Hardcover, 128 pages
Published Aug. 15, 2023 by Titan Books.
There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story.
Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?
If only.
Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He’s heard there’s a curse here that needs breaking, but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…
This fun fairy tale novella is a reversed sleeping beauty situation. The hapless toad fairy and awkward knight are good-natured and trying to do their best, while the sleeping beauty is the dangerous one.
This has all the things I like out of T. Kingfisher's similar works: interesting characters and a fresh take on an old tale.
