LoveReading Says
“Love was a leap of faith”. “Love made life rich”. These sentiments underpin Kat Dunn’s fairy tale infused Bitterthorn, a brilliantly spun Sapphic love story that evokes elements of Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin and Sleeping Beauty to create an edge-of-your- seat, original story that throngs with longing.
An outsider in her own family, Mina lives in Blumwald, where her father is the duke. Haunted by loneliness and losing her mother, Mina finds solace walking in nature. Among the twisted trees, she “felt power in my independence: far, far safer to be alone than to want and be unwanted”.
At the same time, Blumwald lives under the shadow of a curse. Every fifty years, a Witch “would descend from her castle to take a companion. One young man plucked out and never seen again”. Around the anniversary of her mother’s death, Mina volunteers herself when the Witch comes to stake her claim. The first woman to go with the Witch, on arriving at the castle, Mina feels “trapped in a prison of my own foolish making”. In time, though, she moves from fear and “the pain of self-inflicted isolation” to wanting to understand the Witch and the secrets of the curse.
While the truths Mina discovers are terrifying, love, longing and the realisation that “other people can be salvation” leads her to take a courageous path. Suspenseful, atmospheric and romantic, this is an utterly enchanting tale.
Joanne Owen
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Bitterthorn Synopsis
Blumwald is a town overshadowed by an ancient curse: in a sinister castle in the depths of the wild wood lives a monstrous Witch. Once a generation, she comes to claim a companion to return with her - never to be seen again.
Now that time is drawing near once more... Mina, daughter of the duke, is grieving and lonely. She has lost all hope of any future for herself in Blumwald. So when the Witch demands her next companion, Mina offers herself up - though she has no idea what fate awaits her.
Stranded with her darkly alluring captor, the mystery of what happened to the previous companions draws Mina into the heart of a terrifying secret that could save her life, or end it.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781839132957 |
| Publication date: |
4th May 2023 |
| Author: |
Kat Dunn |
| Publisher: |
Andersen Press Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
357 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Young Adult Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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Kat Dunn Press Reviews
Kat Dunn has spun a love story both intimate and epic. Bitterthorn is a perfect fireside tale, thick with suspense, yearning, and wild beauty - I loved every moment of reading it -- Samantha Shannon
A haunting, atmospheric tale of two lost souls finding each other, and a love that will remake the world. Exquisite -- Shelley Parker-Chan - Sunday Times bestselling author of She Who Became the Sun
Bitterthorn is beautiful and haunting - the type of story that seeps into your bones and stays with you long after reading. Kat Dunn has spun a deliciously dark fairy tale full of the agony and ecstasy of longing and desire, as well as celebrating the power of resilience and inner strength -- Katherine Webber - Sunday Times bestselling author of Twin Crowns and The Revelry
A moody and stylish Gothic tale that feels both fresh and timeless - a masterful meditation on grief, loneliness, and terrible love. Gutting and unforgettable -- Ava Reid - Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wolf and the Woodsman
Both classic and novel, melancholy and tenderly wrought, Bitterthorn crackles with passion and warmth like a fire on a long winter night. With achingly atmospheric prose, Dunn has crafted characters I would die for and a love story as powerful and enduring as a fairytale. A must-read for fans of Gothic romance -- Allison Saft - New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic
Girl meets house. Girl meets witch. And oh, does it ever get deliciously interesting from there! Dunn has created a delicately spun cobweb of a fairytale that slowly unwinds a pattern of secrets, curses, love and betrayal - and finally settles around your heart and leaves you glad to have been captured -- Freya Marske - Sunday Times bestselling author of A Marvellous Light
Bitterthorn tugged on the threads of my heartstrings until I had nothing left to give it but my soul. Hauntingly beautiful, this Gothic fairytale lingers in the darkest corners of my mind forever more. A triumph -- Saara El-Arifi - Sunday Times bestselling author of The Final Strife
This darkly romantic fairytale is a stunning rumination on loneliness, grief, and the aching human desire to love and be loved. Sapphic, Gothic and deeply cathartic - I feel profoundly moved -- Laura Steven - author of The Society for Soulless Girls
A gothic, intimate tale of love and loneliness, the threads that bind us to others, and how a sacrifice for another can be spun into something strong and enduring. Kat Dunn shows that hope can be found even amidst bitter odds -- Helen Corcoran - author of Queen of Coin and Whispers
Bitterthorn feels like a fairytale: a beautifully wrought story of love that is as claustrophobic and unnerving as it is achingly romantic. Dunn's prose is luminous -- Sarah Underwood - author of Lies We Sing to the Sea
