BLOG TOUR: The Thorn and the Blossom

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers….your online home for bookish goodness any day of the week. Today we play host to a blog tour….exciting, no? Okay, okay….so perhaps surprising is more appropriate what with it being a weekend and all but I’m excited all the same. The funny thing about this particular tour is that nothing really seemed to go right since the moment I signed up…..EXCEPT for the reading. How so? Ah, no worries….as usual, I shall explain….but first let us introduce today’s feature properly. The book of choice for today and blog tour visitor is….

The Thorn and the Blossom

A Two-Sided Love Story

By

Theodora Goss

From the publisher…..

One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever.

When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn’t know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn’t know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself...

The Thorn and the Blossom is a remarkable literary artifact: You can open the book in either direction to decide whether you’ll first read Brendan’s, or Evelyn’s account of the mysterious love affair. Choose a side, read it like a regular novel—and when you get to the end, you’ll find yourself at a whole new beginning.

　

First let’s talk about that binding, or lack thereof. It’s really unique as the description suggests and unexpected just like the story….but….also rather cumbersome like life (on purpose…??). You see, for as beautiful of a presentation that it gave with the gorgeous slipcover and opportunity to greet the story through one character or the other, I was constantly worried about dropping it, bending the connections or worse….tearing the pages. *-* It was an added battle I wasn’t thrilled to take on….but having accomplished the read without any damage occurring, I’d simply recommend this be read whilst one is sitting still, preferably in a comfy position with a lap or desk available to hold said book. Now, on to the story….

Again as stated, you are given the choice….read the book through Evelyn’s voice first or Brendan’s; I chose Evelyn…immediately followed by her “other half” so as to gain a perspective on what we are seeing more clearly. On her side of things, the events recounted have a more magical aspect to them. Even if she can not understand the Green Knight’s story and its similarities to her own present day situation, they’re still there for the reader to make of it what they will. In contrast however, Brendan presents us with a more pragmatic view of the events, less magic more reasoning….but ironically enough he was more in touch with the romance of what was occurring. He loved with all his heart and wore blinders where the outside world was concerned…so focused was he on the one in front of him.

Which did I enjoy more? It’s hard to say since they both offer different insights as to what transpires but my honest assessment would be one should not exist without the other. As every story has at least two sides, this one is in need of those viewpoints to balance what’s real and what’s imagined, the everyday with the otherworldly. Apart they are two parts of the same heart beating in time yet never fully reaping the benefits of such a feat….together…well, together they create a masterpiece although it’s unlikely it would ever have the chance to be viewed (gotta read the story to understand that reference….sorry!)

In short, you go in expecting one thing, come out experiencing another and yet your travels are not in vain. Questions are raised that warrant further investigation (like is the story of the Green Knight one that carries over to our own history?) while the meaning of things seen and felt are left somewhat of a mystery to be sorted out by the reader. After all just as there are two sides (at least) to every story that can differ like night and day, no two reading experiences are ever exactly that same…and this one leaves room for interpretation in spades.

Recommended read for teen readers and beyond….no questionable content of which to speak, but the curiosities explored beg for a slightly more matured mind. Review copy received courtesy of Eric at Quirk Books. (THANKS!) For more information on this title as well as their full catalog, feel free to visit them online or follow them on Twitter.  To check out the book trailer, just click here.


*One final note…for those of you expecting a Q&A post with the author on this stop of he tour, my apologies for leaving you hanging. I had a few questions of my own that weren’t answered I’m afraid and had passed them along but I fear that any reply may have been eaten by the virtual email goat. *darn goat* If they surface, I’ll be sure to pass them along.*


Until next time….happy reading!