happy 4th of July!)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Book Covers In the Colors of My Country’s Flag. Since I live in the US, that makes my colors this week Red, White & Blue!

Here’s an assortment that fits the theme (not sticking with a list of 10 this week):

Starting, of course, with Outlander!

Some others that make a nice red, white & blue pattern:

And a few more that fit!

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Happy 4th of July!

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A final note: I’d love to see your flag-themed posts, so please share your link if you have one!Save

4Jul2023

Happy book birthday to Wolfsong!

Posted in Books & Authors by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Wishing a very happy book birthday to Wolfsong by TJ Klune!

Originally published in 2016, Wolfsong is being reissued TODAY (July 4, 2023) in a gorgeous hardcover edition by Tor Publishing.

I admit to being a wee bit obsessed since reading this book last month (see my review, here). Definitely one of my favorite reads of 2023!

Wolfsong is the first in the four-book Green Creek series. Stay tuned later this week for my review of book #2, Ravensong (new edition to be released August 1st, 2023).

3Jul2023

The Monday Check-In ~ 7/3/2023

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

Happy (almost) 4th of July!

I’m taking the day off today, so that makes it a four-day weekend, and who doesn’t love those? Mostly, I’ve been staying close to home, taking care of some organizing and other projects, and trying to get in some outdoor time too.

We’ll see — maybe I can convince my family to head out in the sun somewhere for a day trip on the 4th!

What did I read during the last week?

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher: I loved this Sleeping Beauty retelling! My review is here.

Longshadow (Regency Faerie Tales, #3) by Olivia Atwater: Sadly, this final book in the trilogy did not work for me. My review is here.

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: My Classics Club Spin book! Even though many of the concepts and ideas are now outdated, it’s fascinating to read this early 20th century take on the concept of a feminist utopia. My review is here.

The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon: A fun 2nd book in a series that emphasizes friendship as well as romance. My review is here.

Pop culture & TV:

Season 7 of Outlander continues to be terrific! We’re now 3 episodes in, and I’m loving how much ground is being covered, and how well the stories are playing out on screen.

On Netflix, it’s still a Manifest project for me. I’m halfway through season 3, and then just have the (very long) final season to go. A lot of it is ridiculous… but I’m too far into it not to see it through.

Fresh Catch:

Two excited new arrivals this week. First, an advance copy of the 3-in-1 paperback bind-up of the first three books in the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. This edition will be released July 18th:

And now for my precious…

I splurged and ordered this special edition of Wolfsong by TJ Klune after reading the book a few weeks ago and falling in love with the story and the characters. Look how gorgeous this is:

This is the Waterstones special edition, and I was hoping to see a similar edition for the next book in the series… but it doesn’t exist (yet??) as far as I can see.

Puzzle of the week:

Pretty tricky, but I got it done!

I realized this week that I’ve accumulated an absolutely ridiculous number of jigsaw puzzles over the past few years, so I put up a Craigslist ad to try to sell a few. We’ll see how it goes. I don’t think I’m willing to put in the effort needed to list them all on EBay.

Has anyone else found a good way to sell (or swap) used jigsaw puzzles?

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Ravensong (Green Creek, #2) by TJ Klune: A long weekend seemed like the perfect time to start a (very) long book. I love the world of this series, and I’m thrilled to be back in it.

Now playing via audiobook:

Passing by Nella Larsen: I’ve been wanting to read this book for some time now, and when I saw it available on Audible with narration by Tessa Thompson (who stars in the Netflix adaptation), I couldn’t pass it up. I’ve listened to half so far — it’s very good.

Ongoing reads:

My longer-term reading commitments:

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon: Over at Outlander Book Club, we’re doing a group read of BEES, reading and discussing two chapters per week. Coming up this week: Chapters 140 and 141 (of 155).
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons: My book group’s new classic read — we’ll be reading and discussing two chapters per week, ending late summer. It’s really fun so far.
The Tempest by William Shakespeare (No Fear Shakespeare edition): I saw a stage version of The Tempest last year, but have never read it. I thought it might be fun to give the “no fear” edition a try. I’m enjoying reading the original text, then comparing it to the “plain English” version on the facing page. I didn’t actually make any more progress this past week — but hope to dive back in and read Act III in the next few days.

So many books, so little time…

2Jul2023

Book Review: The Dating Playbook (The Boyfriend Project, #2) by Farrah Rochon

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Dating Playbook
Series: The Boyfriend Project, #2
Author: Farrah Rochon
Publisher: Forever
Publication date: August 17, 2021
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

When a personal trainer agrees to fake date her client, all rules are out the window in this delightful romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of The Boyfriend Project!

