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SYNOPSIS

Why escape death by demon just to die at the hands of heroes?’

Taitu Jathaeri, a sixteen-year-old girl with arcane gifts, is impatient to leave her matriarchal home island to train at Mecanta’s Academy of the Arcane Arts.
But when her guardian, a recluse witch, is murdered, Taitu is tasked to go to the dreaded mainland, find a mage in the ruins of Old Anvadore, and give him the artefact Arjanna has hidden for twenty years.
But Arjanna had many secrets. The young Thorn must learn who to trust and whether the murderers who are now pursuing her could be her salvation or her ruin.
Has she unwittingly chosen the wrong side in a war that will release an ancient corrupting evil into the world of Itania?

To Save a Thorn is the second book of the Aerieti Chronicles of the Fall series. It’s largely self-contained and easy to follow without having to read the first book. That being said, reading them both adds context.

Taitu Jathaeri is a bit unusual in her little island community. She is able to cast magic, unlike most of the women who live on her home island of Ilja. The island is mostly comprised of women who live there in a matriarchal society. Due to her magic, Taitu is given to Arjanna, the only other person capable of casting magic on the island, to raise. Although grateful to Arjanna, Taitu still misses her mother and wishes to go to the mainland to learn more about how to wield her magic. Yet, there seems to be more to Arjanna than Taitu knew when a group of strangers attack and Arjanna taks Taitu with keeping a secret artifact safe and getting it to a mysterious stranger far away.

On her journey, Taitu encounters people who want to recover the artifact but are they trying to harm Taitu or save her?

Like the first book in the series, To Save a Thorn has a charming protagonist who you can’t help but cheer for as she makes her way in the world. The story is full of fun and magic and a thoroughly enjoyable read. If you read the first book in the series, it will be a bit easier to pick up on who is trying to help and who is trying to harm Taitu but either way you can read this volume as a stand alone book. This volume brings along some characters from the first book but introduces us to plenty of new ones.

The book fits in well to the larger story and it will be interesting to see where the series goes from this point on.

If you enjoy fun fantasy adventures with lots of different creatures, magic throughout the world, and charming protagonists, this book is for you.