Book Review: Ten Thousand Thorns

Amazon

Princess Morning Light meditates in a hidden temple surrounded by ten thousand thorns. Guardian of a long-lost sword skill, the princess is destined to wake after a hundred years to return justice to All-Under-Heaven.

Or so legend says.

As the Vastly Martial Emperor extends his brutal domination across the world, rebel leader Clouded Sky flees the capital for the safety of his martial sect at Wudang Mountain. Meanwhile, the renegade martial artist Iron Maiden seeks a hero to awaken Morning Light. As bounty hunters and imperial guards close in, Clouded Sky must determine who he can trust - and who may be planning to betray him.

An action-packed retelling of Sleeping Beauty in the style of a Chinese martial arts epic! Novella, approximately 39,000 words. — Synopsis from Goodreads

She has done it again. If you have followed my blog for any amount of time, you know I am a huge fan of Suzannah Rowntree’s fairytale retellings. I have little background in fairytales, except the ones Disney made famous, but Suzannah not only introduces me to the ones I am unfamiliar with but delivers a new spin on the familiar. Ten Thousand Thorns takes Sleeping Beauty to China in an exciting spin as a martial arts epic. It is beautiful, epic, adventurous, and thoughtful.

Following the journey that Clouded Sky and Iron Maiden undertake, I never knew for certain if this Sleeping Beauty retelling would play out how I expected it would. And, if I am honest, it did not play out how I expected it to. AND I LOVE THAT! This utterly unique retelling will keep you guessing and engrossed, while delivering all of Rowntree’s storytelling trademarks: real characters, vivid world building, and hints of allegory.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Saving Amelie

photograph by me

Finding solid Christian published fiction has become something of a hunt for me. I have made it a habit to scroll through publishing houses upcoming release catalogues online and look through Christian fiction titles on Goodreads. Too often, I scroll through synopsis after synopsis in disappointment. I’m sorry. I just feel like Christian publishing is releasing rehashing after rehashing of the same story on loop. And we can do so much better than this. I really believe we can. We need to broaden the scope of Christian publishing outside of the romance genre and what is classified as women’s fiction. Yes, they have a place but we could be doing so much better. And that is why I became increasingly excited and invested in Cathy Gohlke’s Saving Amelie.

Saving Amelie hosts an intriguing and heartbreaking look at the Nazis work with eugenics and their mission for a pure Aryan race. Gohlke does not take a feel good route with this hard topic. This is hard novel where the characters forced to face hard situations, make hard choices, and ask some really hard questions about their own choices and beliefs. As Rachel and Jason try to smuggle the deaf Amelie out of Germany and away from her SS officer father, they have to grapple with why the Nazis are wrong. And therein lies this book's strength. The characters are not just going on an exciting adventure where everything ends up happily. They are forced to reevaluate their own motives and beliefs and change.

So, yes, I was impressed by this book and have begun tracking down Gohlke’s other novels. I just hope they live up to the expectations that this book has set.