When it comes to personal training, Taylor Powell kicks serious butt. Unfortunately, her bills are piling up, rent is due, and the money situation is dire. Taylor needs more than the support of her new best friends, Samiah and London. She needs a miracle.

And Jamar Dixon might just be it. The oh-so-fine former footballer wants back into the NFL, and he wants Taylor to train him. There’s just one catch — no one can know what they’re doing. But when they’re accidentally outed as a couple, Taylor’s game plan is turned completely upside down. Is Jamar just playing to win . . . or is he playing for keeps?

What a fun bit of escapism! In The Dating Playbook (the 2nd book in a trilogy), Taylor Powell is thousands of dollar in debt, is trying to resuscitate a floundering fitness business, and can’t seem to find a way to dig her way out of her problems. Sure, her best friends Samiah and London are supportive and more than willing to help, but Taylor wants to do it on her own… somehow.

And then Jamar Dixon shows up at her pop-up fitness class. Jamar is a former NFL player whose promising career was cut short in his first season after a devastating injury on the field. Jamar approaches Taylor with a proposition: He’s seen her YouTube videos, and is impressed with her approach to training. She’s also off the grid as far as the NFL is concerned, which is perfect for him. His goal is to work himself back into playing shape with the help of a private trainer, but keep it top-secret to avoid media scrutiny until he’s ready. He offers Taylor the job, and a hefty paycheck to go with it.

The catch? She has to agree to keep it completely secret. The payoff? In addition to earning enough to get herself out of her financial mess, Jamar will also reveal her as his trainer once he goes public and will endorse her fitness business, Taylor’d Conditioning.

When the two are spotted together and Jamar is questioned about whether Taylor is his trainer, she invents a lie on the spot — she’s not training him, she’s dating him. Despite her personal commitment to never date a client, she decides to see this fake relationship through. It’s better for Jamar this way, and she’ll still get the endorsement in the end when the truth is revealed. Meanwhile, she and Jamar put together a “dating playbook” — a way to convincingly act as a couple while secretly continuing the plan to get Jamar back to football-playing fitness levels.

The fake relationship trope doesn’t always work for me, but it’s done so well here that I was willing to buy it. There are solid enough reasons established to allow me to cheer for the ruse while also waiting for the fake-to-real transition to take place. Taylor and Jamar have oodles of chemistry, the sparks fly right from the start, and it’s only a matter of time before they give in to their feelings and mutual attraction.

One of the things I really appreciate about this trilogy (The Boyfriend Project) is how important the core friendship between Taylor, Samiah, and London is. The first book was Samiah’s story, and the third will be London’s, but in each book, all three women get together to support one another, share their joys and worries, and laugh together whenever possible. Too often, the best friend role in contemporary romance novels is tucked away in the background, but in these books, the friendship between the three women is really central to the storylines and the romantic relationships. It’s wonderful to see strong, smart women who are truly there for one another (and I can’t wait to see what happens with London in the next book).

The Dating Playbook spends maybe a bit too much time describing workouts and food planning for me, but that’s a minor complaint. I really enjoyed the main couple’s dynamics, and I appreciated the depth and seriousness applied to the central conflicts in both Taylor and Jamar’s lives.

Taylor’s situation is particularly well told. She thinks of herself as the black sheep of her high-achieving family, the disappointing child who doesn’t have the impressive careers and credentials of her siblings. As she realizes that a lack of a degree is hurting her professionally, Taylor is forced to finally consider why she hated school so much, including acknowledging that she may have an undiagnosed learning challenge at the root of her struggles.

Yes, I still find the sex scenes in this series to be a bit cringey, but there aren’t all that many, so I can abide getting through those in order to enjoy the rest of the story.

The Dating Playbook is a fun 2nd book in an upbeat series, and I look forward to finishing up with book #3, The Hookup Plan.

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1Jul2023

Book Review: Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Classics Club Spin #34)

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Herland
Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Publication date: 1915
Length: 147 pages
Rating:

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A prominent turn-of-the-century social critic and lecturer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is perhaps best known for her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a chilling study of a woman’s descent into insanity, and Women and Economics, a classic of feminist theory that analyzes the destructive effects of women’s economic reliance on men.

In Herland, a vision of a feminist utopia, Gilman employs humor to engaging effect in a story about three male explorers who stumble upon an all-female society isolated somewhere in South America. Noting the advanced state of the civilization they’ve encountered, the visitors set out to find some males, assuming that since the country is so civilized, “there must be men.” A delightful fantasy, the story enables Gilman to articulate her then-unconventional views of male-female roles and capabilities, motherhood, individuality, privacy, the sense of community, sexuality, and many other topics.

