Princess of Thorns was recommended to me by a dear IRL (In-Real-Life) friend and it turned out to be exactly the light, occasionally humorous, fantasy fare I needed at the time.
First off, I would like to inform you that this book is absolutely NOTHING like Game of Thrones or Grimm's fairy tales. It is not as convoluted, or as epic high fantasy, or as miserable as either of two aforementioned comparisons. If I had to compare it to something, I would say it's a semi-confusing mixture of Disney films targeted towards young teens.
Now, I personally don't find anything wrong with that. I just wouldn't want someone picking up the book thinking it's something that it's not. On one hand, we have Aurora. She is the daughter of Sleeping Beauty and fairy-blessed with strength, mercy, and cursed with the ability to suck the free will out of any boy she kisses. She is the token strong female character. I say token because I didn't feel like there was much depth to her. And I think it's because all I really knew of her was her backstory, her amusing back-and-forths with Niklaas, her impressive fighting abilities as a result of being fairy-blessed, and her love for her family. That may seem like more than enough, but there was something missing. She was definitely an enjoyable character, I just don't believe that she is a character strong in mind, body and spirit. There were moments where the author could have elevated her narrative from a run-of-the-mill fantasy story to something with more substance through Aurora's thoughts and actions, but sadly, Stacey Jay let those moments slide.
Aurora's traveling companion was Niklaas, the 11th son of an immortal King. His father was so worried about his sons trying to take his throne that he found a way to curse them upon their 18th birthday. Each boy would turn into a swan upon their majority. See what I mean about the amalgam of Disney and fairy tales? Oh, but it only gets better! Let's throw some Mulan into the mix! Niklaas thinks Aurora (Ror) is a young lad, and hilarity (for us readers) ensue.
I must admit, I'm a sucker for the 'girl-disguised-as-a-boy' trope. I find it absolutely enchanting, probably because for most of my childhood I actually wished to be a boy. It's wish-fulfillment at its weirdest. I can't think of many books out there that pull it off WELL, especially within the YA genre. But I will admit that it did seem plausible within this story, and hence enjoyable. The banter between Aurora and Niklaas was amusing, and did make me smile. I can imagine 13-yr-old me being absolutely enamored with their romance. I was always a sucker for good old-fashioned bickering. I blame that on Indian soap operas. It taught me that bickering = love, a woman who faints for any reason = pregnant, and real passion occurs when your bangles break or when someone is slapped.
When it comes to the setting of this fantasy, everything is dull and easily forgotten. We have fairies/Fey, ogres, witches, kings/queens, princes/princesses, etc. Everything felt plugged in as opposed to organically being part of the narrative. The focus of this fantasy definitely remains on our two lovebirds. I did enjoy their simmering romance, even when, Aurora and Niklaas veered into soap-opera territory many a time.
I did discover a few Indian soap opera clips for you guys to enjoy! We are dramatic people. #myindianchildhood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPR7c7VGowo
