Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay Published by Random House Children's Books on December 9th 2014
Genres: General, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Game of Thrones meets the Grimm’s fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne. It’s been ten years since Princess Aurora’s mother, the Sleeping Beauty, sacrificed her life to give her daughter her magical powers. Aurora knows that magic is never free. The price for hers is that she will never know romantic love. Prince Niklaas is living on borrowed time. Unless he is able to convince a princess to marry him before his eighteenth birthday, he will meet the same terrible fate as his ten older brothers. When Niklaas and Aurora meet under unusual circumstances, they must race to prevent the fulfillment of an ogre prophecy foretelling the end of human life. But will they be able to break their curses? “Compelling and action-packed. . . . The combination of adventure; lovable, complex characters; and a touch of romance make this a book that teens will be drawn to, especially those who appreciate strong female protagonists.”—School Library Journal “The plotting is impeccable, the world building ample, and the resolution neatly done without feeling pat.”—Booklist “The banter between rakish Niklaas and feisty Aurora is crackling with chemistry and wit.”—The Bulletin “We absolutely loved Stacey Jay’s Princess of Thorns, a riveting retelling of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ that's full of action, drama and romance.”—romantictimes.com “Will appeal to fantasy lovers.”—VOYA “Jay creates people with real flaws, but endows them with enough integrity to be characters to respect and want to know.”—examiner.com Praise for Juliet Immortal “The bones of the classic Beauty and the Beast story are all here, imaginatively fleshed out with tropes from science fiction, fantasy, even political drama. . . . Will please readers who like to believe that fairy tales can come true, even under dire circumstances.” —The Bulletin, Recommended Praise for Of Beast and Beauty “The romance is intense, and so is the horror in this strong reversal of the Romeo and Juliet story. . . . Teens will enjoy the macabre fantasy story of forbidden love.” —BooklistFrom the Hardcover edition.
Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay was one of those books that I kept hearing about and once I read the synopsis I instantly wanted to read it – I was not disappointed.
Aurora is the daughter of Sleeping Beauty and she is on a quest to save her brother when she decides to use Prince Niklaas to help her on her mission. Aurora is blessed with strength but the flip side of this is that she also has to live with the burden of a curse. Basically, any man who kisses her loses their free will.
You’re probably wondering why I am mentioning this. Well, Niklaas happens to be on a mission of his own – which is to break the spell his father has cast upon Niklaas and every one of his older brothers. In order to do this, he needs to marry a princess in order to remove the threat of inheriting the throne from his father…guess what happens!
I enjoyed the characters in this book. Aurora is smart, loyal, and willing to do what she needs to in order to protect the people she loves. Niklaas was a solid character as well. Admittedly, the thing I loved most about him was the way he would talk to Aurora when he thought she was her brother. Niklaas is snarky and funny but he also realizes how serious his situation is which makes him very determined. When he realizes that Aurora really is the princess, he is clearly upset and willing to walk away from her because of his inability to trust her.
As the story progresses, we learn more about the blessing/curse that Aurora has to live with as well as the one that Niklaas has to live with. We also see the friendship develop which I enjoyed. As I mentioned, the parts I enjoyed most were when Niklaas had no idea he was talking to a girl. From Aurora’s point of view, we see the friendship turning into something more and eventually, when Niklaas realizes who she really is and after her life is threatened, he comes to view her as more as well. Of course, things happen that I can’t necessarily disclose for fear of ruining the book but things aren’t necessarily easy for either of these characters.
The queen’s storyline was interesting and I found myself wanting to know more. We did learn about how she captured souls and what was really going on but there were only brief snippets mixed in with the rest of the story. I did like how we got to see that she also struggled with who she was destined to be and what was really driving her…which I thought added a great layer to the story.
If you are looking for a story that has action, some magic, and great characters, definitely check this one out. I was unable to put this one down and found myself chuckling at a number of the passages.
Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy.
Aurora is the daughter of Sleeping Beauty and she is on a quest to save her brother when she decides to use Prince Niklaas to help her on her mission. Aurora is blessed with strength but the flip side of this is that she also has to live with the burden of a curse. Basically, any man who kisses her loses their free will.
You’re probably wondering why I am mentioning this. Well, Niklaas happens to be on a mission of his own – which is to break the spell his father has cast upon Niklaas and every one of his older brothers. In order to do this, he needs to marry a princess in order to remove the threat of inheriting the throne from his father…guess what happens!
I enjoyed the characters in this book. Aurora is smart, loyal, and willing to do what she needs to in order to protect the people she loves. Niklaas was a solid character as well. Admittedly, the thing I loved most about him was the way he would talk to Aurora when he thought she was her brother. Niklaas is snarky and funny but he also realizes how serious his situation is which makes him very determined. When he realizes that Aurora really is the princess, he is clearly upset and willing to walk away from her because of his inability to trust her.
As the story progresses, we learn more about the blessing/curse that Aurora has to live with as well as the one that Niklaas has to live with. We also see the friendship develop which I enjoyed. As I mentioned, the parts I enjoyed most were when Niklaas had no idea he was talking to a girl. From Aurora’s point of view, we see the friendship turning into something more and eventually, when Niklaas realizes who she really is and after her life is threatened, he comes to view her as more as well. Of course, things happen that I can’t necessarily disclose for fear of ruining the book but things aren’t necessarily easy for either of these characters.
The queen’s storyline was interesting and I found myself wanting to know more. We did learn about how she captured souls and what was really going on but there were only brief snippets mixed in with the rest of the story. I did like how we got to see that she also struggled with who she was destined to be and what was really driving her…which I thought added a great layer to the story.
If you are looking for a story that has action, some magic, and great characters, definitely check this one out. I was unable to put this one down and found myself chuckling at a number of the passages.
Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy.
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