Heir of Bitter Thorn

The Fae of Bitter Thorn #0.5

by Kay L. Moody

A lost prince. A deadly bargain. A memory she can’t afford to lose.

Elora is a master with a blade, but in her village, sword fighting is just a hobby for a girl destined for an arranged marriage. When a dryad offers her an escape, she accepts the bargain: rescue a cursed prince in Faerie or stay trapped in a mundane life forever.

But Brannick isn’t a damsel in distress. He’s a powerful fae prince held captive by an evil queen.

To save him, Elora must trade her iron for cunning and her heart for a promise she might not remember.

Genres: Fantasy, Fae, Romance, Young Adult, Novella, Magic, Romantasy

65 pages, ebook

Expected publication May 12, 2026

About the author

Kay L. Moody is proud to be an epic fantasy romance author who gets to create worlds for a living. 😉 Her books feature strong female characters, court intrigue, royalty, magic, and slow burn romance with men who fall first.

With 17 romantasy books across 4 complete series, she’s no stranger to hidden princesses, deadly competitions, or couples who go from enemies to lovers. Her books have sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide and have earned accolades including Best Fantasy Book (Many Books, Dec 2023) and Bestseller: Fantasy (BookRaid, Apr 2024).

Her favorite non bookish things are pizza, summertime, the color pink, and having pretty nails. She lives in the western USA with her husband and four sons. Follow her on social media to stay in touch (@kaylmoody).

Visit her website to learn more. KayLMoody.com

Reviews

[The Half-blood Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

Never bargain with a fae.

Elora dreams of adventure. With her unwanted marriage approaching, she is desperate to have some excitement before it arrives. A dryad appears and asks for help with saving a lost fae prince from the clutches of an evil queen. Believing it’s nothing more than a dream, Elora agrees willingly.
 
But Faerie is more dangerous than she imagined. Alongside iridescent clouds and frosted beauty, it also has dangerous enchantments, scheming fae, and frightening trolls. Even with her experienced sword skills, the land challenges her courage and wit to their breaking points.
 
Unfortunately, she already broke the first rule of Faerie: Never enter a bargain. Now she has no choice. She must save the prince… or die.

See, this is what I'm talking about! This is an adventure in a fae world and fae people, not fae who are basically humans with magic and pointy ears!

Elora and Prince Brannick, the eponymous heir, have a fun dangerous time. Btw, Brannick is that dude who knows he sets people's pheromones on fire and he has no qualms spraying the charm.

If you couldn't tell from the blurb I included, provided in the arc I received of the anthology Realms of Fae and Shadow, the story is set in the past - this is not an urban fantasy -, which makes Elora being a swordmaster even cooler!

There's some magic, but mostly it is physical action that keeps them moving forward, not spells or enchantments or whatever. There's actual fights, everyone, where the female mc is the adventurer, the so to speak knight, and the prince is the one in distress.

I also liked Blaz's overall existence. Some authors forget animals are as much a part of the fae world as more humanoid fae and not so humanoid, like trolls (seelie and unseelie, anyone? Except I don't know if that terminology is going to be used in the series, so don't quote me on that). Who is Blaz, you ask? No spoilers!

[Vanessa (bookfairy.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely novella! I'm happy I read this after book 1, because this way I already had a clearer picture of the characters and their personalities in mind.
I'm also curious to see whether the dagger will play another role somewhere in the series.👀

[Beba Andric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely novella. A great prequel which sets the tone for the series. This author always draws me in, I'm always enchanted by her stories. We get to meet a lovely young girl, whose only wish is to be able to participate in sword fighting tournaments. Elora is loathe to accept that as a woman, she cannot be a warrior. When she is tricked into saving a prince in the Faerie realm, she is in her element and dreams of the adventures she will have. The reality is very different but somehow, it still leaves her energised. We get to see what a strong character Elora is and have no doubt of her will and stubborn nature. The Faerie realm is magnificently depicted, where she uses all her wits to survive, even fighting a troll. A fun book with fun characters

[Alyssa ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This added much needed context to the first book, I wish I had been able to read this before it.
This is such a quick, fun read.
I think it's immensely different from the author's other series and more mature in a way.

