Blog Tour: Thorn by Intisar Khanani (Guest Post + Giveaway!)

Item: Thorn
Author: Kaity

Posted March 27, 2020 by Kaity in Book Tours, Giveaways, Guest Post / 1 Comment

Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the Thorn blog tour!! I am so excited to be a part of this tour, and I’m even more excited for you to discover what Intisar would do if she spent the day with Alyrra and Kestrin! Plus, follow the rest of the tour and enter to win a print copy of Thorn!

Thorn by Intisar Khanani
Published on March 24, 2020 by Harper Teen
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Retellings
Pages: 512
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A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own
Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.
When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.
But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.
With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for.
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Includes The Bone Knife, a bonus short story set in the world of Thorn.

What are the top five things you would do if you spent the day with Alyrra and Kestrin?

I’d start my day with a morning of horse riding. I may not be much of a horsewoman, but I know my royals – and Menaiyans generally – love their horses, and I think a ride through the plains would be really fun. I hear their beautiful almost any time of year, and I really want to see the pastures where Alyrra has spent so much of her time. Also, my grand plan is to lull Kestrin into a sense of complacency so that once we get back, meet all of Alyrra’s friends in the stable, and head out from there, we can stop off for some…
Street food! Although Alyrra doesn’t get to explore this aspect of the city very much (poor dear), there’s some amazing street food on offer. I’d definitely grab Alyrra by the hand and head for the streets to find what I know, and all the little specialities we both need to discover. I hear there’s flatbreads stuffed with spiced potatoes, and chicken tasties—flaky dough with a savory filling of spiced chicken—and so much more. I’m sure Alyrra would be game, and Kestrin would come along, trying not to look too concerned that he doesn’t have any guards with him. He would probably eventually convince us to go back to the palace, and I’d agree with the ulterior motive of…
Exploring Secret Passages. (YES.) Of course, with this kind of a plan, you have to start slowly, so I’d take my time admiring the palace’s great open-air courtyards, reflecting pools, gorgeous tiled mosaics, and soaring architecture, but I’d definitely talk Kestrin into taking us on a tour of the secret passages that riddle the walls of the palace too. It’s possible Kestrin might find me highly annoying. His loss. He’d probably be quite relieved when I suggest…
An evening at a teahouse: To wind down, we’d head to a teahouse, hanging out on cushions and chatting. Alyrra spent a lot of time living in the stables and working in the fields, so while she knows folks do tea, she hasn’t had much opportunity to just relax in a teahouse. I’m actually feeling kinda bad about this now. I bet Kestrin could help us find one of the best the city has to offer, and then we’d get all the special treatment too! But there’s one last thing I’d want to do afterward, because nighttime is probably the best time for a…
Visit With the Street Thieves. Alyrra and I might have to ditch Kestrin for this, but you know, I’m okay with that. He’s pretty cool, but he’s her OTP, not mine. And I really, really want to meet the clever, dangerous, unexpectedly kind, and distinctly morally grey thief lord, Red Hawk. Just as long as we don’t run amuck of any of his rivals in the city. That could prove problematic…

All in all, I think it would be a fabulous day. Who’s with me? And is there anything on this list you’d love to do – or would really rather not?

Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. Born in Wisconsin, she has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. She first remembers seeing snow on a wintry street in Zurich, Switzerland, and vaguely recollects having breakfast with the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo when she was five. She currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two young daughters.

Until recently, Intisar wrote grants and developed projects to address community health with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. Intisar’s debut novel, Thorn, was picked up by HarperTeen and will be re-released in Winter 2020. In the meantime, she’s hard at work on the remaining books of The Sunbolt Chronicles.