“‘Save the kingdom. Break the curse. Become the villain.’ Born an empath, I have the power – and burden – of hearing thoughts and feeling emotions of others. Retreating from the world, my only refuge is an ancient tower, but my haven is shattered when an injured man arrives with a plea to save the kingdom. Liam is the perfect knight, yet one attribute makes me hesitate. He is immune to my powers. His thoughts are a mystery, his heart an enigma. And while I fear the unknown, I cannot resist the desire to unravel his secrets. For I am Aura, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville. I have joined Liam in his quest to destroy a magical blight that ushers in darkness and poisonous thorns. The closer I get to the source, the more I sense threads of destiny weaving a deadly cage, and at the end of the journey lies a fate worse than death. Eternal slumber.”
What is the book about?
Aurora Eville is an empath, which means she carries the burden of hearing the thoughts and feeling the emotions of others around her, even when she doesn’t want to. To most it seems like a strong power, a gift even, but she is plagued by thoughts and feelings that she doesn’t want to hear and she is unable to shield herself from them. Her only safe haven is the tower where she, her mother and her sisters live, where all she hears are the thoughts of those women, which are usually easy enough to handle. However, one day an injured man arrives and after helping him she discovers that he came all this way in order to get Lady Eville’s help with his kingdom. Liam is the perfect knight, who claims he will protect Aura at every turn, however there is something that makes her hesitate – Liam is immune to her powers. His thoughts and feelings are a mystery to her, but somehow she can tell that she is telling the truth, so she decides to help him destroy the magical blight that plagues the kingdom of Rya. But the closer Aura gets to the source, the more she feels the dark magic that created this destruction and she knows that at the end lies a fate worse than death: eternal slumber.
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
After reading Of Sea and Song I was beyond excited to read this book because of the introduction to Aura’s character and the shocking ending. I love how as each book in this series nears its end and the main character starts to struggle another sister comes to her aid and that sister is the one who then leads the adventure in the next book. So when Aura appeared to help Meri in the previous book, I knew that Of Thorn and Thread would be her story, which made me really excited because I loved Aura after only a couple chapters in Of Sea and Song so I could only begin to imagine how much I would grow to like her in this book. When I finished Of Sea and Song I immediately read the blurb of this book and found myself even more intrigued as I was desperate to learn more about this mysterious Liam and what was happening to his kingdom. I soon began to read Of Thorn and Thread and I’m not joking when I say that I finished it in one night and one morning as I was unable to put it down. Initially I had thought this book was going to be amazing and was so sure there would be twists in the story just like the other books I had read from the Daughters of Eville series and as soon as I started to read I knew I was correct. Of Thorn and Thread was such an easy read from the very beginning and I loved reading it.
Who was your favourite character and why?
My favourite character would definitely have to be Aura. I know some people probably saw her exactly as all her sisters saw her, as the weakest one, as a fragile girl who can barely handle to be around others. However, for me Aura was the strongest one because she went on this adventure knowing that she would probably come back in pieces because of her powers as an empath, but she kept going because of how much she wanted to help Liam and his people. I loved how kind Aura was and how self-sacrificing she was because that’s what I think a true hero should be like. She is someone who is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for that of others and I know that she chooses this path of selflessness because of the fact that she knows that most empaths don’t make it past 20 because they either take their own life or go mad and she wanted to use what little time she had left to help others. Even at the end of the book, when she thought that maybe she and Liam could have a future together she chose to sacrifice that so Liam could live a better life because it wouldn’t be right to make him shield her forever. I liked the way the book ended and how Aura proved that she wasn’t fragile and she had the strength to do what needed to be done, but she is still an empath and of course she would never kill someone (unless they really deserved it).
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
My favourite part of the book is 100% the ending of the book because Aura finally got exactly what she always thought she would never get. As an empath, she always thought she was destined for a life alone, or a life of madness, or an early death, and none of those options seemed appealing. However, when she met Liam she thought there was maybe a chance at happiness. When she chose to leave him to give him the best life possible and once again let her self-sacrificing nature win over, she thought she had lost that life she dreamed of. However, Liam once promised he would always find her and he was not about to break that promise, even after what Aura did to him. So when he did exactly what he promised and did his own sacrificing in order to make Aura happy, she finally got exactly what she deserved and I am so glad for that because no one should have to suffer in the way that she would have had to without this perfect ending.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Of Thorn and Thread was an amazing book overall and there were a lot of things that I liked about it. One of the things that I loved was how this book wasn’t really a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It was obvious that this was what the story was based on (especially since the main character is literally Aurora and there is talk of eternal sleep), however this is one of the most twisted fairy tale retellings yet and I am very grateful for that. In the Disney tale I am familiar with it is the prince who is the hero and he is the one that wakes Aurora from sleep. In fact the fairy tale I grew up with was probably one of my least favourite princess tales, so I was glad to see how different this book was from the original and that Aura was the hero of the story, not the one who falls asleep for hundreds of years. This made the book so much better and made me love Aura even more as she took control of her own adventure and took the role pf protector, hero and villain. Another thing that I liked about the book was the fast pace. After reading so many books by Chanda Hahn I now know that she is the queen of fast-paced fantasy, fairy tale books. I literally devoured this book in less than a day and I was unable to put it down. I think the main reason for the easy read is the fact that so much happens in such a small amount of pages so it feels like time has flown (but it may also have to do with the fact I read the books on my kindle). One last thing that I enjoyed was the ending of the book. A few of the books previous to this one had left me on a cliff-hanger ending, however this book was slightly different because it was not only the end of Of Thorn and Thread, but it was also the beginning of Of Mist and Murder and left me with so many questions. It was such a shocking ending, especially after what the characters and I had thought had happened at the end, and it left me desperate to read the next book. Of Thorn and Thread was amazing and I can’t wait to read the next book in the story.
Would you recommend this book?
I absolutely recommend reading Of Thorn and Thread and I think it is perfect for those over 15 (due to some of the difficult topics discussed in the book) who love to read fantasy, romance and adventure books, and who specifically adore fairy tale retellings.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A magical and emotional read with so many new twists and secrets revealed and some very impactful messages.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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