SarahS @ Wondrous Readings
This is not a retelling of Sleeping Beauty instead it's more of an extension of sorts. It was the story of Sleeping Beauty's daughter, Aurora, and son, Jor.
I really liked the relationship between Princess Aurora and Prince Niklaas. The humor between them was hilarious. It was NOT instant-love, in fact they hated each other, once Niklaas found out about Ror being a girl. I also loved that there was magic and fairies and ogres in the story, and the other fairy tale characters mashed in the book as well. Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel. There was also a twist of The Swan Princess.
I had a hard time getting into the story but after the first few chapters it picked up for me. Normally I really dislike multiply POVs but this was different, I found myself flying through the entire book. Aurora was a great heroine, she was strong and goodhearted even if she was a little stubborn. She really cared for her brother and would do anything to take care of him, including give herself up to save his life. And I didn't really like Niklaas at first, he seemed conceited and too-good-for-anybody, but I soon warmed up to him, I found it is just part of his charm. The Ogre Queen and all the ogres, were terrifying characters, how they stole human souls. The ending was wrapped up nicely but it felt a bit rushed.
Princess of Thorns was my first Stacey Jay book and I will be looking forward to reading her other books. I'm really interested in Of Beast and Beauty. I can see why people love her books, her writing was great.
Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.