Review: Thorn, by Anna Burke

On a cold day deep in the heart of winter, Rowan’s father returns from an ill-fated hunting trip bearing a single, white rose. The rose is followed by the Huntress, a figure out of legend. Tall, cruel, and achingly beautiful, she brings Rowan back with her to a mountain fastness populated solely by the creatures of the hunt. Rowan, who once scorned the villagers for their superstitions, now finds herself at the heart of a curse with roots as deep as the mountains, ruled by an old magic that is as insidious as the touch of the winter rose.
Torn between her family loyalties, her guilty relief at escaping her betrothal to the charming but arrogant Avery Lockland, and her complicated feelings for the Huntress, Rowan must find a way to break the curse before it destroys everything she loves. There is only one problem―if she can find a way to lift the curse, she will have to return to the life she left behind. And the only thing more unbearable than endless winter is facing a lifetime of springs without the Huntress.

"All flesh, all blood, all teeth and bone and grace". Anna Burke's Thorn is a sapphic Beauty and the Beast retelling with a very evocative and graceful atmosphere. The prose is simple but beautiful, immersive. One can almost feel the biting cold of the land trapped in eternal winter by a curse; in a way, the atmosphere can be reminiscent of the Snow Queen, with the Huntress' castle surrounded by ice, and the wolves and big bear that she hunts with. The element of the rose, from the Beauty and the Beast, is well-incorporated.

The story follows almost all the beats of the tale, giving it its own spin. The Huntress is a fascinating character, enigmatic and inesorable, trapped by her own interpretation of the curse. Her POV is in third person, granting her a measure of mystery. Rowan on the other hand narrates in first person, giving the reader a glimpse into her life and desires. The rest of the characters are given some depth by the narration, especially Rowan's sisters. The resolution gives Rowan more agency, as she has learnt to hunt in her time with the Huntress, and she uses well what she knows. The witch who cursed the Huntress is a character in her own right, appearing more than one would think.

Thorn is a lovely retelling with a unique atmosphere.

✨ 3.5 stars