Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Beauty in Thorns
Author: Kate Forsyth
Narrator: Juliette Burton
Format: Unabridged
Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
Language: English
Release date: 08-01-17
Publisher: Wavesound Audio
Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:
In 1890, artist Edward Burne-Jones finished a monumental series of paintings inspired by Sleeping Beauty.
Told through the eyes of the five women in his life - wives, daughters and mistresses of famous artists - this is the astonishing story behind that famous painting - a story of love, obsession, scandal and betrayal.

Critic Reviews:
"Kate Forsyth could quite possibly be one the best story tellers of our modern age." (Hook of a Book)

Members Reviews:
Beauty in Thorns is steeped in history and offers a window into the middle class where love, families, and being an Artist clash
An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The release ofÂ'Beauty in Thorns' is one that I've been looking forward to throughout 2017 and I'm delighted that I had the opportunity to read it for review ahead of its release. This book draws again on the historical background of fairy tales, not just their origins but also how those stories were used and told and celebrated throughout history. In that sense,Â'Beauty in Thorns' is unique in its retelling ofÂ'Sleeping Beauty' because it situates the story in amongst people using the story and celebrating it, rather than retelling the story of its origin.Â'Beauty in Thorns' is steeped in history and offers a window into the middle class where love, families, and being an Artist clash.
I found this a really enjoyable book to read, I fell into the prose immediately and enjoyed each page I turned, it was enjoyable and relaxing to read. Different than Forsyth's previous bookÂ'The Beast's Garden' which was a magnificent and necessarily uncomfortable read, I loved the pacing and how the story with all of the characters unfolded. There's a drama to the storytelling that brings the characters and their motivations to life, from making the 'right' choice, to pursuit of one's passion, the foibles and triumphs of love, of families and children and various achievements. I especially loved Forsyth's focus on the lives of women in and how they influence and inspire aspects of history that are often accorded achievements of men. Often this is absent of the reality of the daily life setting which I feel makes the story and those achievements and aspirations all the more compelling. I was especially drawn into the yearning expressed by Lizzie and Georgie who wanted to pursue art for themselves and found it all but impossible.
Although this book is a gentle read, it does deal with difficult topics around mental illness, disordered eating, addiction, the loss of children, and the other realities of health in that era. The book deals respectfully with these topics as well as I am able to judge but I note this for anyone who would rather avoid them.