Thorn (Dauntless Path)
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 in hardcover with a refreshed design and completely revised text, Thorn also features an additional short story set in-world, The Bone Knife.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
Thorn follows Princess Alyrra, who later becomes Thorena on a journey to discover the meaning of justice and the strength inside herself.
Now, while I appreciated the message behind the novel, I have to say I did have a tough time getting into the novel. The reason being is that the plot dragged on. There is much talk of Alyrra being submissive, allowing herself to be a prisoner by making herself a prisoner of her fear, but for much of the beginning, it is unsure how the plot is going to proceed. Moreover, when the plot finally gains some semblance of momentum when she becomes the Goose Girl, it continues to drag on. It feels too long, and a really well-written novel should not feel exhausting to read.
Nevertheless, this novel does deal with a lot of important issues. There is much abuse going on, physical, mental and emotional abuse inflicted on Alyrra that she has to overcome. For Alyrra, it is empowering. The moments when she starts to stand up for herself and finds her voice, those are some of the best moments in the novel and they showcase Khanani’s talent at character development. Alyrra does become fierce but she does not lose her kindness, her goodness, and that is very important.
The novel does raise this argument of justice versus revenge. The fairy in this novel is trying to get justice for her mother but in doing so, has let her need for revenge corrupt her. At one point, Alyrra seeks justice for her friend left for dead in an alleyway, but when faced with the kind of justice she has dealt, she begins to question what is right, what is justice, and how it can be defined. Her sense of right versus wrong is strong and it does raise this question for the reader: when does justice stop being justice? It is a thought-provoking moment in the novel that is addressed in various situations for the reader to see through Alyrra’s eyes.
Overall, while the messages behind the novel are powerful, and the character development brilliantly done, the overall story takes too long to develop leaving those core messages lost on the reader.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.