I have just heard from the wonderful Anne Aitkenhead, the product manager who imports and supports Thornspell at Random House New Zealand (and Anne has been marvellously supportive over the past eighteen months)  that:

Thornspell will be out here in paperback on July 2—perfect for some winter school holiday reading!

It was very exciting, as an author, to have my first book come out in hardback, which Thornspell did under the Knopf imprint. And it is a beautiful book. I just love it and always will. But the paperback edition, which is being published under the Yearling imprint (it’s still Knopf, but just a different “label”), is also beautifully presented. And again—very exciting to see some of the excellent reviews that Thornspell received, from publications as prestigious as Kirkus, Booklist and The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, featured inside the cover.

You can read more about Thornspell, including excerpts from the book and many of the reviews, on the Thornspell website, here.

But I’ll include some of the reviews inside the cover right here:

“A quiet hero anchors this nicely crafted blend of fairy tale and dreamscape . . . .  A very human and nevertheless magical drama. Thoughtful and understated.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Lowe brings the fairy tale to life, adding both complexity and a believable hero, as well as an Aurora who’s more than just a “sleeping beauty.”  This is a fun retelling with much to offer readers.” — School Library Journal

“This “Sleeping Beauty” retelling skilfully expands the basic story of the uninvited guest seeking revenge into a full-blooded tale of ambition and romance . . . . The charming modifications hang together nicely with the traditional elements of the story, and romance readers as well as fairy tale aficionados will delight in this deft handling of the tale.” — The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

And Frances Grant in Canvas (the New Zealand Herald) wrote:

“Lowe gives what might have been yet another fantasy quest story a darkly imaginative and sensual dimension as her hero fights his way between his world and the strange faerie realm.”