#dauntless path

some sketches of the mother dragon from The Tears of a Dragon by Intisar Khanani

He looks up, blinking as he focuses on me, and smiles. There is neither mockery nor flattery nor cruelty in it. It is the quick, instinctive smile of a man whose gaze alights on something he likes. It shocks me to my core.

Alyrra & Kestrin | Thorn, Intisar Khanani (underappreciated book 16/?)

One of the things that interests me about “The Goose Girl” fairy tale is that the princess’ magical horse, who is murdered but continues to advise his mistress as a severed head, is very specifically named Falada. In fairy tales, people are often just “the princess” or “the witch” or “the beast”, but Falada gets a name.

The decapitated magical horse speaking from beyond the grave is such a strange element that I wonder if it doesn’t come from a different, perhaps earlier folkloric strain -- which might account for why the horse has its own identity. This is just a wild guess though.

@fictionnet event 08 - favourite book.

“I believe going to court is rather like going to war: one must wear the appropriate armor, or expect to be stabbed through and trampled underfoot.”

Only Rae knows the extent of the corruption at the heart of the kingdom of Menaiya, from the noble lord who betrayed her, to the Circle of Mages whose wards protect the slavers from discovery. Injured and imprisoned on a slave ship, Rae’s options are quickly running out. When a desperate escape attempt goes terribly wrong, she finds herself indebted to a terrifying Fae sorceress. Now Rae will not rest until she has rescued her fellow prisoners and freed her land from the darkness that has taken hold. To succeed, she’ll need every ally she can find—including Bren, the thief who may have stolen her heart. But Bren is hiding his own bloody secrets, and the curses that encircle Rae have sunk their claws into her mind. With her debts coming due and time running short, all the truths in the world may not be enough to save her kingdom, or herself.

(image source: Piotr Arnoldes @ pexels)

YA World Challenge Review for: 🇲🇦 Morocco (*inspired)

Thorn

Author: Intisar Khanani

This is mainly a fantasy world, so I am stretching a bit by categorizing this book into a real-world country. According to the author, the prince’s land is “lightly based on North African (and specifically Moroccan) culture”, if you “squint enough”. So let’s squint a little.

There are 3 books and a few short stories in this world - Thorn is the first and stars Alyrra (a European-ish girl betrothed to a foreign prince), and after that is a duology told from the point of view of a Middle Eastern-ish girl.

Review

This review is for Thorn. The story is meant to be based on the fairy tale of the Goose Girl, which I actually know nothing about (and I didn’t read it first, in case of spoilers). We start with Alyrra, a princess of a small backwoods European-ish country who is despised and abused by her mother and brother for being “stupid” and “honest”. (We learn her infamous “honesty” came from a specific incident of snitching on a court lady to save a servant from being blamed.)

At first the storyline seemed pretty standard - kind, misunderstood princess is betrothed and sent to unknown, scary land with undercurrents of intrigue and magic. And then we get....

BODY SWITCHING.

And Alyrra goes “Yes! I am free! I can live my own life now!” and I love this reaction. She’s just gonna run off with this other girl’s body and live the life she’s always dreamed of. And this is what she must struggle with for much of the book - for as much as she would like to quietly start a new life, she can’t be left alone.

So though there is little action through the book, there is quiet character development mixed with intrigue and evil sorceresses.

I liked how her relationship with the prince never jumped right into romance or even attraction. I thought the prince was a well-developed character, being neither the snarky asshole or the ‘nicer than those other nobles’ tropes, but somewhere in between.

I appreciate that Khanani weaves the PTSD of Alyrra’s brother’s abuse into her reactions and personality, making it feel real, as well as the quiet inclusion of prayer-as-meditation that was always very personal and not religious.

Recommended for: Those looking for a quiet fantasy with an intriguing premise and themes of justice.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   5 stars

Other reps: #no romance

Genres: #fantasy world #magic #royalty

Read it at: Bookshop.org  |  Scribd  |  Kobo ebooks