I really enjoyed this and I like Elora a lot more than I did initially.
I'm looking forward to continuing Castle of Bitter Thorn and hopefully a following book.
Prince Brannick is a jerk, but he's a jerk that I love 🥵

[Quinty [ikleesveel] · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine prequel, I enjoyed it. ✨
Loved reading this after Court of Bitter Thorn and recommend reading it AFTER that one, not before. It was way nicer to see stuff from book 1 being explained than to already know all that stuff before reading book 1. If you've read the Fae of Bitter Thorn books, I 100% tell you to read this.

[Demi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little backstory to Elora and Brannick. It adds context to the rest of the series, and it fills in some blanks.
Action-packed and straight to the point. There’s not much else to really say about it.

[Jill Bridgeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to read this Novella first before starting the series. I enjoyed this read as it was simple and easy to understand. Elora was presented with a challenge, well bargain, and accepted. She's smart, quick on her feet, and doesn't back down easily from a challenge. She went after the Queen swiftly and thoroughly. She saved the Prince only to be told she would never remember him and he would never remember her. I look forward to reading the story of Elora and Prince Brannick.

[Joy Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excited to see where things go!

[Shia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting seeing this prequel story! I loved how it ties in to the series.

[Kreela · Rating 5 out of 5]

With all the snarky reverse harems out there, it is refreshing to find a more traditional type of fantasy but without the traditional wilting-flower lady. Her father taught her the skills he knows: tournament fighting. This reminds me of my own father taking me hunting. Elora learned that courtly fighting and longs to have the associated adventures, at least in theory. Life doesn't work that way, and her parents have arranged a marriage for Elora. As a last ode to freedom, Elora decides to climb a tree. I know this sounds corny and simple, but having a small goal in life gives me the feeling of control.

Besides, a Dryad notices her sword and offers Elora her life's dream: an adventure. Rescue a prince from his binding with the Queen by poisoning her. Elora is not trained in espionage, spying, or murder. She is totally out of her depth, but the goal is heroic. While I thought the actual act of poisoning was abrupt and too pat, it worked for a short story as a preview for the main attraction. And I love one-offs.

I was wondering why the dryad would need a human, but the humans in the fae realm really are enspelled and have no control over their actions, no thoughts. It really emphasizes that small amount of control that Elora experienced over her life. She has freedom to make those decisions. Her fight with the trolls later shows why naive humans were required: she doesn't have any agreements or knowledge of the politics to interfere with the mission.

Elora overhears something about another prince waiting in the parlor. But I was disappointed that Elora doesn't meet the other prince by accident. She finds a prince in the parlor. How is it that the prince is the one she is rescuing? Why didn't such a naive person make a mistake in identification? Why didn't this hero feel guilty, at least, for not telling him to watch out? Or telling someone about it? She just ignores the situation.

Well, obviously I was engrossed in the plot. I love a strong plot, strong action, with romance. I love good world-building. I think the world, the plot, and the action deserve checking out the series.

[Caesara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loved it ❤️
I love Kay's writing and surely I will read this new fae series too.
The way she described the tree fae was like seeing her in front of my eyes 🤩
The story is about a young mortal girl that enters in bargain with a fae to save the prince of Bitter Thorn.
During their escape they have to fight against some trolls and she proves to be a strong fighter and succeeds in protecting the prince. Who during the battle with the trolls made think that he acts a little like Loki 😂 (love Loki by the way ♥️)
Can't wait to read the first book in the series💚🧡❤️

ARC received from the author 💖

[Jan Niblock · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the first 2 books of the Bitter Thorn, reading this pre-quel answered some of the questions that I had from those stories. Like how did Brannick know about Elora’s sword skill? How did he know where she would be? How did she get a scar that looked like a troll bite to Brannick? To name a few.

It was very interesting to see Kaia’s role in helping Brannick escape from Fairfrost and who knew that Elora played a part? The entire time while I was reading it, I was wondering how could this happen and Brannick and Elora not know about it. I am not going to tell you the answer, you will have to read it to find out.

[Ksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Stars

This is a nice little intro into the world of Faerie created by Kay L. Moody. There are some aspects that are reminiscent of what we know along with elements that are her own.

[Amyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dream or not, this might be her only chance for a real adventure before she’d be forced to marry a stranger. How could she say no to that?

Elora dreams of adventure, of testing her sword skills against opponents in tournaments, but that’s just not something girls do. Instead, with her family in desperate times, she will be forced to marry. A chance meeting with a dryad may be her last opportunity. All she has to do is rescue the heir of Bitter Thorn and there is no going back until it is done. First rule of Faerie: Never enter a bargain…

This is a short introduction to the world of Faerie by author Kay L Moody. A young adult fantasy, I enjoy these even though I don’t qualify anymore… And the covers for this series are beautiful.

Elora is a sword-fighting young woman who is not afraid to stand up to a troll… or six. I mean, if you are going to die if you don’t save the price or die fighting a troll to save the prince, you might as well fight. The prince only seemed a little ungrateful, but to make up for that, he has a wolf companion! Anytime a character has a wolf companion, I just like them more. A little adventure, a little magic, and a little humour all make for a good story. I will have to add another four books to my TBR list.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elora dreams of taking part in tournaments, but is only allowed to train with her sword against her father. She dreams of adventures yet at seventeen is now expected to marry a chosen stranger in order to keep her family out of poverty. She dares herself to climb the highest tree during the night calling it her last adventure before accepting her fate, but she is lured into a much bigger adventure than she bargained for. A dryad comes out of a tree, and forces her to make a bargain with her, obviously Elora has no clue that making a bargain with a creature from the faerie realm comes with it's own consequences. She is tasked by Kaia the dryad, to enter into Fairfrost the realm of Queen Alessandra who had kidnapped Prince Brannick of Bitter Thorn. She was then to administer a vial of memory loss to the queen then help the prince escape before dawn broke. All this she was expected to do on her own as the dryad could not leave her tree. But if Elora was anything she was no coward, so she ventured forth to save a prince whilst the clock was ticking and knowing she could not afford to fail, no pressure, right!! I really enjoyed this magical escapade into the realm of faerie, the encounters with the trolls, the lovely wolf and Elora's courage but was sad that she had to forget her biggest adventure at the end! I would love to read further into the series as I am sure Elora's encounter with Brannick does not end here!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elora wants nothing more than an adventure, especially when she learns her parents are arranging a marriage for her. So she sets out to accomplish a task she’s meant to do for years - climb a large tree right to the top. But when she meets a dryad who offers her a chance at real a adventure she takes the opportunity to travel to Faerie and rescue a fae prince from his bondage to a queen of a different court. But it might be more than Elora anticipated but she has no choice - succeed or die.

This is a really fun novella. It’s a prequel to the new Fae of Bitter Thorn series by Kay L Moody, and if it’s anything to go by, the rest of the series is going to be great! This is an easy, short read and while the main conflict is wrapped up fairly quickly, that’s to be expected from a short novella. As with other books by Kay L Moody, this is well written and it gives a good taste of the world and it’s magic. I very much enjoyed meeting Elora and this story has definitely made me want to continue the series!

[M.L. Dunker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun fast story. It reads like a late middle grade or young YA with a brave and noble girl quick with the sword and yearning for adventure. Prince Brannick is clever and oh so handsome and Blaz is his trusty sidekick. I found myself smiling through much of the adventure. The dryad, Kaia, is just a joy with her, "Oh, I should have told you, the first rule is never to make a bargain with the fae." I could almost hear Elora's facepalm through the pages.

Great for fans of Tamora Pierce's world of Tortall (The Lady Knight and The Will of the Empress) and Jonathan Stroud's Heroes of the Valley.

[Jill Gauger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elora’s dream is to fight in a sword tournament but it will never happen because she is a woman. She trains with her father every day. Her father is a master swordsman now retired. Now she finds out that her father is looking for a husband for her to save the family. One night she decides to climb the big tree all the way to the top as her other dream is shattered. At the tree she meets a Dryad and makes a bargain to save Prince Brannick from Queen Alessandra. Adventure here Elora comes.
I really enjoyed this book.

