For the second time that evening, Balbina was pushed to the ground. She found herself with a mouthful of dirt, peering up at her breathless, laughing assailant.

"P-p-pthuth," she spat. "...Piper!"

Piper did not look drunk. She looked ecstatic.

"Bally!" she cried. Piper pulled Balbina up and into the bushes, clamping a hand over her mouth. Balbina did not struggle. Resistance was usually futile.

"Something amazing has happened," said Piper gleefully, once they were well covered by leaves. She let go of Balbina. "I've had a vision!"

Beauty comes in many forms and shapes. It’s not just a pretty face coming across you on the street, or a piece of shiny jewelry, a lovely shade of make-up or even a brand new handbag. Beauty is something that pleases a part of us and thus each of us define it differently. I, for example, love gadgets and electric devices so when I visit an electronics store I’m surrounded by beauty. It’s the same with art supplies: whenever I enter an art store I have trouble deciding where to look first because I consider even a clean sheet of paper or a brush-pen beautiful.

Also, I’ve always valued a great read, be it something deep and philosophical or something adventurous and fun. A good novel pleases many parts of me, therefore I value it greatly and, as an artist, beauty-blogger and admirer of anything that has aesthetic and intellectual merit, oftentimes I wish to share it with my friends. This is what I set forth to do in today’s post.

” A young girl who failed to become a sorceress and was bound by a spell to slavery tricks an entire university of sorcerers into believing she's the avatar of a goddess. She leads a group of them on a journey to find the one spell that could free her from her bonds, in a complex hoax involving goddesses, lies, betrayal and a terrifying mist that threatens to wipe out all magic on earth.

Thorns evolved from an intense, epic, indigestion-related dream into an illustrated novel by a series of small miracles. Its protagonist, Piper Pax, is neither hero nor villain, but instead occupies the border between good and evil, human and sorcerer. Thorns is a novel about self-realization, morality, and insecurity in a constantly changing world.
Set in a universe where sorcerers rule over the human race, and indeed consider themselves a different species from those who cannot do magic, the world of Thorns is a place of sharp divides and boundaries. Harsh punishment awaits those who step outside of normality. Against all odds, Piper must lie her way to the literal ends of the earth. Lying to those who oppressed her is easy - lying to the people she cares about is the real challenge. (It doesn't help that she's hopeless at magic, either.) „

Thorns is a bi-monthly web-novel, and although it is aimed at young adults I strongly believe that people all ages will find it an entertaining and often thought-provoking read. It is written by an author who is passionate about her work and who possesses a wonderful talent for making her text flow smoothly and balancing the funny and the serious, the emotional and the factual, and who can also create round characters who, even though not one of them is without flaws, will very soon grow on you.

I strongly encourage you to give her novel a try and read it, after which you are free to share your thought with the author in the novel’s blog or in the guestbook.

You can find Thorns at www.thornsbook.com

Enjoy!