About Thornspell by Helen Lowe
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Author: Helen Lowe
Length: 309 pages
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 9th, 2008
★★★☆☆ 3.64 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads
Read the first chapter for free →
Thornspell by Helen Lowe Summary
Helen Lowe reimagines the Sleeping Beauty story from the point of view of the prince who is destined to wake the enchanted princess in this lush, romantic fantasy-adventure.
Prince Sigismund has grown up hearing fantastical stories about enchantments and faie spells, basilisks and dragons, knights-errant and heroic quests. He’d love for them to be true–he’s been sheltered in a country castle for most of his life and longs for adventure–but they are just stories. Or are they?
From the day that a mysterious lady in a fine carriage speaks to him through the castle gates, Sigismund’s world starts to shift. He begins to dream of a girl wrapped, “trapped,” in thorns. He dreams of a palace, utterly still, waiting. He dreams of a man in red armor, riding a red horse–and then suddenly that man arrives at the castle!
Sigismund is about to learn that sometimes dreams are true, that the world is both more magical and more dangerous than he imagined, and that the heroic quest he imagined for himself as a boy . . . begins now
More About Helen Lowe
Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, interviewer, and blogger, whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Helen has a second-dan black belt in the martial art aikido and represented her university at fencing.
What Do Readers Say About Thornspell?
“This is practically all I could want and more than I would have expected from a Sleeping Beauty retelling. Truly splendid writing and plot weaving. The magic was so well wound throughout the story and the characters were both real and storybook at the same time. Such a lovely book indeed.” -Tara Sydney
“Thornspell is a great fantasy. Targeted at children and young adult, author Helen Lowe keeps her story true to the fairy tale while incorporating likeable characters, old English myth and a vivid setting full of magic. For a story I thought I knew, Thornspell still managed to pleasantly surprise.” -Beaulah Pragg
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