Books like Thornspell by Helen Lowe

Princess Sigismund has grown up listening to stories of enchantments, faerie spells, basilisks, dragons, knights-errant, and heroic quests. He longs to leave behind the sheltered life of his country castle and find the adventure of his childhood imagination. Two days after a mysterious lady arrives in a fine carriage and speaks to him through the castle gates, Sigismund is thrust into a realm in which what he had thought to be stories begins to seem real, and the world’s magic both promises adventure and offers danger. The prince begins to dream of a girl trapped in thorns, an unmoving palace, and a man in red armor riding a red horse—an image that becomes a reality when the red‑armored rider arrives. The story follows Sigismund as he learns that his dreams could be prophetic, and that his childhood fantasy of a heroic quest is becoming his new reality.

First publish date: 2008