★★★★☆ Alyrra and Valka -- the backstory

Brambles

Intisar Khanani

** spoiler alert **

Brambles is a prequel to Intisar Khanani's Thorn. I read Thorn first, and because of that I already knew the story told in Brambles. If you haven't read Thorn, this review will contain spoilers. If you have read Thorn, there are no spoilers in this review.

At the beginning of Thorn we quickly learned that Princess Alyrra and her lady-in-waiting Valka are not simpatico. We learn why, but in a sketchy way. Alyrra caught Valka stealing jewelry. Valka blamed the theft on a maid. The maid was going to be hanged for the crime, and Alyrra could not bear that, so she ratted on Valka. Valka was not hanged -- hanging is for commoners. But she was disgraced. We learn all this in Thorn.

Brambles is a novella or novelette that tells that story in detail. It's more than a short story. In fact, there are five chapters. It's good -- I felt I understand where Alyrra was coming from much better after reading it than I had before.

You could read Brambles and Thorn in either order -- it works either way, I think.

Brambles on Amazon

Goodreads review

Comments

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