Decades ahead of her time in evolving a humanistic, feminist perspective, Gilman has been rediscovered and warmly embraced by contemporary feminists. An articulate voice for both women and men oppressed by the social order of the day, she adeptly made her points with a wittiness often missing from polemical writings.

Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an ahead-of-its-time feminist novel imaging a secret society of women living in an isolated utopia that’s existed for 2,000 years. The plot is narrated by one of a trio of male explorers who “discover” Herland and must learn to adapt to its highly evolved society.

According to Wikipedia:

Herland is a utopian novel from 1915, written by American feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The book describes an isolated society composed entirely of women, who bear children without men (parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction). The result is an ideal social order: free of war, conflict, and domination. It was first published in monthly installments as a serial in 1915 in The Forerunner, a magazine edited and written by Gilman between 1909 and 1916, with its sequel, With Her in Ourland beginning immediately thereafter in the January 1916 issue. The book is often considered to be the middle volume in her utopian trilogy, preceded by Moving the Mountain (1911). It was not published in book form until 1979.

As the book opens, narrator Van and his traveling partners, Terry and Jeff, become obsessed with the idea of locating a hidden land that’s rumored to be inhabited only by women. The men are all scientists of one sort or another, and each has his own attitude toward women. All find it hard to believe that such a place could actually exist, but they finally organize an expedition to discover the truth.

Before arrival, they seem to share a belief that there must be men in this land somewhere, whether residents or occasional guests. How else could this society continue to exist? As well, there’s a doubt about a society of women’s ability to manage — they can’t conceive of women as builders, providers, or growers, and deduce that they must have men’s help. On the other hand, Terry is the womanizer of the group, and while he’s doubtful about the rumors, he’s also sure that a group of women deprived of male company will be absolutely delighted to have him in their midst.

Once the men arrive in Herland, it becomes clear that their expectations are completely off-base. After initial tensions that seem likely to erupt into violence, the men are treated as guests — although without permission or opportunity to leave, they’ve more like gently-treated prisoners. They’re provided shelter, food, and clothing, and the women of Herland begin a lengthy, patient process of teaching the men their ways, culture, and habits.

The men are astonished — Herland is civilized and thriving, with beautiful cities, rich agriculture, and swarms of happy, healthy children. Motherhood is valued above all else, and the women eventually teach the men how their country came to be, and how parthenogenesis spontaneously occurred many generations back, allowing their people to continue to reproduce and flourish.

The men bring with them the expected sexism of their time, and only Terry seems to find it difficult to let the old attitudes go once faced with the reality of a women’s utopia.

Herland examines early 20th century attitudes toward femininity and masculinity, gender-based social roles, appearance and age, and the dynamics of relationships and marriage. Nothing is as the men expect, and their firmly-held beliefs about women’s abilities, about the purpose and goals of wives and mothers, and about the necessity of men to a healthy society are all proved wrong, time and time again.

The writing flows well and contains plenty of amusing outbursts and exclamations each time the men discover some new and unexpected aspect of Herland. I had to laugh over Van’s description of the clothing they’re provided with:

I see that I have not remarked that these women had pockets in surprising number and variety. They were in all their garments, and the middle one in particular was shingled with them.

See? Even in 1915, it’s clear that women’s clothing with pockets absolutely ruled.

After hearing about Herland for years, I’m glad to have finally read it. There is apparently a sequel, With Her In Ourland, which follows immediately upon the events of Herland, showing what happens when a woman from Herland accompanies the men back to the United States. Right now, I don’t feel all that inclined to read the sequel, although I may come back to it at some point down the road.

All in all, Herland is a fast, enjoyable read, with a style reminiscent of the works of H. G. Wells, The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, or other adventure tales of the era. Herland provides a compelling look at the state of feminist theory and literature in the early 20th century. It’s a fascinating story about cultural and gender-based biases and expectations from that time, and has many concepts and situations that resonate even today.

Another terrific read thanks to a Classics Club Spin!

29Jun2023

Book Review: Longshadow (Regency Faerie Tales, #3) by Olivia Atwater

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Longshadow
Series: Regency Faerie Tales #3
Author: Olivia Atwater
Publisher: Orbit
Publication date: August 16, 2022
Length: 263 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Library

Proper Regency ladies are not supposed to become magicians – but Miss Abigail Wilder is far from proper.

