Princess of Thorns

By: Stacey Jay

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy, yet she is cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and to free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora's throne 10 years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it's too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise keep them from ever finding their one true love?

©2014 Stacey Jay (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"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)

Great story, great chemistry, great fun!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a little magic and fairy tale. This is not a remaking of Sleeping Beauty, but the main character Aurora is the daughter of Sleeping Beauty and she is Fey blessed. She needs to save her little brother from the evil, and very disturbing, Ogre Queen Ekeeta. She meets Niklaas and he believes that she is her younger brother. The two travel together, arguing and teasing and getting to know each other. It's a good story!

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I really loved the story, honestly, it made me smile so often. And I read reviews from some people who didn't like it and they commented the the development of the world was lacking. And I agree. I would say, most people do not know the original Sleeping Beauty story and this book was based off THAT story. So, I think it would be have been better if she'd included a synopsis of that story or something in order to better set the world they were in. Otherwise, you have questions that you don't get answers to at all. I decided to read a synopsis of the original story and suddenly the whole book made sense. I was never lost after that point (Wikipedia). Aurora and Jour (Jor in this book) are the actual children of Sleeping Beauty.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a lot, shook my head a lot, teared up some too. It was a charming story and I'd very eagerly read it again. At first I didn't like Julia Whelan's voice for Niklaas but it didn't take more than a couple chapters before I knew it was perfect for his hysterical character.

Any additional comments?

Aurora and Niklaas enjoy a very interesting relationship. As for most of the book, he believes she is a 14 year old boy, he talks to her about things he wouldn't talk to a girl about. He's quite cocky and proud of himself and has had his fair share of girls. He likes to inform "Ror" as he calls Aurora, about what women like and so on. Aurora's reactions are funny, her argumentative nature is funny and the way the two play off each other is wonderful.

I did like the climax of the book as well. It was short and unexpected, but it had me worried and wondering what was going to happen next. I like books where I am surprised by people's actions, rather than expecting them and this book more than delivered!

Fairyblessed

Aurora is "fairy blessed", and is much more a soldier than a princess, off on a quest to save her brother and her people. In fact, Aurora is so much more like a soldier that she dresses as a boy to disguise herself.
Niklaas has a curse of his own, and they join together on a quest that takes them through dangerous territory and through dangerous battles.
On the road to save a kingdom, will they also save each other?

Things I loved about this book: Soul eating Ogres, fairy magic, seers, Ogre eating trees... so much awesome magic in the background!

What I didn't love:
Its just a bit heavier on the romance and the swooning than I'd prefer. I'd prefer a little more soul eating ogre and a little less he loves me he loves me not, but that's my own preference.

Overall, I found the book enjoyable and give it a solid 3 stars.

Very entertaining!

Fun story! I didn't want it to end. It was a well written adventure/love story.

Sweet fairytale with an awesome narrator

First of all, Julia Whelan is now officially on my favourite narrators list. Her voice is easy on the ear and shows a full range of emotions. She's certainly enhanced the story with her performance.

As for the story itself. Wow that was such a fun and very sweet fairytale full of romance and adventure! It's light hearted yet not light on twists and turns. This is the first book of Stacey Jay that I've read but I now look forward to checking out her other works.

Story had promise but lost its steam progressivly

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Nothing, really, just kind of lost interest with the storyline. I'm not a big fan of story lines where the entire plot is basically just the main characters being chased from place to place and that's pretty much all this was. Constantly running with little to no interaction between the two main characters but ALOT of inner monologues.

Has Princess of Thorns turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I still enjoy the re-telling spin offs of myths, legends, and fairy tales.

Have you listened to any of Julia Whelan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not heard Julia Whelan's other performances. My issue wasn't with the narration, though. It was with the story itself.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not for me.

Any additional comments?

I'm not saying it was a bad book, someone else may enjoy it more then I did. It just wasn't the kind of story I enjoy is all.

Good teen adventure

What did you like best about Princess of Thorns? What did you like least?

I enjoyed the narrators. They did a good job. I bet teens will love the story, but it was a little young for a 50 year old like me.

What about Julia Whelan’s performance did you like?

Both performers did a great job. Very easy to listen to.

Do you think Princess of Thorns needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Teens might like a trilogy, but I wasn't thrilled enough to read any more.

Princess of Thorns

Would you listen to Princess of Thorns again? Why?

Yes. I really enjoyed the narration it was done really well and made the story extremely enjoyable and fun to listen to.

Love this story

I love this story, and I really like Julia Whelan as a narrator in general. Except in this instance, I didn’t like how she voiced Niklas—I think it would have been better to get a male narrator for that point of view.

Wonderfully magical!

Gahhh this book was perfection! It had so many magical elements! A princess disguised as a boy on a journey with a steamy hot cursed prince to gather forces against a troll queen! Need I say more...no! This book was epically beautiful!