Review: Thorn (Dauntless Path #1)

Thorn by Intisar Khanani
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author Intisar Khanani's Thorn, first novel in the Dauntless Path series, is a revised version of her original indie published novel. Increased by more than twenty thousand words, the story has been polished, revealing more worldbuilding details, while retaining the same rich character development that the original novel enjoyed. The story of Princess Alyrra centers on the choices one makes and the temptation to avoid onerous duty. Alyrra comes from an abusive family background and is a princess of a minor kingdom, Adania. Her mother and brother openly dislike her (due to events recounted in the author's story, Brambles) and are surprised when the king of neighboring Menaiya makes a visit requesting Alyrra's hand in marriage for his son, Kestrin. No one is more surprised than Alyrra herself, however. Alyrra departs Adania with only her hostile lady in waiting, Valka, on hand. Along the way, dark magic transforms the two girls, leaving Alyrra to be cast away once Valka arrives in Menaiya in Alyrra's place. But Alyrra, against all the odds, seems to thrive in her simple role as a goose girl. As in Adania, her kindness makes the hostelers that she lives with take her under their wing, and her willingness to take risks to help others, so evident from her life in Adania, unexpectedly makes her a powerful friend in Menaiya's shadowy underworld. Despite these boons, Alyrra struggles with her personal responsibility and her knowledge that trying to regain her position would be more than doing her duty by the prince she was to marry- it could permit her to make positive changes for all those who live in Menaiya's capital city of Tarinon.

Fairy tale retellings have become increasingly popular in the past twenty years, but often the reader finds, other than some initial similarities, it hard to find the architecture of the original story. Thorn, a retelling of the Grimm Brothers' goose girl story, remains an artful exception in that Khanani has managed to retain the all the elements of the original story (including the ill-fated Falada, who too many readers seem not to realize is in the Grimm brothers' original tale) while envisioning a vibrant world, full of choices for Alyrra. This revised version of the novel allows the reader to explore Alyrra's psyche in greater depth. While the pace is a bit slower, the novel benefits from a somewhat clearer exploration of how magic works in Alyrra's world.

This edition of Thorn is bound with a novelette, The Bone Knife (also previously published as an indie story), which introduces us to the character Rae. Set in the same world of Menaiya, Rae will be featured in the second novel in the Dauntless Path series, Theft of Sunlight. Upon traveling to Tarinon, Rae will help, at Princess Alyrra's request, to investigate the child-snatching in Menaiya.

The audiobook of Thorn, beautifully narrated by Shiromi Arserio, includes The Bone Knife.

CW: animal cruelty (on the part of the villain), rape and murder of secondary character, public execution.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book from the author and a Digital Review Copy from HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review.

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My Review of the original edition of Thorn from 2016:

A delightful re-envisioning of the story of the Goose Girl by the Brothers Grimm. In the beginning, it felt as if this novel started as an interesting writing exercise. But the character development was so rich that the reader becomes transported by the story, even though anyone who knows of the original fairy tale knows of its happy ending. This is a story in which magic can be found simply, in a kind heart and a desire for true justice. My only loose end was that we lose track of Falada, the beloved and wise Horse. Where is his head?

An enchanting read by an author I'm so glad to have discovered.

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Want to buy a copy of Thorn from your local independent bookstore? Click HERE.

Want to buy the audiobook copy of Thorn and have a portion of the sale benefit your local independent bookstore? Click HERE.

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