The marriageable young ladies of London are dying mysteriously, and Abigail Wilder intends to discover why. Abigail’s father, the Lord Sorcier of England, believes that a dark lord of faerie is involved – but while Abigail is willing to match her magic against Lord Longshadow, neither her father nor high society believe that she is capable of doing so.

Thankfully, Abigail is not the only one investigating the terrible events in London. Mercy, a street rat and self-taught magician, insists on joining Abigail to unravel the mystery. But while Mercy’s own magic is strange and foreboding, she may well post an even greater danger to Abigail’s heart.

From the author of HALF A SOUL comes a queer faerie tale romance full of love and defiant hope. Pick up LONGSHADOW, and return once more to Olivia Atwater’s charming, magical version of Regency England.

Oh dear. I’ll keep this brief: The 3rd book in the Regency Faerie Tales trilogy and I were just not meant to be.

The main character here is Abigail Wilder, the adopted daughter of Lord Elias and Dora Wilder, the central characters from the first book in the series, Half a Soul. In Longshadow, Abigail is now a young adult and a skilled magician. She loves her parents, as well as her Other Mother, Lady Hollowvale — the faerie version of Dora, who has half of Dora’s soul.

Abigail can move in and out of faerie to visit with her other family there, and can also see her brother Hugh, although no one else can — he’s a ghost.

Other than having to put up with the snobby women of the ton, life is mostly pretty good for Abigail, but when other young society women start dying unexpectedly, she’s drawn into investigating the circumstances. As she gets more deeply involved, Abigail encounters a strange woman named Mercy, whose magical gifts are very different than Abigail’s. Mercy encourages Abigail to give her imagination free rein, and together, they explore the unexplained deaths as well the feelings growing between them.

I really did like the first two books in this trilogy, but Longshadow was one long slog for me. The plot just did not come together in a way that made much sense, and frankly, I found the plotline regarding the murders and the involvement of Lord Longshadow and ghosts not wanting to cross over all very confusing — and not in a fun, “can’t wait to figure this out” sort of way.

Mostly, I was just frustrated. Mercy feels unknowable, and the relationship between Mercy and Abigail feels more like checking a box than anything with true feelings involved. Definitely not enough Elias and Dora, and while Euphemia and Jubilee (from book #2) make an appearance, they don’t actually get much to do — it feels more like a cameo for the sake of seeing them than anything more substantive.

I really had to force myself to finish this book. I’m glad I did, since I would have wondered about the wrap-up of the trilogy otherwise, but all in all, I did not have a particularly good time with Longshadow.

28Jun2023

Book Review: Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Thornhedge
Author: T. Kingfisher
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: August 16, 2023
Length: 128 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story.

Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling, to return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?

But nothing with fairies is ever simple.

Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He’s heard there’s a curse here that needs breaking, but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…

This slim novella is a fabulous fairy tale retelling… and at this point, the fact that T. Kingfisher has written yet another amazing story should come as no surprise to any of her fans.

In Thornhedge, we get the Sleeping Beauty story, but turned inside out and sideways. The main character is Toadling, a kind-of human (or is she a fairy?) who can shapeshift into a toad. She’s described as:

… the greenish-tan color of mushroom stems and her skin bruised blue-black, like mushroom flesh. She had a broad, frog-like face and waterweed hair. She was neither beautiful nor made of malice, as many of the Fair Folk are said to be.

Mostly she was fretful and often tired.

Toadling is a character who waits, always remaining near the thorn and bramble-covered castle as generations of people come and go across the barren lands nearby.

But Toadling was originally a human child who was stolen off to the world of faeries and replaced by a changeling baby. Toadling was raised with loved by a family of scary sea monsters, but eventually she’s called back to deal with the changeling who replaced her.

Years later, a kind knight stumbles across Toadling and the abandoned keep, and wants to solve the mystery of the girl in the tower — but once Toadling shares her story, it’s clear that waking the princess may not lead to the fairy tale ending everyone expects.

This is such a creative spin on the Sleeping Beauty story, and I loved it! At novella length, Thornhedge makes use of every word and chapter to let us know Toadling, her worries, her struggles, and her sorrows, as well as her memories of a loving childhood and her desire for a different future.

There are scary beings and horrific moments too, but overall, this is a lovely story about a highly unusual fairy tale heroine.

I loved it!

27Jun2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing In the Second Half of 2023

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2023.

There are so many books I’m looking forward to! Here are some highlights that I’m excited to read during the 2nd half of 2023… trying not to repeat the books highlighted in last week’s summer TBR post (except for the October Daye books, because those are absolutely at the top of my “most excited for” list this year!!).