Books Like Thorn

From Snow White to Jasmine to Imogen from Shakespeare's Cymbeline, plenty of princesses in literature have donned disguises for various reasons. Sometimes they’ve done so to escape from the clutches of nefarious pursuers, while other times, it was to blend in with the commoners. For example, in Thorn by Intisar Khanani Princess Alyrra finds her identity switched with another woman’s. This leaves her with the choice of staying in disguise and starting a new life for herself or risking everything to save a prince she’s never met. For more books featuring princesses in disguise, check out the following books like Thorn.

The Goose Girl

By Shannon Hale

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale is the first novel in the Books of Bayern series and a retelling of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale. The story features the Crown Princess of Kildenree, Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, who has the skill of animal speech. When her mother sends her away to get married in a foreign land Ani is betrayed by Selia, her lady-in-waiting. Ani escapes and disguises herself as a royal goose girl in order to hide in plain sight. However, to prevent a war between the kingdoms, Ani will have to develop her hidden talents and convince the prince of her true identity.

The Cavelier

By Israh Azizi

The Cavelier is the first book in the Heroes of the Empire series by Israh Azizi. Although it features multiple viewpoints, one of the main characters is Natassa, a princess of Karalik. Like everyone else in the empire, Natassa is subservient to her father the bloodthirsty Emperor Malus. However, she reaches her breaking point when she discovers that her father intends to marry her to a man she loathes. Thus she crafts a risky plan that could either free her from her shackles or get her killed in the process.

The King’s 100

By Karin Biggs

The King’s 100 by Karin Biggs is in two kingdoms with very different belief systems. Piper Parish is a princess from Capalon where science rules supreme and showing any emotion is frowned upon. Piper struggles to fit into this mold, which makes her a disappointment to her older sister, the queen. However, when Piper receives word that her mother is still alive and held in the enemy kingdom of Mondaria she decides to risk everything to mount a rescue mission. Mondaria is the complete opposite of Capalon, so Piper disguises herself as a singer to infiltrate the enemy king’s court. Although facing certain death if her true identity is discovered, Piper finds herself drawn in by the freedom that life in Capalon offers. 

Spy Princess

By Sherwood Smith

Spy Princess by Sherwood Smith stars Lilah, a 12-year-old princess who senses that all is not well in her kingdom. Her uncle, King Darian is a tyrannical ruler who keeps raising taxes and wants a stronger army. Lilah also wonders why the kingdom’s magic spells are fading and why all the children outside the palace gates appear to be ragged and hungry. However, all her father cares about is that she learns court manners. Lilah grows tired of being ignored, so she disguises herself to escape from the palace and befriend the children outside its walls. It is then that she not only learns that a revolution is fermenting but that her older brother, the king’s hair, is allied with its leader. 

A Coup of Tea

By Casey Blair

A Coup of Tea is the first novel in the Tea Princess Chronicles by Casey Blair. Miyara, the fourth princess of Istalam, is required to dedicate herself to a path serving the crown. However, she shocks everyone by turning her back on this life and leaving. As an outcast, she goes into hiding and finds work running a tea shop in a struggling community on the edge of a magical disaster zone. However, Miyara soon discovers that hidden magic and hidden machinations are brewing under the surface of the city and she’s the only one that can save the inhabitants.

The Kiss of Deception

By Mary E. Pearson

The Kiss of Deception is the first novel in The Remnant Chronicles series by Mary E. Pearson. Princess Lia is from a society steeped in tradition and as First Daughter she is expected to have the revered gift of sight. However, Lia lacks this gift and knows that her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. Lia has never met the prince and the marriage is supposed to secure an alliance, but on the morning of her wedding, she flees to a distant village. There she disguises herself and settles into a new life until the arrival of two mysterious and handsome strangers. However, what she doesn’t know is that one of the strangers is the jilted prince and the other an assassin that was sent to kill her.

A Creature of Moonlight

By Rebecca Hahn

A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn features Marni, a princess living in exile in a shack at the edge of the woods due to the transgressions of her mother. As the only heir to the throne, she should have been surrounded by wealth and privilege but instead lives with her grandfather who is her sole protector. After his death, Marni is sent to the court of her uncle, the king who wants her dead. However, while trying to adapt to this new life Marni also hears the call of the forest where her father, a wild dragon, is said to live.