[Susana Duarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This prequel of the serie is amazing even though it is almost as a parallel story for the serie, as Elora, our heroine, will not remember any of the amazing adventure she has in this book and book one starts as a clean slate (or so we think).
This story tell us how the first real meeting of Elora and the cursed prince occurred and a lot of little details and background stuff you will love to know.
I recommend to read to read after book one even though the order ends up not being really important.

[Lori Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elora desires a life filled with adventure where she can utilize her sword skills instead mastering the skills that would make a desire to marry. She just wasn't expecting to be rescuing a far prince from a beautiful yet dangerous Fae Queen. This is the bargain Flora strikes with a dryad, finding herself transported into a wintry world that is deadly to any mortal that ventures in. Elora's skills and sanity is about to be tested as never before... Enter a world where you can't always trust what you see filled with magic that can change destinies. Highly recommended.

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read. It is a quick and easy read as it seems to give some background information for the first book. I haven’t read the rest of the series as many have but is definitely seems to be an interesting one. There are fights with magical creatures that give it so much action in such a short time. While we don’t get to know the characters very well we do get to see glimpses of their personalities. It is well written and I definitely wouldn’t mind reading the rest of the series as it seems to be an adventure all on it’s own.

[Katharina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story is about Elora, a human girl who seeks an adventure before getting married. One night her dreams come true and a dryad brings her into Faerie to rescue the Prince of Bitter Thorn from the grasps of the Queen of Fairfrost Court.
Heir of Bitter Thorn is the prequel to the Fae of Bitter Thorn series and is definitely worth a read. It's a suspenseful short story with a great plot and interesting characters.

[Rebecca Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heir of bitter thorn

The first rule of faerie: never enter a bargain.

As far as novella prequels go this does a good job of setting up the world for the series to follow. It's been a while since I read a book that has more of the "traditional fae" myths. E.g. bargains and dancing until you die etc. I'm excited to start the series now.

I actually read this thinking it was a prequel to an arc I had for the author but it is actually for another series so now I need to read both 😂

[HDST · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I'm not usually one who reads and enjoys novellas because they lack the depth of full-length novels, but this one wasn't too bad. The author was able to achieve a pretty solid story in a short span. I enjoyed the characters, and the story left me wanting to dive deeper into this world. I do think the writing could use a little more refinement, but it was good enough. I'd like to read a full-length novel by this author.

[Marie Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short prequel is a good introduction to the series. I did not read it before books 1 & 2, but hints about Elora having previous contact with the fae in those books made me want to read it. Good short story that filled in some blank spots, but the series works well enough on it's own if you don't read this before the other books.

[Marea Quijano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this prequel to the series! I loved seeing this different side of Elora and Brannick. I read this book after reading the first 2 books in the series. I was a little sad to see part of how it ended, but I totally understand why what happened needed to happen. It fit in perfectly with somethings i saw in the first book,, but I wonder about Blaze at the end of the prequel.

[Angie Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was written so well, you can perfectly envision what the characters look like and what the locations in the book look like. I didn't like Prince Brennick much, he seems a bit full of himself but other than that the book was great. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy.

[Jeraca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can already tell you I'm glad I read this book before book 1 because I loved seeing Elora in action saving the Prince. She is brave and skillful and she doesn't back down from a challenge. I'm very intrigued to see how things will progress in book 1 and what more adventures Elora will find herself in!

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect introduction to Faerie. It is well written, smooth flowing and easy to read.

While being a short introductory story it kept me captivated from beginning to end. I loved the characters. The imagery is so vivid you can picture every scene unfolding before you.

I can't wait to read more.

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA fantasy novella - quite good basic fairy tale

Elora dreams of adventure and finds it when she enters the Fae world to rescue a prince. The story is quite straight-forward, involving many supernatural creatures and a strong female protagonist. It's enjoyable enough and a pleasant read.